At the heart of our mission at REACH is the understanding that a child’s success in school is dependent on the stability of their home. As such, our Outreach program offers services and resources to address the needs of entire families who are living under urban poverty.  

According to the UN Habitat’s 2024 report, 39.7% of Cambodian’s urban population continues to live in slums. This indicates that many families don’t own legal land titles, and they often are squatting on government roads or other informal settings.

While Cambodia is rapidly developing, the socioeconomic gap widens as a result of the increased gentrification in the area, putting vulnerable families at risk of displacement. With limited government funding and social services, this is also the reality that the families we support at REACH live in.  

According to our internal data, approximately 85% of the families we support live in informal settlements on government-owned land, often along roadsides with no legal land title. This constant threat of displacement, combined with low to no income to support their livelihoods, our beneficiaries are living through the most challenging situation at home that often forces them to choose survival over their children’s education.  

Our Outreach program plays a vital role in easing the burden on the parents and guardians, ensuring that they have the support they need to become self-sufficient while keeping their children at school.  

Our Outreach team supporting our family with their birth certificate.

Our Outreach Services  

Our dedicated Outreach team works tirelessly to ensure that the needs of our beneficiaries are met, identifying concerns and finding solutions to support their wellbeing. Once a family is enrolled at REACH, they are able to access our comprehensive services and resources that include health and dental care, rental and emergency assistance , government documentation, family planning & birth control support, monthly provisions of rice and eggs, clothing, community workshops and relevant referrals.  

In 2025, we provided the following support to our at-risk families:  

• Health & dental care visits & subsequent treatments: 193  
• Rental assistance cases: 5 
• Emergency support cases: 59 
• Government documentation cases: 1 
• Family planning & birth control support cases: 7 
• Rice Rewards & eggs provisions: 38,981 kg of rice and 36,865 eggs 
• Clothing distribution cases: 523  
• Educational Community workshops:  3 
• Child Protection Case Referrals:  3 
• After School Care Classes: 8 students 
• Transportation Support Cases: 68  
• First Aid Cases: 1,703 
• Annual Family Enrollments: 15 new families and 16 children 

A Case Study: Supporting a Mother in Need 

In December 2025, our Outreach team has been working on a new case to support a mother from one of our families to restore her business.  

During a house visit, her story moved us to do everything possible to help her get up on her feet again. Despite facing a serious health challenge during pregnancy, she remained the sole provider of her household by selling eggs, which barely made her a dollar per day. When she couldn’t work anymore due to her health condition, she was forced to put her business on hold, leaving the family with no income.  

Thanks to the generous support of Delta Capita, our team was able to act quickly to address her urgent need for support, reducing her burden by providing meals to her entire family and free education to her kids. Most importantly, once she had recovered, she received the support needed to start her business over again.  

Her story is a prime example of how our Outreach program works to change the lives of hard-working families in need. 

She reflects that, “I felt so happy after hearing the news that REACH would support me with my business. It’s just been so hard not being able to have money for food every day. Now that I can sell my eggs, I feel so free and relieved. Even if I earn a little bit each day, I can still have something to put food on the table for my kids. REACH has saved us, and I don’t know how else to say it other than just thank you.” 

Our Social Worker Rint providing support to one of our mothers’ business.

Vision Care Project  

One of our long-standing and highly committed partners, Delta Capita has always shown up for our community, and earlier last year, their team set up a Sow & See campaign on Earth Day to raise vital funds to provide eyeglasses for our students.  

Thanks to everyone across the global offices from Delta Capita, we were able to provide eyeglasses to over 42 kids with the frames and lenses they need to help them with their studies. We shared this amazing news with our families who were happier than ever and so grateful for this generous donation. 

Polin, our First Aid Officer, had trained with an optometrist from ClearView to ensure all the tests were up to standard. Together with other Outreach team members, they provided eye tests to over 377 students, scanning those who had vision problems and needed eyeglasses. Then, in December, the children had their eyes professionally checked once again at ClearView.  

The kids were so excited to visit an optometrist for the first time and full of delight to pick out their first-ever glasses. 

If not for this support, they would have otherwise gone for years without glasses. Through Delta Capita’s generosity, we made a difference, and our children’s eyesight improved, helping them pursue an education for a brighter future. 

Looking ahead, we are going to continue working with Delta Capita to build on this Vision Care project. Our plans include expanding the support to our caregivers who have problems with their eyesight and are in need of glasses. We would like to extend this essential service to help them carry out their daily life and work with ease.  

In addition, we are going to support the kids and their families with a diabetes awareness project. Our recent observations have indicated that our students are highly susceptible to developing diabetes due to poor nutrition and the prevalent consumption of sugar drinks. Some of them already have high blood sugar levels, which is the reason we need to start putting preventative measures in place to keep our community healthy and safe. Our Outreach team is very excited to implement this project towards the end of the year to support our families.  

