Charity work in Siem Reap.

Despite the millions of tourists visiting Angkor each year, Siem Reap province is the poorest in Cambodia. Most of the tourist money ends up in the pockets of international businesses running hotels and restaurants, and the profits from the expensive tickets to Angkor temple area flow into a big company, out of which perhaps only a small fraction goes to renovation work.

Most of the local people live very modestly and eke out a living where they can. A lot of the children sell postcards, drinks, books and trinkets on the streets of Siem Reap and outside the temples in Angkor. It is really difficult not to buy as they are very persuasive, but you still know that any money you give to them will keep them on the streets where they have a bleak future and not in school improving their prospects.

The schools are free everywhere in Cambodia, but the school uniforms and other materials needed require a big sum of money from the families (about 55USD each year). Also, as the schooling is not compulsory, many parents take their kids out of school around the age of ten to work, either on the fields or on the streets.

Example of local housing in Siem Reap. (c) Boyfriend.

We had the pleasure of learning of the important work that charities do in the region first hand, when an acquaintance from Penang introduced us to the president of Education for Population Support (EPS). EPS is a small, local organisation encouraging children to stay in school. They support children to stay in school from age of ten (when they tend to drop out) until the beginning of high school, stage where they tend to be motivated themselves to finish their studies.

In order to achieve this, EPS takes two complementary approaches. Firstly, they provide the school materials to the children of some of the very poorest families, reducing the costs to the family involved in schooling the child. Secondly, they support these poor families by giving agricultural training and materials. We spent a day with the president of EPS, and his insights into how to help people in a sustainable fashion and get them help themselves and each other were inspiring. I really hope his and EPS's work will bear fruit!