This Is Ours: Cambodia

As many will know Cambodia has a troubled past, and the turmoil of the 20th century still bubbles beneath the surface of modern life. The young people of Cambodia, however, are vibrant, intelligent, and full of potential, ready and eager to forge a better, more positive future for themselves and their communities. They have stories to tell and insights to share, and I was humbled and thrilled to be part of a project that would give their voices a global platform.

For the Cambodian incarnation of This Is Ours we worked with two rather different groups of young people, who together represent Cambodia’s north-west region. The adventure began with a lively group of students from NGO PEPY Empowering Youth in Siem Reap, famous as the home of the magnificent Angkor Temples. While currently based in Siem Reap city as they pursue higher education, training, and employment opportunities, all of the PEPY students originate from rural areas often described as ‘deprived’. Certainly these students grew up with limited access to varied educational and enrichment opportunities, but through their reflective work quickly – and proudly – revealed these corners of Cambodia to be blessed with a deep understanding of and harmonious relationship with the natural world, as well as being rich in both cultural heritage and loving communities.

Generally the PEPY students experienced little in the way of arts education throughout their formative years, and some initially professed skepticism at their own abilities. With determination and an inspiring ability to cheer each other on, however, we ended the week with a room full of illustrators, photographers, poets, and storytellers. The students’ enthusiasm and sense of fun was infectious, and while they worked tenaciously on their projects there was also plenty of time for games, singing, and laughter. Yet most impressive to me was their curiosity, and eagerness to deepen their understanding of their own culture and community so as to share it with the world. These students worked incredibly hard, and we all ended the week feeling tired but oh so happy.

From Siem Reap we headed west to Battambang by way of a rural homestay, which itself was a masterclass in Khmer hospitality and the beauty of the Cambodian countryside. Battambang is known throughout Cambodia as the home of the arts, having produced many of the country’s most beloved singers, musicians, actors, and artists. It seemed fitting then to partner with Phare Ponleu Selpak (‘The Brightness of the Arts’), an NGO arts school ‘offering support to children, youth, and communities through artistic, educational, social, and community’ programs. 

Though a similar age to the PEPY students, our friends at Phare couldn’t have been more different! These were students training intensely in artistic programs – from graphic design and fine art through to music and performance – but a little more hesitant of the project in front of them. The Battambang portion of the program was, however, largely delivered by our Khmer facilitator dream-team of Yut and Untac, allowing us to build a rapport with the students and support them in taking charge of the direction of their own work. As educators and facilitators this gave us a valuable opportunity to reflect on the importance of not just linguistic but also cultural competency in such work, and we learned as much from these students – along with the PEPY students – as they may have learned from us.

Being the second group of students contributing to the Cambodia This Is Ours book, the students at Phare were diligent in their commitment to broaden the book’s scope rather than repeating chapters already covered by their predecessors at PEPY. The Phare students truly blew us away with their thoughtful, conceptual ideas, and unprompted they purposely chose to delve into subject matters that would ensure the end result was a rich and well-rounded depiction of their home country and communities. I hope you’ll agree that through their hard work and beautiful creative outputs, they more than succeeded in this ambition.

While the week with PEPY saw the students explore their creative abilities, at Phare we saw students hone their skills of planning, research, and teamwork. I am confident in saying that every young person that was part of the creation of this book ended their week with new skills and confidence, and for me this ability to create an environment where a young person can discover their own knowledge and capabilities alone makes the This is Ours program invaluable.

While I am undoubtedly biased, I cannot help but think it isn’t a coincidence that this book is the largest of the This Is Ours collection so far. When I leaf through it I am reminded of the pride, energy, and love the young people at both PEPY and Phare poured into these pages, as well as all that Cambodia – a ‘small but spicy’ Kingdom at the heart of Southeast Asia – has to teach and share with the world. I am so grateful to have played a small part in the creation of this book, and hope that all who read it feel the warmth of the Cambodian sun.

 —Sarah Brown
Ayana Journeys

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We are honored to have worked with Ayana Journeys in the creation of this new volume in the This Is Ours workshop and book series. For more information about our partnership, please click here.