‘The children amaze me every single day’
Teacher ‘on countdown’ as she appeals for help to return to orphange
A TEACHER who moved to Asia three years ago is asking for help to get back to the place she now considers home.
Alice Tindsley, from Madeley, has been working and living in Cambodia since moving there on Christmas Day in 2017.
Known to her pupils as ‘Cha Alice’ – a way of the children pronouncing ‘teacher’ – the 29-year-old teaches Grade 1 and kindergarten at New Hope for Cambodian Children – an orphanage for youngsters with HIV.
When the pandemic hit, Alice decided to return to Staffordshire to be with her family as one member was classed as high-risk.
After more than six months, she is now ready to return to Cambodia.
But a $2,000 deposit is required from every passenger, and for Alice, who has only been able to do remote work – most of it charitable – it is a struggle to get the cash together.
When she was younger, Alice thought she wanted to go into fashion. She attended Staffordshire University and then headed to London to pursue her career before realising her true passion.
She said: “I was working as a model booker and I just thought ‘why am I doing this?’
“I had known ever since I was a little girl that I wanted to be a teacher. I even gave my poor younger sister extra homework when she was in school!
“I finally found the confidence to go into teaching. While working full-time, I studied for my TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) qualification during evenings and weekends.”
When Alice took the plunge and moved to Cambodia, her original plan was to travel around Asia educating youngsters from across the continent.
She added: “I wanted to take a more nomadic approach and travel and see lots of places. But then I found NHCC and I fell in love, so I have been there ever since.
“As soon as I saw NHCC, I knew that’s where I wanted to be.”
To get back there as soon as possible, Alice has launched a Go Fund Me page.
“There’s a lot of people in the same situation as me, especially those working for charities and similar organisations,” she said.
“I believe the fee is there to protect the Cambodian people, but it makes it really inaccessible for workers like myself to get back there.
“You also have to provide clear Covid-19 tests before and after your flights, and quarantine when you’re finally in the country.
“If everything is clear, they take a small amount of the money to cover expenses and return the rest of the deposit to you.
“I would either return this to donors or donate it to the orphanage, depending on what the donor wanted.
“While being back in the UK, I have done some remote work online and I’ve sold pretty much everything I have of value on ebay.
“This year has been tough for everyone and it’s been hard to find remote work. I have just under £1,000 gathered so far, but the rest is proving difficult.
“My flights have been booked for October 15 so I can be back in time for the term to start, so I’m on countdown now.”
Alice desperately wants to get back to the place that she feels she ‘belongs’ – and to the children that she is so passionate about.
She added: “It can be difficult, and we have to stick together over there. You can see some really hard things and you take on a lot. But the experience is so much more than I ever imagined.
“The children amaze me every single day.
They are so enthusiastic and passionate about learning.
“I keep a ‘pride wall’ in my classroom so when a child achieves something, they come to me, say ‘I am proud’ and we put it on the board.
“I can’t imagine doing anything else in the world and I feel so lucky.the clock is ticking now and I desperately want to get back.”
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