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How we Decided

“To truly see, one must first open their heart, and the eyes will follow.”

Eleni & Thomas

New World Unfolded

Before September 2022, Cambodia was a faraway country on the other side of the Earth for us. Our knowledge was limited to books and documentaries, with no current news or status updates available. Events in that country were largely unknown to us. However, in September 2022, the gate opened. A new world unfolded before us, as if we had passed through a wormhole, arriving on the other side. Our initial feeling was a stark realisation of the situation in Cambodia, especially for children. The dire living and teaching conditions in many communities and villages we encountered were reminiscent of scenes from films. But this was not a movie; it was a harsh reality unfolding before our eyes. Children living amidst rubbish, families enduring extreme poverty, water being a luxury, and food scarcity on an epic scale.

The state of schools and teaching conditions often reminded us of war zones, despite the prevailing peace in Cambodia. We found ourselves wondering how the Western World could not solve these problems, why did it refuse to support these children, or provided minor support to problem? We learned that at least 65% (two out of three) of children abandon their studies at the secondary school level and either work in rice fields or lead a life of perpetual poverty (as per reports from the World Bank, Ministry of Education in Cambodia, and Youth Employment-Ministry of Labour Cambodia).

It was clear that these children needed something more than material aid and basic needs coverage; they needed education to change their future.

Only with education and knowledge can they heal the deep wounds caused by the Cambodian genocide and Cambodian Civil War where millions of people were executed or died. Even a short visit to Cambodia, like the one we undertook, reveals how deep these wounds run in such a profound way. It took just a moment and a single glance for us to decide to support these children. We both felt a huge responsibility not merely to walk away, but to effect profound change for them. Hence, together, Eleni and I created our heartfelt project, ‘The Reaching Out Project’, with the aim and mission of supporting and helping impoverished children and communities in Cambodia by providing more opportunities for knowledge and education in a sustainable manner.

We are in a Mission

  • We are on a mission to reverse the extremely high dropout rate of children from secondary school, which leads them to permanent poverty or jobs that entail unskilled labour from an early age.
  • We are on a mission to provide these impoverished children with everything they need to attend school daily.
  • We are on a mission to support local communities and provide vulnerable children with all possible resources required to ensure they stay on in school.
  • We are on a mission to support schools in providing quality education.
  • We are on a mission to improve conditions in schools and communities through infrastructure work.
  • We are on a mission to build and repair schools to be child-friendly.
  • We are on a mission to continuously support children, schools, and communities through various programs and actions.
  • We are on a mission to provide clean water and sanitation to children, communities, and schools, and to stop the phenomenon of children living and sleeping amidst rubbish.
  • We are on a mission to provide gender equality and create a safe and secure environment for all children, free from violence.
  • We are on a mission to support and protect children’s mental health at all times.
  • We are on a mission to make the ELQ Initiative and The Reaching Out Project a beacon of reference for all of us, and a pilot for supporting more schools in Cambodia, other Southeast Asian countries, and Africa.

The pictures and our realisation

During our trip in September 2022, we visited impoverished communities and schools. We were struck by the extent of the poverty and the vulnerability of the children. We walked around, engaging in discussions with locals, and absorbed any information related to their lives and the children’s educational progress.

The experience left us totally speechless. We witnessed the accumulation of rubbish and the use of polluted river water for cleaning, bathing, and drinking, and even as a toilet. The magnitude of the experience that was taking place in front of our eyes left us in a state of shock.

Our decision to create The Reaching Out Project was perhaps a response to standing still in front of these people living in extreme poverty. Especially the children, who were surrounded by rubbish and filth. Children and families were sharing their living space with trash, with limited sanitation and unsuitable drinking water. Imagine yourselves being in a place that you chose to visit like we did, and when you discover nothing but suffering and abhorrent living conditions, you are rendered silent. Time seemed to stop for us. Despite all the technology, development, and wealth in so many countries and among individuals, we still have billions of people living in conditions of extreme poverty.

Children are growing up without their basic needs being met, in violent, unsafe, insecure environments. What has all this progress for humanity been for? In our eyes, what we saw was as if the clock of human civilisation had been stopped, as if these people were forgotten, living in another world, incomparable to anything else. Add to this astonishing picture the thousands of children smiling despite their living conditions and lack of educational opportunities. It makes you wonder what is wrong with Western society and if has made enough for these children. Wondering is only one side of the coin; the reality stung us like thousands of bees. The smell of suffering and sickness was everywhere around us.

What They refer to as Home

We requested to visit a community near the lake and the primary school of Wat Sdei in Siem Reap District to see both life in school and life in the village.

We discussed matters with teachers and the principal, and visited many houses. What they refer to as home are nothing more than aluminum tin huts, with damaged pieces of timber pieces used as improvised floors, offering scant protection against water and mud. Inside these “homes”, we felt an unprecedented sense of welcome. With dignity and kindness, they offered us their food – a bowl or two of sticky rice, which was the day’s sustenance for an entire family. We turned to our guide, who was assisting us with translation from Khmer, and gently declined the offer.

