Ten students and three teachers will take part in a program in Cambodia.

Called the Cambodian Alternative to Schoolies Program, it will see the group visit various charities and help on different projects.

The students have had to prepare themselves for sights they have not seen before, including speaking to children who have been injured by land mines.

They will also work with children who have various disabilities, including those who have suffered the debilitating disease polio.

And ever-present will be the spectre of the suffering and anguish in the lives of those whose parents lived through the horror of the Pol Pot regime.

Program organiser Andrew Cornwall said the atrocities in Cambodia happened shortly after the Maitland students were born.

“The world became aware of Pol Pot later,” Mr Cornwall said.

“His regime and what happened in Cambodia was part of our students’ world, but not necessarily a part of which they were aware.”

The expedition to Cambodia will be an experience the students can connect to their social studies program.

Marissa Baptista, 17, from Oakhampton, was born in India and, having revisted that country several times, she was familiar with the hardships many people there experience.

The students have raised $15,000 for various projects in Cambodia.

“Our original goal was to raise $3000, so we are very pleased with our results,” Marissa said.

“We will be taking 200 kilograms of assorted supplies to Cambodia with us for their villages and schools.

“Our aim is to help the children over there who have very hard lives. This is a way to give back to people who really need aid.”

Matthew Giakoumatos, 18, from East Maitland, said: “I have never seen the sort of suffering the people in Cambodia endure.”

The group will also visit the genocide centre with the exhibits of that gruesome time and information about the brutal Pol Pot regime.

A keen history student, Matthew said: “Almost certainly this visit will make us more aware of events happening around the world.

“To me, this trip will be much more rewarding than spending time on the Gold Coast.”

The students will also meet a group called Daughters of Cambodia, women who have committed criminal offences, but who have since been rehabilitated.

Many now run shops and have their own small businesses.

“We will stay at a jungle village called Un Long Thom, where the people are so deprived and poor they have eaten local bears for food,” Matthew said.

“We will also call at a place called Stepping Out, a halfway house run by an Australian woman,” Marissa said. 

“People who have left school can stay there while they finish their education.

“It is also a place for orphans and poor people to live.”

Mr Cornwall said teachers had interviewed 20 children and staff members for two days before the team was finally selected.

“We went through a rigorous process of selection, and students had to say what they could contribute to the program’s success and what they themselves would get from it.” he said.

The students will leave on their journey on Friday and make the return trip Saturday, December 6.