Picture a stretch of road outside Siem Reap, early morning, the heat not yet at its worst. A line of REACH students on bicycles, some wobbling, some strong and steady, 100 kilometres into a 200-kilometre ride they weren’t sure they could finish.
Somewhere in that line are three names you’re about to get to know well: Sok, Phearum and Sreylai. None of them knew, on that first ride, that a bicycle would end up teaching them as much about who they could become as any classroom ever had.
Please note: All three students featured are adult REACH alumni who have given their consent and volunteered to share their names and stories.
Six Years of REACH
Sok, Phearum and Sreylai were very different people when they started with us six years ago. Life at home wasn’t easy. Like many children in Siem Reap, they faced challenges that made it hard to keep up with their studies at the public school. When they came to REACH, they were ready to learn but needed a different path to continue their education.
When they first walked through our gates, they spoke very little English and were afraid to talk. Answering a question in class, or even saying hello to a teacher they didn’t know yet, felt like a big risk. Making friends took time too, because everything around them was new. They were quiet, unsure of themselves and not yet convinced that school was a place for them.
Phearum and his friends resting after a training ride
For many young people in Cambodia, time away from the classroom can make it very hard to catch up, and without the right support, some never get the chance to return. At REACH, we believe no student is too far behind to keep learning.
That’s why we created our Bridging Pathways program. While university and vocational training are the ultimate goals, our Bridging Pathways class serves as a vital lifeline for our most vulnerable students, those who have faced the greatest barriers and need an alternative route to success.
Through this stream, we provide students who have had to leave public school with internships, student-led initiatives, and intensive English, Khmer, and Math lessons. This support allows them to complete the Basic Education Equivalency Program (BEEP). It is about more than just a classroom; it is about providing the tools and the belief that they can achieve their dreams, no matter their starting point.
SreyOrn teaching Maths in the Bridging Pathway Class
For Sok, Phearum and Sreylai, it meant more than a certificate. It meant teachers who kept showing up for them and a classroom where getting things wrong was part of learning. And eventually, they started to speak up and learn to lead.
REACH Siem Reap was built on a simple belief: that a child’s future shouldn’t be decided by the circumstances they were born into. Six years on, we’re a community of nearly 400 children and 185 families, working towards one goal: a real, fair pathway into employment for every student.
Two Wheels, 200 Kilometres
Over the years, Sok, Phearum and Sreylai have learned and built on their skills. But when we asked each of them what they loved most, all three gave the same answer: riding with the REACH Riders Club and taking on Side by Side.
Sok and Phearum training for Side by Side event
It’s easy to see why. Cycling is one of the activities our students look forward to most. Every year it builds toward Side by Side, our flagship fundraising event that includes a 200-kilometre ride in just two days. Around 35 to 40 students train for weeks beforehand with our REACH Riders Club, building up their distance and confidence on rides around the Siem Reap area.
Year after year, Sok, Phearum and Sreylai came back to ride. Over time, they went from being nervous new riders to youth mentors in our REACH Riders Club, standing in front of younger students to show them how to ride safely and the importance of teamwork. For three young people who once struggled to say hello, teaching others was a big step.
This year, with our Youth Pathways team beside them through every step of the application process, all three were accepted into vocational training. Each of them took something different from the road: Sok found his confidence, Sreylai found her people, and Phearum found out he could do hard things.
Sok: “REACH Feels Like Home”
Sok has been with REACH since the very first day our doors opened. Back then, he was a quiet boy who kept to himself. “When I first joined, I felt a little shy and nervous because everything was new to me,” he remembers. “But the teachers were friendly and made me feel welcome.” Even then, he knew what he was working towards: “to learn skills, have a good job, and become independent.”
Five years of Side by Side later, that shy boy is one of the most familiar faces in the REACH Riders Club. Mentoring didn’t come naturally at first. “At first, I was a little nervous, but I became more confident as I practiced.” Ask him about the ride today and he doesn’t talk about kilometres or finish lines. He talks about people. For Sok, Side by Side means “friendship, learning, and helping each other,” and his favourite moment is “seeing the younger students become more confident.”
This year, Sok was accepted into Haven’s award-winning training restaurant to train as waitstaff. “I feel very happy and proud,” he says, “but leaving REACH is a little emotional because I will miss my teachers and friends.”
