The Origins of Empowering Youth in Cambodia
A Story of Showing Up, Listening & Trusting Youth
Empowering Youth in Cambodia did not begin with a strategic plan or a long-term vision. It began with one person asking a simple question: “What am I doing with my life?”
AN UNPLANNED VISIT:
In the mid-2000s, Drew McDowell was working in the U.S. and feeling deeply disconnected from purpose. In 2005, he quit his job and set off on a five-week trip to Vietnam, his first visit to Asia.
Cambodia was not part of the plan.
A storm and a sore throat cut his trip to Vietnam short, sending him to southern Thailand to recover. To catch his return flight, Drew needed to travel overland through Cambodia, a detour he initially dreaded after hearing stories of poverty and children begging there.
On his first night in Cambodia, Drew stayed in his hotel room, avoiding what lay beyond. But on the second night, something shifted. He ventured out and experienced what he later described as “a really magical night,” discovering the warmth of the Cambodian people and finding himself unexpectedly embracing the realities of Cambodia rather than fearing them.
THE WHITE BUILDING:
On his final day in Cambodia, after visiting the killing fields, a tuk-tuk driver took Drew to an orphanage in a slum community next to Phnom Penh’s White Building. The visit deeply affected him.
When Drew returned to the U.S., he put his belongings in storage, raised some money, and returned to Cambodia. He didn’t have a clear plan, only a desire to stay longer and be useful.
THE $130 DECISION:
Back in the same slum community, Drew was taken to a one-room schoolhouse next to the White Building that was about to close. For $130, he bought ten desks, lights, and a whiteboard. He later described the moment simply: “I don’t know what’s going on with this place, but let’s just keep something going.”
He decided to stay for six months and took over the rent. Although it wasn’t seen as a defining moment at the time, this decision ultimately sparked the creation of Empowering Youth in Cambodia, allowing its first school, Aziza, to take root in the community in 2006.
HARSH CONDITIONS, REAL HOPE:
Aziza operated in extraordinarily difficult conditions. The tin roof shack was open to the elements. Rats ran across the whiteboard during class. Students were sometimes bitten. Garbage thrown from the building piled up five feet high outside.
And yet, Drew remembers the students as “the happiest people I knew.” Not because life was easy—but because they had hope. The hope that came with learning. The hope that education promised something different.
During the day, young children crowded three to four to a desk. In the evenings, high school and university students came after school or work. By the end of the first year, nearly 100 students were enrolled, and the school ran six to nine classes a day to supplement what students were learning in public schools.
SOKCHEA AND THE BIRTH OF YOUTH LEADERSHIP:
One of the most pivotal moments in EYC’s story happened through an impromptu conversation on a street corner.
Drew met Sokchea, an English teacher at a nearby private school. Drew mentioned the small school in the slum and asked if he might want to teach there. Sokchea said yes—within seconds—and quit his job to join full-time.
What Drew didn’t know then was that Sokchea was trained as a leadership teacher. From the beginning, he didn’t just teach English. He helped students see themselves as leaders, capable of shaping their own lives and their community. Youth leadership wasn’t added later; it was woven into EYC’s DNA from the start.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF SCHOOL:
EYC never operated like a typical NGO.
Drew didn’t have keys to Aziza. Parents did. If someone needed access, they asked a neighbor. Parents received small stipends to clean, but they were far more than cleaners—they were caretakers, security, and guardians of the school.
One parent lived next door and knew everyone who came and went. The community had real power. If they didn’t trust what was happening, the school would not have continued. Community involvement and shared ownership weren’t ideal—they were an operational reality.
GROWTH LED BY YOUTH:
From the beginning, students were not passive recipients of services — they were active builders of what Empowering Youth in Cambodia would become. The first generation of students laid the foundation for everything that followed.
As Drew explains, these were not the “at-risk” kids people often imagine. “They were the do-gooder kids” — motivated, thoughtful young people seeking ways to build lives beyond the poverty, violence, and instability around them.
Through Sokchea’s leadership training, student team leaders emerged and grew into what Drew described as “a competent force to be reckoned with.” When they were ready, he gave them a simple assignment: start another school.
That school became Lakeside.
Growth unfolded organically, without rigid plans. Drew’s philosophy was simple: “If the youth just had a place to go, they’ll figure something out.” They did. Youth leaders from Lakeside went on to find another community, leading to Youth School. Later came EYC’s fourth and final school, Impact.
College students lived in the schools, serving as volunteer teachers, cleaners, librarians, and security. Drew worked largely behind the scenes, providing resources, while the youth and Sokchea drove the programs forward. When a computer lab opened at Aziza, Drew bought the computers, and the youth set them up, ran them, and became the volunteer teachers themselves.
OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND THE CLASSROOM:
Partnerships were essential from the early days, yet EYC didn’t actively seek them out. Instead, organizations with ideas and resources found EYC, often because EYC already had what partners needed: an active and engaged youth audience, community trust, and infrastructure.
Dental care grew from a local dentist to a partnership with a dental university. Weekly medical clinics emerged, supported by international organizations. Opportunities expanded to sports, photography, videography, and health education. Partners brought programs; EYC provided the people and the place.
Job placement arose in a similar fashion. In order to help students stay in school, Drew connected them with English-speaking jobs that paid more than factory work, required fewer hours, and offered safer conditions. By late high school, many EYC students had higher incomes than their parents.
MORE THAN ENGLISH:
English was the foundation—but EYC always offered more.
It gave students exposure to “another world”: new ideas, critical thinking, and a modern economy. Many students had rural roots or limited exposure beyond their communities. EYC became a bridge, helping students grow into young adults who, in Drew’s words, were “a head above” their peers in maturity, confidence, and practical wisdom.
A LEGACY THAT CONTINUES:
EYC began as “the Cambodia project” under a US organization called Village Earth—no name, no branding, just a single webpage. Early board leadership brought structure, financial discipline, and sustainability, enabling EYC to navigate leadership transitions and grow stronger over time.
What began as a $130 decision has become a 20-year legacy that has impacted thousands of lives.
The story of Empowering Youth in Cambodia is not about one person’s vision. It’s about what happens when people show up, listen deeply, and trust communities—and youth—to lead their own change. It’s about serendipity and being present enough to recognize it when it arrives.