REA software developer says helping kids learn was rewarding

REA worker Mark Ocampo had never thought about volunteering until a friend joined Feeding Dreams Cambodia.

REA Group software developer Mark Ocampo at the Feeding Dreams Cambodia school outside Siem Reap.

REA Group software developer Mark Ocampo, 27, had never thought about volunteering until a friend moved to Southeast Asia to work for Feeding Dreams Cambodia.

Knowing REA had a volunteer bank where he could request paid time off to give back to those less fortunate, Ocampo applied for seven days of leave to help teach English in a community 15 minutes by bike from Siem Reap in January.

Without any experience, Ocampo helped teach English to young children in a program for those who would not normally go to school. “The teachers, they’re learning English as well and they’re learning from people who don’t know it as well as they could either,” Ocampo says. “They threw me out deep into the ocean and told me what to do.”

Ocampo is now spreading the word about his experience and encouraging others to take advantage of the bank to help others. He admits he did not know what to expect as a volunteer, particularly without classroom experience and having grown up in Australia with greater opportunities.

“I saw the affection and the appreciation the children had for someone helping them, it was really rewarding,” he says.

“We went to their homes, we thought we were going to one of the poor areas and it was where the children were living. They’re so happy to go to school because they get free education, free food and see their friends and get to be part of something.”

Ocampo says the children in the FDC program came from absolute poverty but were being educated and given the chance to lift themselves up.

He says a second program the organisation operates provides vocational and hospitality skills to older teenagers who did not go to school.