Our student learning happily with his new glasses.

REACH Team Immersion – Deepening Our Connection to the Community  

In our efforts to deepen our team’s understanding of the community we serve, our REACH team members have recently started going on ride-alongs with our Social Workers to see where the kids come from. To ensure that we respect and protect the privacy and safety of our beneficiaries, these visits have been conducted in the most discrete, non-disruptive way.  

Despite growing up in Cambodia, all staff, with the exception of our 4 Outreach team members and 2 or 3 leadership team members, had never gone into the community. Until now, the majority of our local team had not understood where our kids came from.  

When we heard from our Placements Manager Sokly that visiting the community changed her entire perspective of the importance of our work, we realised that this was a gap that needed to be bridged. Over the course of 3 months, our team members would join Rint, our Social Worker, on the back of his motorbike and drive around the village back streets and fields where our families come from. Rint had explained about outreach work and the demographics of our kids.  

Thanks to our incredible Outreach team for hosting these important visits for the rest of our REACH team, enabling them to understand the conditions of our beneficiaries and how best to work and support students, parents and guardians. 

Below are some of the team’s reflections after their visits to the community.  

A reflection from one of our teachers within the education team: 

After visiting the students’ homes and seeing their environments, it was really helpful for me as a teacher. I understand them more and know better how to teach them and support them. What I saw was worse than I thought. 

This is my first time seeing something like this in real life. I come from a rural area far from town. When I was young, I walked to school and back home every day. My mom cooked delicious food for us, and we lived in a healthy environment. We were not rich, but we had rice fields and we stayed together as a family. 

But for my students, their lives are very different. Some of them live with their grandparents because their parents work far away. Some children do not see their parents for a long time. What really touched my heart is that many of their houses are small, unsafe, and not clean. The environment around them is not good, and it affects their study and their life. 

As a teacher and as a Cambodian citizen, I feel very hurt to see this situation still happening in my country. Before, I only saw this kind of life on TV or in movies. Now I see it in real life, and it is unbelievable. 

However, this experience helps me understand my students more deeply. I really hope I can help them in their study and be someone who supports and cares for them. I truly want to make a difference in their lives. 

Thoughts from one of our office team members: 

After visiting the village, I learned many important lessons that changed the way I see life. Seeing the community’s situation made me realise how fortunate I am and how different people’s lives can depend on their circumstances. 

The community is underprivileged. Some families do not even have their own houses. A few of them built small houses along the side of the road just to have a place to sleep. Some homes had electricity, while others did not. It was difficult to see children living in such conditions, especially knowing that some families cannot afford to send their children to school. Education is something I often take for granted, but for them, it is a privilege they cannot always access. 

From this visit, I learned the true meaning of gratitude. I realised that the simple things I complain about are actually blessings for many others. Having a stable home, electricity, and access to education are not guaranteed to everyone. I also learned about resilience. Even though the community is facing many hardships, they continue to live their lives and support one another as best as they can. 

This experience opened my eyes to the reality of poverty and struggle. It made me more aware of the struggles that some families go through every day. Most importantly, it inspired me to be more compassionate, less judgmental, and more willing to help others in any way I can. Visiting the village was not just an experience, it was a lesson about empathy, gratitude, and the importance of giving back to the community. 

Insights from another team member.  

Yesterday I go to village visit. I learn many things. I see how family try to live in very hard situation. They don’t have much money but they still try their best for their children and education. I feel a little bit sad but also happy to see they never give up. They are strong and keep fighting for a better life. 

This visit changed my thinking about our organisation and students. I see our organisation is really important for them. The students are very strong and want to study even though life is difficult. 

One of our beneficiaries’ houses in the community.

Our team’s reflections have showcased that the families we support at REACH are living in devastating conditions with unmet basic needs. This is the reason why our work matters. Our Outreach program works as the bridge to connect the harsh conditions at home with the opportunities inside the classrooms.  

Whether we provide a pair of glasses, or a father with his birth certificate, our support ensures that a family can maintain some stability at home, and parents and guardians have the peace of mind to continue sending their children to school.  
 
We are Seeking Outreach Sponsors for 2026 

For our team to continue providing these essential services, we need your help. We are calling out to our global community to consider sponsoring our Outreach program, which costs $35,000 AUD a year to fully support the 190 families that we serve. 

A $5,000 AUD partial sponsorship of our program will fund outreach services for 25 families at REACH each year. You can enable us to provide even more emergency assistance, health and medical support, and community outreach services to our families.  

If you’re interested in championing our program, please email emily@reachsiemreap.org to discuss how you can make an impact.