For many families living in the Thlok Andoung community, the daily struggle against poverty is a harsh reality. Lacking simple necessities, such as shelter, adequate meals, healthcare and quality education, life’s priority is survival. Children often scavenge the land for scraps and garbage to sell, earning little to support their families. Without any other choices, many drop out of school to pursue unfair labor for a very low income.
In celebration of our fifth year of holistic support, we reflect on the meaningful progress made through our integrated programs—delivering quality education, health and nutrition resources, and vital social services to those in need. Together, we are creating real change and building pathways to brighter futures in Cambodia.
REACH started with just 7 programs during the COVID pandemic, providing support to over 100 families. Five years on, we’ve been able to expand to 13 integrated programs with over 40 team members, supporting almost 400 students and more than 180 families.
Our young student and her mother during our latest house visit.
Our progress is a testament to our passion for making a real difference, providing holistic support to each entire family unit. To illustrate the impact we’ve made over the past five years, here is a success story of Khy and her daughters Srey Keo and Chankim– a story of perseverance, sacrifice and resilience through adversity.
Nurturing Dreams: Khy’s Family Case Study
Khy and her daughters have benefited from our programs, and their journeys show that our holistic support can be vital to help families living through intergenerational poverty.
When REACH opened in 2020, Khy’s family was among the first 100 families enroled to receive our support. Khy had moved from Kompong Thom province to Siem Reap, where she met her husband and had three children together. Her husband was an alcoholic and offered very little support to the household. So, she worked very hard selling vegetables, earning less than three dollars a day to raise her children.
When her husband passed away, the financial burden fell heavily on her as the breadwinner. Before REACH came into their lives, her two oldest children, including Srey Keo, had unfortunately dropped out of school to work and support their mother. Even though Khy wanted her children to stay in school, their living situation made it difficult for them to continue their education.
Khy and her oldest daughter Srey Keo at their house.
Chankim, the youngest daughter, was the only child in the family still in school, and Khy enrolled her at REACH upon joining our organisation. Chankim was incredibly shy and did not know English at all. Khy was hopeful that our education programs could change her youngest daughter’s life and with our support, she strongly encouraged Chankim to continue her learning. She believes that “If my two oldest children and I didn’t get to finish our studies, at least Chankim should go as far as she can because she has the opportunity we never had…because education is important.”
Beyond education for her daughter, Khy also receives support from our Outreach and Rice Rewards programs. We provide monthly provisions of rice, eggs, and soap to Khy and her family. In return for keeping Chankim at school, we also alleviate Khy’s burden of providing for her family and ensure they have nutritious food. A few years ago, the family’s house was leaking due to a damaged drain. Khy was concerned for the wellbeing of her children and sought our help. Our social workers stepped in and provided emergency support to make repairs, so the family could have a more stable and safer shelter to live in.
Our support for Khy extends to her oldest daughter, Srey Keo. As the eldest child in the family, Srey Keo took on a huge responsibility from a young age, bringing income to support the household. It was a difficult decision for her to leave school and go to work in a garment factory in the capital city Phnom Penh.
Life for Srey Keo was challenging. When she moved to Phnom Penh, she was alone in a big city far from home and worked for a minimal income to pay rent and send money to her family. Her salary was barely enough for her to live in the city and sustain the household. Despite these challenges, she persevered with the hope that things would get better for her family.
Our dedicated Outreach team worked closely with Khy and recognized Srey Keo’s difficult situation. We began supporting Srey Keo from afar, assessing her needs and searching for alternative opportunities. Having established strong partnerships with other organizations in Siem Reap, our team was able to help Srey Keo secure a job with our local partner Eco-Soap.
Srey Keo has been working for over one year at Eco- Soap, and she feels more comfortable and safer to be able to work close to home. She is also proud that she can support her family with a decent income. She really likes the new experiences at Eco-Soap where she gets to learn a lot about sustainable soap production and meet wonderful colleagues.
Srey Keo is now more hopeful for the future, aiming to own a little business for herself and improve her family’s living situation. Keo’s story shows that by providing the right support and opportunity, we can change her life for the better and steer her to a safer, fairer career pathway.
Srey Keo organising the soap bars at Eco-Soap.
While our various ways of support stabilized both Khy and Srey Keo’s lives, Chankim was also able to continue her studies at REACH and develop herself. Through our educational programs, Chankim’s confidence slowly grew, and she started improving her English a lot. With the dream of becoming a nurse, Chankim’s commitment is reflected in her active involvement at school and in the community. She bravely took on the 200km in 2 days cycling challenge in our Side by Side event for 3 years in a row. In our Rider’s Club and her community, she mentored her younger peers and shared her knowledge and experiences with others, building up her leadership and teamwork skills.