Some things travel with you. At Haven, Sok has become the go-to person for bikes, teaching his new friends how to ride and how to fix them. “When they learn it and can do it themselves, it makes me happy,” he says. “It showed me that I have skills that I can share with other people and that I can make a positive difference.”
And he still comes back. “REACH feels like home to me. The teachers and staff have supported me and helped me become who I am today.”
Sok, one of REACH’s very first students
Sreylai: From Scared to Steady
Six years ago, Sreylai didn’t want to come to school at all. “I didn’t know anyone,” she says. “I was scared and didn’t want to come to school.” But underneath the fear was a big dream: to master English, “so I could go on to study outside.”
Sreylai was at REACH with the bike training for Side by Side event
What changed her wasn’t one lesson. It was four years of Side by Side, riding beside the same friends kilometre after kilometre. “Before, I didn’t really understand what it meant to respect each other and value each other,” she says. “Since joining Side by Side, I understand so much more, and my friendships have grown stronger.” Her favourite moment has nothing to do with speed: “being with my friends, riding together and reaching the same destination.”
As a mentor, she taught younger riders that preparation comes first, and that fixing a bike is part of riding one. “Before we ride, we have to learn how, too.”
This year, Sreylai was accepted into culinary training at Sala Bai, one of Siem Reap’s most respected hospitality schools. The girl who was once too scared to come to school now lives and trains surrounded by new faces. It hasn’t always been easy. “There are a lot of people there, and I was afraid of getting into arguments with others,” she admits. “But now that I’ve been living there a while, I’m not so scared anymore.”
She still visits REACH, now as one of the older students the younger ones look up to. “I want to see the younger students working hard, and to help the teachers look after them.” Her advice to this year’s riders is simple: “Study hard so you can have a better future.”
Sreylai and her friend during the Side by Side event
Phearum: “We Can Achieve Goals We Thought Were Difficult”
Phearum joined REACH six years ago. Like his friends, he arrived speaking very little English and wasn’t sure a classroom was a place for him. Through our Bridging Pathways program, he worked towards his BEEP certificate alongside Sok and Sreylai.
Then came the bike. Phearum has ridden Side by Side three times, and for him it has never been “just” a ride. “I feel excited and proud, because it isn’t an ordinary bike ride,” he says. “It’s a chance to challenge myself, learn new skills and help the community.”
Two hundred kilometres in two days teaches you things a classroom can’t. “I learned patience, not giving up, teamwork, respecting others and responsibility,” Phearum says. “I also learned that if we work hard and have support from others, we can achieve goals we thought were difficult.”
Over those three rides, he grew into a youth mentor in the REACH Riders Club, helping younger students ride safely and look out for one another on the road. He has seen what the challenge does for them, too. Side by Side, he says, helps young people “feel that they have value and that they can help their community.”
This year, Phearum was accepted into Haven’s training restaurant to train as waitstaff, starting this new chapter alongside his friend Sok. He knows exactly what he wants to build there. “I want to gain both knowledge and practical, hands-on skills,” he says. “I want to develop my English, communication, teamwork and professional skills.” And he knows who it’s all for. “In the future, I want to have a good job, earn an income to help my family, and become someone who can help my community.”
We’re so proud of him and can’t wait to see where the road takes him next.
Phearum was studying in the Bridging Pathway class at REACH
Back a Rider in 2026
Sok, Phearum and Sreylai’s story started with a wobbling bicycle and a second chance at school. It continues today in a professional kitchen and on a busy restaurant floor, and every time they come back to REACH to help the next student along.
That is what Side by Side is built to do. Every kilometre our students ride raises funds that go straight back into REACH’s programs: the Bridging Pathway classes, the REACH Riders Club, and the Youth Pathways support that helped these three step into vocational training. Their journey was made possible by people who believed in them before they fully believed in themselves.
Our 2026 Side by Side challenge is launching now, and we’re looking for sponsors to stand behind the next 40 riders. When you sponsor a student, you’re not just supporting a two-day ride. You’re giving a young person the confidence to go further than anyone expected.
If their stories have moved you, we would love for you to be part of the next one. You can sponsor a rider, support the event, or get involved in our Side by Side 2026 by joining the challenge alongside our incredible young riders. Click here to learn more about the event.
Together, we can help the next Sok, Phearum or Sreylai take their first ride and their next big step towards a brighter future.
Our students during the Side By Side event