(Cancelled) Cambodia Service Learning Trip (19)

HK$5,900 (incl. $1,800 subsidy reimbursable upon satisfactory completion) (subject to final airfare available)

Eligible participants can apply for Subsidy on Exchange to "Belt and Road" Regions for Post-secondary Students (SSEBR) / Non-means-tested SSEBR to receive subsidy up to HK$5,900 / HK$1,950 (pending program endorsement by Office of Global Learning)

 

Includes:
Round-trip flights to Phnom Penh, local transportation, accommodation (shared room), meals during program activities, entry fee for visits included in the official program, and travel insurance.
 

Does NOT include:
Personal expenses and expenses out of the official program, travel document/visa application, additional travel and medical insurance.

Subsidies

All participants:
 

(A) Subsidy for trip participants (No application needed)

Participants will be able to reimburse up to HK$1,800 subsidy upon satisfactory completion of the whole service program (#1); OR

(B) Non-means-tested SSEBR (pending program endorsement by OGL)

Eligible participants may apply for the subsidy to receive HK$1,950 subsidy upon satisfactory completion of the whole service program (#1); OR

(C) Connect Overseas Learning Experience Sponsorship Scheme  (OLESS) (Details)

Students with financial need may apply for the Scheme to receive subsidy to cover part of the program fee up front.

Recipients of Tertiary Student Finance Scheme (TSFS) government grant & loan:  
 

(D) Pre-approval of Connect Overseas Learning Experience Sponsorship Scheme (OLESS) (Present “Notification of Result” of TSFS during interview)

To help ease their financial burden of having to pay the full program fee up front, TSFS Grant recipients can get pre-approval of the Scheme and only need to pay the remainder of the program fee:

Students are expected to apply for SSEBR from the government (Details). Successful applicant will be able to get subsidy equal to “$5,900 x % of TSFS grant received”.

Example: if you receive 50% government grant, you will receive HK$2,950 subsidy via SSEBR.

Applicant shall submit an online application on the HKUST My StudyAbroad system after receiving trip offer. Upon being awarded the SSEBR subsidy, student receiving pre-approved Connect OLESS shall return the OLESS/SSEBR subsidy, whichever is lower, to HKUST Connect.

(#1) Satisfactory completion of the whole service program includes attendance, high level of engagement in group preparation tasks, workshops and during the trip, and submission of reflection report. Connect OLESS / SSEBR / Non-means-tested SSEBR recipients may receive the difference between HK$1,800 and the OLESS/SSEBR being granted.

Each participant is required to raise a minimum of HK$600 on top of the program fee to support the Wat Opot Children's Community.

Application

• Please complete the online registration form.
• Interviews will be held on 18 - 19 March 2020. Shortlisted applicants will be notified via email.

Deadline

• Application closing date: 15 March 2020 (Sun)

• Trip participants entering Hong Kong from region/countries with compulsory quarantine order, such as mainland China, Korea, Italy and Iran, will be required to undergo quarantine or medical surveillance off-campus for 14 days BEFORE the first face-to-face workshop, following the Hong Kong Government's inbound travel restrictions regarding COVID-19.
  Participants are reminded to plan their schedule ahead so be able to join the face-to-face workshops and the trip. (The University can no longer support any new cases of student self-quarantine on campus, other than in exceptional circumstances which will be on a chargeable basis.) 
• The organizer reserves the right to terminate the participation for any student who fail to follow the quarantine arrangements, and the program fee will not be refunded. Further disciplinary action may be taken to address such violation.
• There may be updated measures from time to time, participants are strongly advised to visit https://www.ust.hk/news/announcements/covid-19-university-measuresarrangements for any updated arrangement at Campus.
• HKUST Connect is closely monitoring the situation. If there is any restriction imposed by the local community partners or the country that we cannot enter the service location, the trip will be cancelled. Program fee will be refunded. 

• To ensure the quality of the service activities and a positive team experience, students are expected to attend ALL pre-trip activities (workshops and consultation meetings), and will be given priority over those who are unable to commit to full attendance. Request for absence due to academic course-related examinations will be considered on a case by case basis. The organizer reserves the right to terminate the participation for any student who fail to meet the above requirements, and the program fee will not be refunded.
• Participants are required to travel to and from Cambodia with the group. No separate travel will be entertained.

The Wat Opot Children's Community (http://www.watopot.org)

The Wat Opot Community was founded by Wayne Dale Matthysse in 2002. It is rare, and perhaps unique in Cambodia, for HIV-infected and non-infected children to live together as family, sharing homes and meals and playing together. Many children who are not physically affected by the virus are living here because their primary caregiver was or is HIV Positive and has either died or is unable to take care of them. Some are orphans who are not HIV+ but have lost their parents altogether to AIDS. One of the primary goals of The Wat Opot Community is to restore the joy of living to these adults and children. The community also builds strong connection with neighboring villages.

Who Will Village (http://www.who-will.org)

Who Will Village is a local NGO registered in Cambodia dedicated to caring for orphans and disadvantaged children and poor Cambodian Communities with no religious affiliation. It is a relatively small NGO that is privately funded. Who Will’s mission is to care for orphans or disadvantaged children of Cambodia, by providing them a village in which they can be raised in a proper family environment. For each house there will be a housemother, their role is to bring up her family as if their true mother. Ultimately this village will appear to be just another country village and it will be fully integrated into the community, ensuring that the children will not carry the unjustified stigma of “coming from an orphanage”.