Empowering Youth

A Community for Growth and Opportunity

Spean Chivit empowers Cambodian youth to grow, lead, and thrive.

Based in Siem Reap, we are a youth community centre where young people come together to learn, connect, study, and access opportunities. Our vibrant community space is at the heart of everything we do. It’s where we build relationships and establish trust. It is open and flexible and young people engage on their own terms, rather than through fixed enrolment.

Within this space, we create transformative opportunities for young people to build confidence, develop leadership, critical thinking, and practical life skills through experiential learning, mentoring, volunteering, and community engagement.

Cambodian girl wearing a black top sitting at a desk studying. The desk is multi-coloured. The background wall is white with a strip of coloured stripes running vertically behind her.

What we do

We Inspire

Encouraging young people to explore new ideas and possibilities.

We Empower

  • Building confidence, skills, and self-belief through real experiences.

    • We Connect

    Creating meaningful relationships and a sense of community and belonging.

    Create Opportunities

    Opening doors to learning, volunteering, and employment pathways.

    Nurture Leadership

    Supporting youth to take initiative, lead activities, and contribute to their community.

    Unlock Potential

    Helping young people discover what they are capable of achieving.

    Meet Spean Chivit's founder

     

    Suesdey! (Hi)

    I’m Sam. An avid, Aussie traveller, lover of animals – especially dogs – and a passionate storyteller.

    I came to Siem Reap in 2015 with the intention of staying a year – but life has a funny way of reinventing our plans, and changing the journey.

    Cambodia gave me the most unexpected of gifts – connection, a strong sense of community and a sense of purpose I’d not previously found.

    My background in journalism and photography led me to volunteer roles sharing the stories of people and organisations here. 

     

    Eventually I found myself working with young people. I was so inspired by their thirst for knowledge and determination to find a way out of poverty and I loved mentoring them.

    In the process I saw the huge gaps in their education, including life skills,  and the lack of resources they had access to. I could see how much a centre where they could meet, study, access internet and learn soft skills could make such a difference.

    We were set to open our doors just as Covid arrived. Our journey has been fraught with challenges. Siem Reap suffered immensely from the loss of tourism. Young people need our services now, more than ever.

    Spean Chivit founder, Sam Walker

    What young people say about us

    I was introduced to Sam, the founder of Spean Chivit and
    it was one of the greatest thing that happened to me. Life was really tough
    back then. There were many time I cried, I needed help. I went to Spean Chivit,
    I was helped. Part of my “successful business” started from there. Sam Walker    , I’m proud to call as friend, always gave me advise how to make my business to match the standard,
    how to promote it and so much more. Apart from the business advises, I was introduce to creative writing, budget planning, create profession CV and was encourage
    to read more books. So Sam, the founder of Spean Chivit has great impact in my life and I believe that this centre can do so much to help youths like me.  Thank you so much. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to learn.     

    Chantheoun, entrepreneur

    A young Cambodian woman with bright pink hair is wearing a black top and dark pants. She's sitting in a chair and smiling. There are trees in the background.
    In order to create a thriving community, young adults have to take action because they are the future leaders and change makers. In a country that needs a well-rounded education, an increase in employment rate and a stronger network of people, Spean Chivit is just the perfect opportunity young people need in order to move in a positive direction.
    Kimheat
    Grade 12 student
    Three young Cambodian women hanging out, playing board games and reading
    To me, Spean Chivit is a very good place as we are able to openly express our opinions as well as meet new people and make friends. The discussions are open to anyone and it gives us a chance to share our perspectives or experiences regarding the social issues we discuss. Spean Chivit provides a safe, respectful community where anyone is welcomed.
    Alisa
    Grade 12 student