Inspiring Youth, Empowering Communities: Inside the IGS Cambodia Service Project 2026

In June and July 2026, 115 students and staff from Ivanhoe Grammar School (IGS) embarked on a transformative educational and service journey across Cambodia. Managing an expedition of this scale—involving three separate teams over 15 days—requires seamless on-the-ground logistics and a deep commitment to sustainable travel. From navigating the bustling streets of Phnom Penh to rural homestays in Siem Reap, the project was a powerful blend of community service, cultural immersion, and educational empowerment.

Confronting History and Embracing Culture

The journey began in Phnom Penh, where students balanced cultural appreciation with sobering historical education.

• Students visited the Royal Palace, guided by local youth from Children for a Better Future, breaking down barriers and forming immediate connections.
• The teams paid their respects at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Memorial Stupa (The Killing Fields), where they confronted the devastating reality of the Khmer Rouge regime.

• They engaged in traditional Khmer dance workshops and enjoyed a Mekong River dinner cruise, fostering camaraderie early in the trip.

Heartfelt Service and Rural Homestays

The core of the trip was a multi-day rural village homestay, where the three IGS teams lived and worked alongside communities in AKC Samrong, Char Kraom, and Rolous.

• Students engaged in demanding physical labor under the hot sun, mixing cement, building toilets, and constructing a community fresh water station.
• They planted around one hundred tamarind saplings to provide future shade and fruit for the villages.
• Immersing themselves in village life, students learned to weave bamboo roofing, cooked sticky rice in bamboo, and took buffalo cart rides to local monasteries.
• Teaching English was a daily highlight, with students leading games of “Duck, Duck, Goose,” singing songs, and teaching vocabulary under mango trees.

A Milestone for Education: The IGS Siem Reap Educators Forum 2026

A major highlight of this year’s project was the successful launch of a pilot program designed to empower local teaching communities: the IGS Siem Reap Educators Forum 2026. Held on Saturday, June 27 at the Heritage Baitang Hotel, the forum was themed “Next Gen ESL: Interactive, Integrated, Inspired” and welcomed 40 participants.

We at SAM INSPIRE were incredibly proud to facilitate this event from start to finish, managing everything from morning registration and energetic icebreakers to the final certificate presentations. The robust agenda brought together expertise from IGS and TDSO (Cambodia’s reference organization for in-service teacher professional development) through ALL FOR KIDS ORGANIZATION to deliver highly practical TESOL toolkits to community educators.

The day’s specialized sessions included:

• Helping Students Speak: Role Play in the Classroom by Dr. Robert Savage (IGS), focusing on building student confidence through authentic dialogue.
• Game Playing in Teaching by Mr. Barkley Heuser (IGS), showcasing low-resource activities to keep large classes active and engaged.
• Boosting Reading by Mrs. Kathleen Wilson (IGS), investigating strategies to enhance English retention.
• AI as a Teaching Assistant by Mr. Matthew Yau (IGS), providing hands-on techniques for rapidly generating reading texts, worksheets, and discussion questions.
• ESA Lesson Sequencing and Task-Based Learning (TBL) led by TDSO experts Pan Bunsrak and Samrith Lina, rounding out the pedagogical training.

Outstanding Participant Feedback

The impact of this forum was immediate and deeply felt. Based on the workshop feedback forms collected at the end of the day, the response from the participating educators was overwhelmingly positive.

Out of 24 collected evaluations, an impressive 87.5% of attendees rated their overall satisfaction as a perfect 5 out of 5 (“Very Satisfied”), yielding a stellar average satisfaction score of 4.88 out of 5.

When asked about the single most valuable insights they gained, participants repeatedly highlighted the ESA Lesson Planning, Game-Based Learning, and AI in the Classroom sessions. Many educators explicitly noted their eagerness to immediately apply these new games, AI tools, and interactive role-play techniques to their own primary and secondary classrooms. While the event was a resounding success, we always strive to grow; the feedback indicated a strong desire for even more time dedicated to hands-on practice and Q&A in future iterations—a note we will certainly incorporate as we look toward next year.

Given the incredible success of this inaugural event, the Educators Forum is slated to return in 2027, continuing to build a legacy of sustainable educational support.

Uniting Communities Through Sports

Joy and connection took center stage during the Happy Football Cambodia Australia tournament.

• The IGS teams took on roles as coaches, pitch managers, and cheering squads for four village soccer teams.
• The tournament brought together young players from villages outside Siem Reap, providing them with a proper field, uniforms, and an unforgettable atmosphere of teamwork and sportsmanship.

Heritage, Social Enterprises, and Exploration

Beyond their service work, the students explored the rich heritage and everyday realities of Cambodia.

• The Wonders of Angkor: Students embarked on a 25km bike ride through the Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site, exploring the intricate carvings of Bayon, the massive tree roots of Ta Prohm, and the breathtaking scale of Angkor Wat.
• Life on the Water: A visit to Chong Khneas allowed students to witness the resilience of communities living in floating villages, complete with encounters with crocodiles and pythons.
• Supporting Local Futures: Throughout the trip, the teams dined at inspiring social enterprises like Spoons, HAVEN, Sister Srey, and Youth Dreams, directly supporting hospitality training and employment for underprivileged Cambodian youth.

Crafting Seamless Educational Journeys

Coordinating a massive itinerary for 97 students and 18 staff involves incredibly precise operational planning. Managing three separate teams requires synchronizing buses, tuk-tuks, hotel check-ins, and complex dietary requirements ranging from gluten-free and vegetarian to halal across every single meal. The sheer detail required to execute this safely and comfortably is extensive, as documented in our operational tracking files.

At SAM INSPIRE, we specialize in transforming these complex logistics into purposeful, narrative-driven experiences. If your school is looking to inspire its students and empower communities through a tailored service project in Cambodia, our expert local team is ready to build an itinerary that makes a lasting difference.