Faces&places

My Scholarship entry - Educating children - Cambodia's only hope

Cambodia | Wednesday, December 5, 2012 | 5 photos

My love of travelling took me on an interesting journey two years ago. I realised that I didn’t want to be just another backpacker whizzing through 16 villages of a country in two weeks, just to pin them on my travel map. I wanted to somehow contribute to the community while exploring its culture and geography, learning about everything that was different from my reality. Since I teach English as a foreign language, the obvious choice was to go to a place that could benefit from my skills. So I packed up and headed to an orphanage in Cambodia, armed with a positive attitude and a camera.
Even though it’s just a hobby, photography has always interested me. A few years ago, a friend gave me his old Canon AE1 as a present, and I instantly fell in love with the sound of the shutter. Being a synesthete, I enjoy playing with the camera to try to capture the feel of everything that surrounds me.
Coming back home completely overwhelmed by my experience, I was passionately showing my photos to family and friends, attaching a story to each one, and in the process realised that I also contributed to my side of the planet by raising awareness of the problems and the beauty of the ‘other side’.