- by Varun Naidu, BZSE Year 1 Student

From 12 to 16 December 2010, 43 BZSE Year 1 students, together with 4 of our lecturers, went on a 5 day study trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. During this trip, we were expected to do some field work for our research assignment, which was an integrated project for three different modules.

We spent one night @The Loft before departing for Cambodia, which was a different experience for us. We bonded through games and activities, even before leaving Singapore, and felt much more prepared for our project. Some of us were still worried about how we would cope in a different environment, while others were looking forward with excitement, for what was to come.

To conduct our research project, we had to interview families in 2 villages in Siem Reap, and we had the chance to visit their homes. While doing so, we learnt that what they lived on is not very much, and educational opportunities for them are very limited. However, they made the best out of what they had.

This was so powerfully demonstrated by what we saw when we spent the day at an orphanage. We prepared very simple sandwiches for the children, but our small gift to them was received with so much appreciation and gratitude, that it was humbling for us.  

We also visited Angkor Wat and other historical temples in Cambodia, and learned more about the history of Cambodia when it was powerful. It was amazing how a once superpower, is now a country grappling with the issue of poverty. We also spent our days visiting many Social Enterprises, but from different varieties. We visited organisations like Common Grounds, Artisans d’ Angkor, Sala Bai and more. We studied the different business models used they were using, asked the management team some questions and also found out which groups of people they were helping, and why they were helping them.

All in all, the trip was a truly enjoyable and enriching one. This trip took us out of our comfort zones, as we were exposed to life in poverty-stricken parts of Cambodia . By the time we left, our heads were filled with ideas to help alleviate the problem of poverty in the villages we visited. Cambodia will definitely see more of BZSE in the near future!