When she began her high school years, our Youth Pathways program supported Chankim’s extra lessons fees and empowered her through excursions and collaboration sessions with students from other schools and NGOs. By exposing our youths to the outside world and different learning opportunities, we build and hone their abilities and interpersonal skills.
After many years of hard work and dedication, Chankim successfully passed her Grade 12 national exam. Our Education Manager Mardy then worked closely with Chankim to pursue her passion for nursing. Chankim was panicking when she went to Mardy for help because she only had 3 days left until the deadline to apply for a nursing preparation course. Our team worked tirelessly to help Chankim apply for the course in time and support her move to Phnom Penh to prepare for the nursing entrance exam. It was challenging for her to live alone away from her family in a different city for the first time. The preparation course was hard, but she never gave up.
After three months of intense courses in math and chemistry, Chankim took the entrance exam and aced it! With further support from our education team, she also secured a full scholarship from Child’s Dream to enrol in a national university where she will now complete her nursing degree over the next four years.
For Khy and Srey Keo, Chankim’s success is a huge breakthrough for the family, and they are very proud of her. Chankim’s perseverance, along with her family’s resilience, resulted in her reaching an incredible milestone – she is the first in her family to pursue higher education. Our team at REACH are able to guide her to a better pathway, turning her dream of becoming a nurse one step closer to reality.
During our fifth-year anniversary celebration, Chankim made a surprise appearance at school. She stood on the stage and proudly delivered an empowering speech, sharing her new experiences with her younger peers. We were very proud to see her become a role model.
Khy and her two daughters’ journey from impoverished backgrounds to fair employment and higher education pathways is a testament to our holistic impact.
Our Education Manager Mardy reflects “I am truly honoured to witness the success of Ky’s family, after working at REACH for over five years now. Working closely with Chankim, I have seen her dedication to her education. She really deserves this success, and I can say for all of us at REACH that we all are proud of her. Her story makes coming to work every day so rewarding. We’ve not only impacted Chankim’s education but also opened the door for her family to break the cycle of poverty. A bright future is ahead for Khy and her daughters, and for our other students and families here in Siem Reap.”
Our Education Manager Mardy reuniting with Chankim after the result of her exam.
Different Pathways & Impact
Our end goal is for all of our students to go on to higher education or vocational training, and ultimately secure fair employment. We recognise that there is no single path for everyone. While Chankim’s journey leads to university, our other graduates are undertaking vocational training, pursuing careers in hospitality, tourism, and other fields. We currently have two other students graduated from REACH and placed in vocational training at Sala Bai and Spoons. One student has also graduated from Bayon and is currently working at a bakery in Phnom Penh as a pastry chef.
At REACH, we strive to support and nurture our students’ different dreams and interests, ensuring that they will continue to have fulfilling futures. We recognise that not all students will go to university due to their personal circumstances, which is why we aim to create more pathways and different opportunities for them.
Looking Ahead: Shaping Future Leaders
Chankim’s success is inspiring for our whole community, showcasing that with empowerment, we can guide our students to reach their full potential. Our holistic approach ensures that the entire family is also fully supported to break the cycle of poverty and create a better life.
This is a powerful reassurance that our growing community at REACH is making tangible differences in the lives of those in need, building brighter futures. And we are not doing it alone. We are grateful to have the unwavering support of our community of like-minded supporters from all over the world and the dedication of our team. Thank you for believing in the potential of our students.
As we celebrate our milestones, we know there is more work to do and more successes to achieve. It is exciting, and we are even more hopeful for the dreams yet to be accomplished.
To continue our impact, for our 2025 Double Your REACH, we are teaming up with our amazing Match Grant Heroes to match every dollar donated to our cause in the entire month of June. We are incredibly grateful and honoured to introduce our 9 Match Grant Heroes who collectively pledged a total of over $50,000 USD for our campaign.
- Dave & Jenni Richter
- The Moynihan Family
- Ian & Deb Hayllor
Together, we can change more young lives and help our families build a brighter future, but our heroes can’t do it alone.
If you are inspired to help us send another student to university or vocational training, please consider becoming our campaign Sidekicks and fundraising to double our impact in June. You can also click here to learn more.
Thank you for being a part of our journey as we continue to stand alongside Cambodian families in their fight against poverty.
