Tuesday, 15 January 2008

Redundancy led to Cambodia dream for Philippa

WHEN 23-year-old Philippa Kettlewell took voluntary redundancy from work she could never have imagined she was about to embark upon the experience of a lifetime.

Philippa has returned from a six-week trip to Cambodia where she had been helping teach English to underprivileged schoolchildren.She was working for British charity Schools for Children of Cambodia which works with local communities to improve access and quality of basic education.

"The reason I chose Cambodia is because a lot of my friends have been to places like America and Australia and I wanted to do something different," said Philippa, of Ightenhill Park Lane, Burnley. "It was a fantastic experience and I am so glad I went.

"Philippa said: "I was amazed at how many people wanted to learn English. I was liter ally teaching people on the streets some days. A lot of the young people there want to go on to become tour guides and so learning English is a very important part of what they want to do."

Philippa managed to see many sights of a country that has undergone huge reconstruction since the brutality of the 1970s and 1980s.

"It really is a beautiful place," she said. "It's definitely something that I want to do again. I would like to go to South Africa and I'm looking at maybe going to Peru and doing some voluntary work out there. "I would love to go back to Cambodia one day but there are a number of other places I want to experience first."Anybody who would like to find out more about the charity can log on to the following: www.schools4cambodia.orgDon't miss tomorrow's Express for more on Philippa's story ...

Last Updated: 14 January 2008

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