Sister Srey Café is a place I have eaten many times (considering the short time I have been here). They have excellent food and coffee – and support great organizations to give back to the community in and around Siem Reap. Sister Srey serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and easily alter menu options to make them vegan or vegetarian friendly. This café – and many other cafés I will post about – supports responsible volunteering in opposition to sometimes harmful voluntourism. As their Facebook page explains:
“Sister Srey Cafe is run and operated by Sisters Lauren And Cassie. The Girls, opened the business to have “good Coffee” and also help and support Khmer students.
Srey means sister in Khmer, but besides the obvious kinship connection, there is more to the name than
meets the eye. As a sign of respect, Khmer people greet each other with titles of family whether they know them or not. Older men and women are ‘uncles and aunties, nearer your age, they are brothers and sisters. The girls named their cafe Sister Srey as a dedication to the sisterhood of Cambodia and of course, to each other.
Our vision at Sister Srey Cafe is to support young Khmer students who struggle to keep a balance between study and supporting their family. We believe that by giving these beautiful people a flexible roster, fair pay and continuous training, we are little by little helping build a brighter future for these young people. Our team at the cafe are like family to us and each have their own story and beautiful personality.
Since opening the Cafe works along side Hearts to Harmony Foundation. This means, a percentage of profits from the Cafe as well as donations go to the Foundation to support individuals through education, health and hygiene, and other expenses.”
ConCERT Cambodia
Sister Srey is also an information center for ConCERT Cambodia, whose mission is to “turn people’s good intentions into the best possible help for the most vulnerable people in Cambodia”, helping volunteers (voluntourists?) visit, tour, and serve Siem Reap in the most responsible way possible. They provide questions to ask yourself before volunteering (found on their website):
“1. Does the project where you’ll be working meet a real need, and is it the appropriate response to that need? (There is, for example, much concern from projects such as UNICEF, Save The Children, Friends International and others, that, in many instances, orphanages are not the right response to the needs of poor Cambodian children)
2. Does the project operate on sound principles; is it well managed, and financially transparent?
3. Is the programme run by people who have extensive knowledge of the issues that their project is trying to address?
4. Is your volunteer input really needed and will it contribute to improving the situation? (Or does the project really just want your money…)
5. Do effective screening and matching processes take place to ensure you can bring skills that match the needs of the communities where you’ll work?
6. Is the placement duration appropriate to the task, and long enough so that you can make an effective contribution? It may be possible for you to do something useful in a few days (when undertaking manual tasks for example). However, placements that work directly with people, (whether adults or children), need to be long enough for you to learn your role within the team, and to form appropriate relationships with the people you will be working with.
7. If your work is with vulnerable people, (such as children, young adults, people with learning or other disabilities, or people in extreme poverty), are there appropriate security measures, both within the application process and during your placement, to protect both the vulnerable and you?
8. Will your volunteering be taking away jobs from local people?
9. Will you have adequate supervision and guidance, and will your tasks be clearly explained?
10. If required, will you have general support to cope with life in a country where so many things are different, and have reasonable steps been taken to ensure your safety?
11. If you book through a volunteer programme:
- Ask what has been achieved by previous volunteers
- Look at their responsible tourism policy
- Do you know very clearly how your money is being used? How much of the fee goes to the project?
Be wary if they
- Resist putting you in touch with previous volunteers or local people
- Don’t clearly explain where and how you fit into their overall plans
- Don’t ask many questions about you (except how you’re going to pay)
It is particularly beneficial where volunteers can develop the capacity of the local staff in an project. An example would be where a professional teacher volunteers to work with the local teaching staff in a school or centre, rather than teaching the pupils directly. In this way the volunteer is less disruptive to the pupils and can pass on their skills and knowledge, enabling the local teachers to do their jobs better in the future.”
Grateful
I am grateful for programs that steer folks away from irresponsible voluntourism. They will help guide me as I try to serve the community in the most responsible, sustainable, and less intrusive way possible. I will post about other cafes with similar motives. There are so many good (and many bad) non-profits present in Siem Reap- I think I will spend the next month reading, visiting, and getting to know as many as I can so that I can choose one or two to spend some extra time and energy supporting during my free-time while I am here. More posts about volunteer opportunities and impressive programs to come.
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