I looked at Vichetr and saw him smiling, anxious to move. It was only hours ago that I set foot in Cambodia, exhausted by the heat and morning flight; but this was why I came, and I could not pass this opportunity. Minutes later, I found myself back-strapped on his motorbike whipping through the wind.

Vichetr is the director of Sao Sary Foundation, a local Cambodian organization that is dedicated to achieving lasting improvements for children living in poverty. He spends his time roaming through the poorest villages, finding families to support and children to send to school. All of these families live under $1 a day; meaning, they are lucky enough to eat rice for that day, if at all.

“Where’s Sreyown?” Vichetr asked in Khmer as we parked our motorbike and stepped through muddy ground. Several people came out of their huts to greet us, smiling, and with praying hands raised in front followed by a slight bow. Moments later, a young girl of about twelve appeared and followed suit with this traditional South Asian greet.

Vichetr began to interview her in Khmer and then translated her story. He told me that her father died of AIDS eight years ago, and the HIV status of her mother is unknown. Because of her father’s death, their only source of income was cut, and they have no assets. Her aspiration is to graduate from medical school so that she can one day take care of her mother’s flailing health.

“It’s very common for the kids to want to be doctors. Many of them have a family member who’s ill but can’t afford healthcare”, Vichetr mentioned, “When they’re sick, they can’t work.”

“These families work hard but many times they’re exploited by loan sharks or simply lack the education and know-how to do anything about their situation. It’s a trap.”

“How do you help them?” I asked.

“What we want to do is to show them how to generate financially sustainable activities. We help them start a business, providing the necessary start-up capital, and then work with them to bring this business to profit. That way, we can self-empower the people to lift themselves out of poverty.”

Several days later I would visit a family who Vichetr helped start a sweet rice business. The startup capital was $100. The family now earns profits of $5 a day selling their sweet rice squares to the local market.

After we finished our interview with Sreyown, I refastened on Vichetr’s motorbike and we headed back down the long road that lead to the village.

Passing through the wind, I stared out at the open land filled with trees, mountains and rice fields, green and full of life. Alongside, kids splashed in pools formed by the afternoon rain while mothers nursed their babies in the comfort of shade. It’s hard to imagine that amongst such pristine land and laughter the hardships that many of them endure.   But indeed, people worked, and they worked hard. This was Cambodia at its rawest.  As we drove along, I was reminded of what Grameen Bank’s founder Muhammad Yunus said: “The poor themselves can create a poverty-free world… all we have to do is to free them from the chains that we have put around them.”

The question then is, what are those chains and what can we do about them?