Cambodia has much poverty and huge environmental challenges. But it also has highly engaged young people that want to put their efforts into the sustainable development of their country. Chikara Cambodia’s mission is to support that sustainable future. Education and awareness raising are essential in this.
It is not that long ago that the Khmer Rouge was active in Cambodia. Under their rule in the 1970s, about 25% of the population died. This included a large proportion of the highly educated population as they were not seen as fitting in the desired agricultural society. The country was plunged into poverty.
This explains why almost half the population today is below 25 years of age and why the country severely lags behind in terms of education. Unfortunately, poverty is making it hard to catch up in terms of education. Many young people need to get jobs quickly and do not have the money to study and develop their talents.
Chikara Cambodia wants to help make the country stronger and more sustainable. We believe that education for young people is needed for this. Not only does a study help young people earn more money for their communities, but it also enables them to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to address the challenges facing the country.
This is why we give study grants to disadvantaged talented young Cambodians. We also give courses and counselling on the environment, English and professional skills. This helps them develop into the leaders of tomorrow.
Anyone wishing to fight poverty should also take the environment into account. If not, the country will be worse off in the long term. This is why Chikara Cambodia and its young people concentrate on one of the country’s major environmental problems: the enormous amount of plastic waste on the street and in nature.
Many people in the country don’t realise how harmful this waste is. Raising awareness is thus an important part of our mission. In doing so, we concentrate on the communities in the Siem Reap region. The Chikara young people give environmental workshops at school there, encourage the children to collect the plastic waste and teach them about hygiene. We also offer the schools a learning method about environmental education which they can embed in their teaching programme.
Since 2019 Chikara Cambodia has given 20 young people a grant. Seven of them have now earned their diplomas.
At the end of 2025, our young people had given 40 workshops to primary schools in Siem Reap. The workshops were about the environment, hygiene and plastic waste.
Chikara Cambodia collects thousands of plastic bottles every year. These bottles would otherwise end up in Cambodia’s landscape.
Read how you can join Chikara Cambodia as a partner, volunteer or donor.
