First day at work with Passerelles numériques

Monday was my first day at work in Cambodia. I visited the first school Passerelles numériques (PN) created in order to help disadvantaged students by getting access to a high level of education, and finding qualified employment. I’ve been friendly welcomed by the complete staff and students. The school building, located in Phnom Penh and built in 2005, is well situated, it has good facilities and offers the students a very good studying environment.

The training program of PN has been designed to provide students a set of professional skills, specific technical IT skills and they teach them to speak English fluently. The program is constantly updated to meet the growing needs of a constantly changing market.

I also had my first meetings with the fund raising-, internship- and job placement team. After graduating, the students can still count on Passerelles numériques support, thanks to this job placement service. I find it amazing that all students find a job within 3 months after graduating. Since 2005, 607 Cambodian students have graduated from this training center, from whom 358 completed a 2-year training program as IT technician. Now that’s what I consider a job well done!

My calendar for this week is scheduled, I will be mixing sales training's with brain storming sessions and also have some interesting visits to prospects planned. I am looking forward to it!

From left to right: Sopheak, Saroem, myself, also Sopheak (the same name is used for a male and female) and Channita.

Traveling to and arriving in Cambodia

“Flight MH017 to Kuala Lumpur is ready for take-off”. After all the necessary preparations during the last couple of months, my Cambodian adventure, volunteering for Passerelles numériques, has now actually begun. After saying goodbye to my family and friends, I first travelled in approximately 12 hours to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, which was recently renewed and is now one of the biggest airports of the world. After that I flew for another 2 hours straight to Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Both flights with Malaysia Airlines were good, they served tasteful food, the crew was dedicated and my seats were comfortable. Their large choice of video entertainment on board helped me through time.

After my arrival on Phnom Penh International Airport, I was warmly welcomed by Mr. Pierre de Roquefeuil, who is general manager of the Passerelles numériques organization in Cambodia. He personally transferred me to my hotel where I unpacked and accommodated for a little while. Flying first ahead and then backwards in time caused a bit of disoriented feeling with time in general and my bio-rhythm, but I’m sure this will pass in a few days.

In the afternoon I went for a tour in the city center of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia with over 1.3 million citizens. Besides the warmth (which of course is a huge change from the somewhat disappointing temperatures of the current Dutch summer), I noticed that the streets are very crowded. It’s almost impossible to cross the main boulevard of Phnom Penh as a pedestrian; there are motorbikes and cars everywhere. I also immediately noticed the big difference in life standards; a brand new big Range Rover is driving just beside a very old Tuk Tuk.


I took some pictures and created a short video to share with you my first impressions of a regular Sunday afternoon in Phnom Penh; the  traffic, the Royal Palace, a group of Buddhist monks and the ferry crossing the “Tonlé Sap” river.


Click here to view my photo-album.

The Cambodian people are indeed, like I was told upfront,  very friendly, cheerful and open for conversation. They smile easily and are making me feel welcome right from the start.

5 Basic facts about Cambodia

  1.       Cambodia is a country located in the southern portion of
           the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total
           landmass of 181,035 square kilometres, it is bordered by
           Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to
           the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

  2.       With a population of over 14.8 million, Cambodia is the
            69th most populous country in the world. For comparison
            (view here), The Netherlands is at place 62 and France is
                                         at place 21. 

    3.     The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is
             practiced by approximately 95% of the Cambodian population.
             It is the oldest surviving Buddhist doctrine and was founded in

             India. It is relatively conservative, and generally closer to

             early Buddhism than the other existing Buddhist traditions.

     4.    The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh; the

             political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. Located

             on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the

             national capital since the French colonized Cambodia and is

             home for over 2 million of Cambodia’s population. It once

             was known as the  “Pearl of Asia”, and then considered as one

             of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina in the 1920s.  

5.  The kingdom of Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy

      with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal

      Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is
      Hen Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South
      East Asiaand has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. 

Source: www.en.wikipedia.org