2025 was a year we empowered youth, supported education, uplifted families and amplified our collective reach across rural Cambodia and as far as Myanmar. Jessica Palti and Aviv Palti from the Rotary Passport Club of Melbourne shared some our collaborative impact and we heard from our sponsored student, Sreypich.
Aviv Palti is the CEO of Lifestyle Brands, a homewares company he co-founded 40 years ago. In 2011, along with his family, Aviv founded the Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST), a non-government organisation based in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Built on the three pillars of Education, Empowerment and Inspiration, CRST has sustainably broken countless cycles of poverty, and continues to create a far-reaching ripple effect impacting thousands of lives.
Founded by Australian businessman Aviv Palti and his family, the Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST) is a unique non-government organisation entirely led and managed by its students. Through formal education, extensive mentoring and the opportunities to gain hands-on practical life skills, the students of CRST support and inspire over 20,000 rural students in Cambodia every year, becoming role models for the next generation!
Aviv has just released a book, Empowered, which is the story of CRST and how 100 university students lead and manage a world-class organization. The book highlights their work on projects that address critical issues such as women’s empowerment, energy poverty, social inequality, and environmental degradation, impacting thousands of lives each year. It also gives voice to the inspiring journey of rural youths in Cambodia who, over eight years, lifted themselves and their families from poverty to the middle class. From the rice fields to world-class organizations, from fishing boats to boardrooms, these young leaders have transformed their futures and those of their communities.
