Siem Reap’s temple complex attracts more than two million tourists each year, a sprawling Cambodian province with one of the country’s highest poverty rates. But how can young people break their cycle of poverty? The non-profit Cambodia Rural Student Trust is stepping up to help
The city of Siem Reap is a patchwork quilt of neighborhoods stitched together by irregular swaths of Cambodian jungle. There’s Wat Bo, the thriving expat hub; downtown Pub Street where travelers gather for cheap beer and dancing; and ancient The temple complex of Angkor WatThe city’s biggest tourist drawcard. But drive just 10 minutes from the city center, and socioeconomic inequality is stark.
In Siem Reap Province, 26 percent of residents lives below the national poverty line—one of the highest rates in the nation. Entire families share the aluminum trade without access to clean water, quality education, or opportunities to improve their situation. Fortunately, the city of Siem Reap serves as headquarters for dozens of NGOs that do everything from providing health care to clearing landmines left over from both the Vietnam War and the Cambodian civil war, which spanned the late 1960s to early 1990s.
Across the river from the city center, one such NGO is housed in a renovated guesthouse near the Wat Po Lanka Buddhist pagoda. D Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST) was established to help youth break the cycle of poverty through education. What sets CRST apart is its structure—the organization is entirely student-led and run.
“We never intended to go to Cambodia,” she says. And the family didn’t, instead handing over the CRST reins to their sponsored students. In exchange for scholarship support, health care, life-skills training, and a monthly stipend, students use their training and education to run CRST as volunteers within the organization. The roles are chosen by the student-led senior leadership team, whether team members or managers, and the roles are rotated twice a year for further experience. This exemplifies CRST’s ethos: it’s a hand up, not a hand out.
Palti and his father, Aviv Palti, mentor students from afar and visit Cambodia several times a year. “Students are learning skills and then mentoring and helping each other build that foundation so that when they graduate, they can go and get great jobs,” Polti said.
Much of Cambodia’s current cycle of poverty has returned Khmer Rouge Genocide In the 1970s, an estimated three million people were murdered. Those considered ‘intellectuals’ were especially targeted by the rulers. Polti said, “An entire generation of educated people has been lost.
Since its establishment, CRST has sponsored over 180 students to attend the best private high schools and/or universities in Siem Reap. Several former students, like Doeb Six, have returned to run organizations or offer classes and workshops. Chaya was among the 22 students in CRST’s inaugural cohort. “My experience with CRST has been truly life-changing,” says Chai, who will graduate in 2019. “I joined CRST as a rural student who never imagined studying beyond high school.”
Now, he is the executive director of CRST and is in the process of earning a master’s degree in law. Her five-year-old son studies English at a local private school.
Then there is CRST volunteering The experience offers visitors a tour of the NGO’s campus before they lend a hand with a project, helping distribute monthly packages to one of the 25 local families that CRST supports, packing hygiene kits, planting trees, or fixing bicycles.
“It’s not just volunteering, it’s spending time with rural Cambodian youth,” Polti says. “It’s a human connection you don’t get otherwise (while traveling).”
CRST also partners with Intrepid Travel’s charity, The Intrepid Foundation which supports CRST in its fundraising efforts, providing unreserved grants that are entirely at the organization’s discretion. This means CRST can choose to use the funds for anything from building primary school classrooms in rural areas to distributing bicycles to rural students.
“That freedom to choose and be able to choose how we use that money is having a huge impact,” Polti said. “We can just focus on projects.” After receiving an impact grant from The Intrepid Foundation in 2024, CRST was able to install 36 solar panels to power their campus and reduce their environmental footprint.
A recent challenge for the Siem Reap community is territorial borders Conflict between Thailand and CambodiaThat escalated in July last year when long-standing competing claims over border temples led to armed clashes This has had a tremendous impact, slowing tourism and displacing thousands of people, many of whom have sought refuge in Siem Reap.
To help, CRST is running humanitarian missions, distributing essential items and solar lights to those in need. “It’s been challenging for the team because they have family members (affected) and there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Polti shared. “We’re doing what we can at the grassroots level to really reach the people who need it the most.”
Apart from helping the victims of the conflict, CRST has more on its horizon. One project includes renovating the third floor of their campus, which is currently an open terrace, to create a learning center with a classroom for 80 students. Polti envisions the space used to host rural students for empowerment workshops.
At a recent CRST alumni event in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, the fruits of the organization’s efforts were celebrated Some alumni have climbed the ladder to roles in local and international NGOs and even the Cambodian government.
“To see all these young students who have been with us for so many years and see where they are now … I don’t think they can believe it. And it’s pretty incredible for us as well,” Polti said. And Ash agrees: “Over the years, we’ve seen tremendous changes,” he says. “CRST transformed me from someone who received support, to someone who can now create the same impact for others.”
You can support CRST’s work by doing so The Intrepid Foundation.