February and March have been busy months for Youth Star. We have successfully recruited, trained, and placed eight new volunteers for the Youth Star Cambodia program. Cohort 24 will be placed within communities in Kratie and Prey Veng provinces.

The process began with an early January recruitment announcement that ran until mid-February, with assessment days following for successful applicants. Having made the final deliberations, eight successful candidates joined us for the Pre-Departure Training schedule. Running for a fortnight (February 19 – March 3, 2017), the training sessions were designed to equip the candidates with the knowledge, skills, practices, and confidence to successfully undertake their volunteer placement. Youth Star Cambodia, along with our partners from AeA, SIPAR, Save the Children and KAPE, provided training that covers both soft and hard skills. As our program deals with the education of children, Child Protection Policy forms a crucial component of our training.

Having successfully completed their training, Cohort 24 took part in the closing award ceremony and dinner. This year, the ceremony was held at The Salmon House in Phnom Penh. Attended by board members, staff, volunteers and their community partners, the evening was a deserved and joyous celebration of Cohort 24’s upcoming commitment.

We wish our volunteers all the best and look forward to sharing their stories with you as we move through the year.