“If we alter the life trajectory of these children by just two degrees, they will end up at a completely different port A better and more fruitful one. We are already shaping the history that we all make together”
Despite our refusal, they insisted that we should partake in the meal as we were their guests, and it would be an honour for them to share their food with us. In their own words, they told us that “Thousands of tourists have visited these places from time to time, but they just pass through. Those few that stop a little longer may give a pen that they have in their pockets, or a banana, or a small piece of chocolate. If the children are really lucky, they might receive one or two dollars at most.” These people watch tourists from the Western world passing through their communities and expect nothing. For many years, nothing significant has happened to improve their lives or the lives of their children. Despite expecting nothing, they haven’t lost their kindness and dignity.

Questions

During our visit, Eleni tried to keep standing and walking, but it was so difficult.

Most of the time, she held onto my arm, not out of fear, but because she couldn’t believe what we were witnessing. Our minds automatically processed what solutions would be best for these people. As these scenes unfolded, not a single word was exchanged between us. It was as if we had lost our senses. We quickly realised that we couldn’t help them in a conventional way, given that Western living conditions are so different from those in Cambodia. Our guide tried hard to explain to us the living conditions and the daily lives of families and children. So, what kind of help would be useful to them? This question sounds inside our minds all day during the trip: how we can help these families and children? As we were thinking of solutions to one problem, another arose in front of us, halting our thought process. It was like a spider’s multilevel web, like the mythological Hydra’s head. The tour lasted all day, taking in both schools and communities. We met and discussed with hundreds of people, including teachers in schools. We gathered so much information, but most of all, so many images of impoverished living and educational conditions that occupied our minds.

We recall seeing children fall onto the road, getting covered with mud and filth, and getting up with smiles on their faces as if nothing had happened. We observed children drinking water from the dirty, muddy river, where one child was bathing while another was doing his chores.

All these activities were happening in one spot. Some children were sleeping beside piles of garbage, and others were scavenging for anything edible they could find there. Why? Why? That moment encapsulated our emotions, including a profound sense of anger. The enormity of the situation rendered us speechless, and we continued the tour in a state of silent fury.

The moment

As dawn approached, we took a wooden boat to visit the lake and all the boathouses floating on it. The scene was a mirror image of what we had witnessed earlier – the same living conditions, with all the boathouses floating on the polluted water. The scale of it seemed endless. I attempted to estimate the population living in these conditions, but even our guide couldn’t provide an answer. We were on the verge of despair. We continued our tour of the lake in silence. We made a stop at a lake house to talk with the locals. Inside one of the floating houses, we found a table on a wooden deck. The silence that had previously enveloped us gave way to a dialogue about how all of this could be changed. However, a clear solution was not immediately apparent.

What we see

We embarked on the boat again venturing further outside the floating village and deeper into the lake, into the middle of nowhere. Suddenly, we realised where we were on the map of the world. moved deeper into the middle of the lake. We were almost 10,000 km away from our home, a place where our only knowledge about Cambodia’s history, culture, and people had come through books. Until now. We bore witness to the scars of the civil war and the genocide conducted by the Khmer Rouge. Even 45 years later, the wounds are still open and painful. It is as if a generation has been lost. Since then, no peace has been found, only poverty. Relentless, grinding poverty.

All these thoughts crossed our minds as we moved deeper into the middle of the lake. We found a spot on the bow deck, as if seeking a different reality then, without even asking each other we locked our eyes and we decided to change this reality. To make a change to support these children, their families, and their schools as the only pathway to fight poverty for a better future for them. Only through education and relying on the knowledge of these children could change come about.

What children see

And so, The Reaching Out Project began. With a feeling of confidence and our determination to make this world a better place for all, The Reaching Out Project was born and has been driving us towards the future ever since. The Reaching Our Project is here, it is all of you, all of us, everywhere there is a need for support and education. In less than a year, we successfully supported our first school and its 353 children, covering all of their expenses and creating a new pathway for them with better education and better conditions. We created a child-friendly school and a supportive community to encourage children to attend and remain in school. Soriya, Phally, Srey Nich and Vy Kevin are among the children we pledged to help, along with all 353 students of this school.

Take off

Our support extends from primary school and continues through secondary school and beyond. We aim to build strong, authentic bonds with the children, helping them grow stronger each day. At present, we support five schools and over a thousand children. developments on the horizon, and the decision to embark on this journey was made on a boat.

The impact on their lives is already significant. bicycles, notebooks, pencils, sports equipment, desks, mental health programs, and our shoulder-to-shoulder approach with communities have brought about transformative changes in their lives. With the backing of our friends in Europe, Canada, and Cambodia, we have turned this initiative into reality. We’re just getting started; The Reaching Out Project has already taken off, and we undoubtedly bring immense joy already to thousands of children. We invite you to join us on this heartfelt project. You are all welcome to participate in our programs and actions now and in the future. Our goal is to provide more opportunities for education and sustainable growth in impoverished communities and to form part of a larger, global community. We are broadening our reach to more schools and communities in Cambodia, Laos, and other poor countries, including those in Africa.