by James Ruggia
Last updated: 9:50 AM ET, Tue March 18, 2014
PHOTO: About 30 inner city kids from the U.S. helped out in some Cambodian villages in a program run by Khiri Travel. (Courtesy of Khiri Travel)
For the second year in a row, Southeast Asian inbound operator Khiri Travel has worked with Global Explorers (GEx) to bring a group of young Americans to Asia so that they could pitch in with some constructive hands-on activities in a Cambodian village. In June, Khiri brought over 30 high school students, six teachers and three GEx staff to Cambodia for more than 20 days of interactions with Cambodian people, learning about Khmer history and culture, conservation, farming, and cooking in their villages and farms.
"The kids come from some very challenging inner city communities in the States," said Willem Neimeijer, the CEO of Khiri Travel speaking at ITB in Berlin. "It's amazing how the kids all fall in together and become friends. It's a great program for the Cambodians and the Americans."
It was all part of the American Youth Leadership Program, a cultural exchange initiative run by Global Explorers and funded by the U.S. State Department to provide life enhancing cross-cultural exchange for American high school students and educators from a diverse background. For two years, Khiri Travel has organized the on-the-ground activities in Cambodia. This year, the activities addressed themes such as leadership, service, cultural exchange, and responsible tourism.
Khiri organized trips to Chi Phat (an ecotourism village in the Cardamom Mountains), the Sambor Prei Kuk homestay community project in central Cambodia, Siem Reap, Tonle Sap, and the temples of Angkor. Khiri Cambodia was heavily involved in arranging the hands-on and interactive elements at each location.
"Students enjoyed their homestay a lot," said Linda Oum, deputy manager, Khiri Travel Cambodia. "They ate traditional food made by local people. The American students had the opportunity to learn how to do rice farming with Khmer farmers. They enjoyed planting trees at the school. Our students taught the Cambodian students some English, and the local students taught us some Khmer."
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