• REALITY 1: The climate can be unbearably HOT and HUMID, and extreme weather can ruin our plans
• REALITY 2: There are lots of BIG INSECTS, some very dangerous, and they find volunteers very tasty
• REALITY 3: A road rarely is made from much more than dirt. Journeys are SLOW & VERY BUMPY
• REALITY 4: People and materials are usually LATE: plans rarely run on time
• REALITY 5: HEALTH & SAFETY policies in public services are virtually non-existent
• REALITY 6: The CULTURE and LANGUAGE is alien to what we are used to in the West
• REALITY 7: You will come face to face with POVERTY every day
• REALITY 8: There are MANY public holidays, which can easily ruin even the best planned week of work

To enjoy working in a developing country, we believe you need to be:
 

• OPEN-MINDED about other ways of doing things
• PATIENT & TOLERANT when things do not go according to plan
• ENTHUSIASTIC about your work
• Full of INITATIVE so you can make the best out of a bad situation

If you think you can cope with the realities of work in a developing country, and that you are open-mined, patient, enthusiastic and full of initiative, then we urge you to volunteer with us.

If not, please look elsewhere – vMaD is not for you.
 

Cambodian Public Holidays 2009
Source: World Travel Guide

Cambodia has many Public Holidays, and it is often not possible for us to run our programs at these times. The flip-side of the coin is that there are some pretty good festivals and events on these days, but it can get pretty irritating if you book for a 2 week placement and there is a three-day public holiday in the middle of the week preventing you from volunteering! And more often than not, a one day holiday gets extended over several days, making it very difficult for us to plan ahead. So make sure you have a look at the dates below so that you can plan your placement appropriately.

• 01/01/2010 :: New Year's Day
• 01/07/2010 :: Victory Day
• 01/30/2010 :: *Meak Bochea Day
• 03/08/2010 :: Women's Day
• 04/14/2010 :: Cambodian New Year
• 04/28/2010 :: Visaka Buja Day (Birth of Buddha)
• 05/01/2010 :: Labour Day
• 05/03/2010 :: Royal Ploughing Day Ceremony
• 05/15/2010 :: King Sihamoni's Birthday
• 06/18/2010 :: Former Queen's Birthday
• 09/24/2010 :: Constitution Day
• 10/07/2010 :: *Pchum Ben Day
• 10/29/2010 :: Coronation Day
• 10/31/2010 :: Former King Sihanouk's Birthday
• 11/09/2010 :: Independence Day
• 11/20/2010 :: * Water Festival
• 12/10/2010 :: Human Rights Day
• 01/01/2011 :: New Year's Day
• 01/07/2011 :: Victory Day
• 01/30/2011 :: * Meak Bochea Day
• 03/08/2011 :: Women's Day
• 04/16/2011 :: Cambodian New Year
• 05/01/2011 :: Labour Day
• 05/15/2011 :: King Sihamoni's Birthday
• 06/18/2011 :: Former Queen's Birthday
• 07/25-08/07 :: MaD on Holiday!
• 09/24/2011 :: Constitution Day
• 10/07/2011 :: * Pchum Ben Day
• 10/29/2011 :: Coronation Day
• 10/31/2011 :: Former King Sihanouk's Birthday
• 11/09/2011 :: Independence Day
• 11/20/2011 :: * Water Festival
• 12/10/2011 :: Human Rights Day

*Date to be confirmed.
Note - The religious festivals are determined by the Buddhist lunar calendar and are therefore variable. Public holidays falling on a Saturday or Sunday are carried forward to the following working day.