Following the inspirational presentation by Aviv Palti, the board voted to support a student with their education. The student is a member of Cambodia Rural Students Trust, and is are also members of the Rotaract Club of Siem Reap. 
Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST) By giving people a hand up rather than a hand out, they currently sponsor 105 bright students from poor, rural families, to study at the best high school and university in Siem Reap, and empower them to become Cambodia's future leaders. The NGO is managed on the ground in Cambodia by senior students, who are mentored in managing the organisation as well as the 6 social enterprise Projects which address a variety of community and social needs. 100% of all donations are used for education, mentoring and community projects.The Rotaract Club of Siem Reap was chartered in August 2022 with 54 CRST students as charter members. The club has an independent Board and has plans to recruit non-CRST members by inviting their university friends to join volunteer activities and introducing them to the Rotary organisation.
The Rotaract Club of Siem Reap members already have extensive knowledge of community needs assessment processes, project planning, delivery and reporting. Current and future projects will continue to be supported by CRST, Rotary Clubs and Rotarians, led by these leaders of social change in Cambodia.
The Rotaract Club of Siem Reap members already have extensive knowledge of community needs assessment processes, project planning, delivery and reporting. Current and future projects will continue to be supported by CRST, Rotary Clubs and Rotarians, led by these leaders of social change in Cambodia.
You will find the introduction letter from the student Port Phillip Rotary are sponsoring, so very heartwarming and heart wrenching simultaneously. It certainly underpins this years theme CREATE HOPE IN THE WORLD. We welcome Sreypich with open arms and open hearts.
Hello, Sue and members of the Rotary Club of Port Phillip,
I believe that everything is going well with you today!
My name is Sreypich, and I am writing this email to introduce my background information to you. Firstly, I would like to express my feelings. I was excited when I heard that I would be sponsored by the Rotary Club of Port Phillip. I never thought that I would be one out of hundreds to be sponsored by you because our NGO has a lot of students but you gave me a great opportunity. Being at the university is something that I have never thought of to be possible, yet your sponsorship turns it positively. I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me to develop myself, and I am looking forward to learning countless lessons from you.
Again my name is Sreypich, I was born and grew up in Battambang province which is located next to the Cambodia-Thai border and it is far away from Siem Reap. I lived in a family with parents and two other younger brothers in a small village that is located far away from the city. My family's condition is not that good, which caused my parents to move and work in Thailand for little income to support the family, and during this time, I spent more time living with my grandparents than my parents. Living in a small village where education was not valued, I was encouraged to drop out of school, get married, and follow in my parents' footsteps I needed to move out from my home country for work; however, I had a different mindset that was willing to make my life a better version by education. To earn extra support in addition to my parents, I had to wake up early in the morning during my school break or holiday to make Khmer cake and sell it around the village with my grandmother. It is very challenging for her as an elderly woman, and this is always the main reason that keeps me motivated to work harder on my education while my parents are also working so hard to support my two other brothers studying and daily expenses. I was a student who loved sharing my knowledge and time to contribute back to my community. I hosted a study club to help my friends and spend more time doing community service work just as I am doing with CRST. I was also the one who was knowledgeable of women's health education and I did also work on this to my community.
Starting from 2022 when I joined CRST, my way of thinking was changed, I am being given a golden opportunity with the best education standards in the best university to develop my knowledge and skills, and CRST also provides me with extra classes such as English classes, and computer class which are helpful for my study work and the future career. I am now a freshman at the university, and I believe that I will gain more knowledge from school, teachers, and classes. Out of the knowledge from school, I am also getting the opportunity of experience from CRST as a Finance Department team member. Besides my studies and work, I am also involved in other projects which you may be aware of, Project T – Trees for Life, Project G – Empowering Girls, Project B – Bicycles for Education, Project L – Light for Education, Family Support program, and Community Service activities.
To be more involved with community projects, I have the opportunity to be a member of the Rotaract Club of Siem Reap. I joined the club in 2023 when was inspired by our senior students. The reason I joined the club was because I wanted to help the community through my volunteering and I wanted to get more new experiences. I think this is an opportunity to learn more from other Rotaractors and Rotary. When I became a member of the club, I also got the opportunity to be involved with many activities like fundraising and community service and now I’m working with the team on our new project called Village Street Library. I love this activity because I learned so much about it and I gained new knowledge. On the other hand, I also have the opportunity to study at the Rotary International Learning Center and I have learned a lot from that website. I also want to know more about your club because I think this is an opportunity for me to get a better understanding of Rotary International one more thing could you tell me more about your club? And what are the programs in your club?
Finally, I would like to say thank you so much for sponsoring and listening to my story. You have given me the best future and the best education. Without a sponsor, I may face many difficult things in my life and maybe I don't have this day. You have made my life and changed many things. Through CRST, RCASR, and your support, I will try my best to develop myself, and help back my family, and society.
That's all for my background information, I am looking forward to hearing from you. Can you perhaps share a little about you and your club with me? I would love to know more about you and maybe send me some photos of your club.
Best regard
Sreypich
Sreypich Chan Active Team Member Rotaract Club of Siem Reap |