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For the past couple of years I have worked closely with the Sala Bai Hotel & Restaurant School in Siem Reap, Cambodia to document the positive work they are doing for the nation's disadvantaged youth. My creative partners and I have made photographic reportage and documentary film about this tuition-free hospitality training school and how they provide students with the capabilities and experience necessary to secure gainful employment in one of the city's numerous hotels, guesthouses or restaurants.
Our most recent project with Sala Bai was last year when followed our friend, Sam McGoun, as he swam, cycled and ran more than 670km across Cambodia to raise funds for Sala Bai and grow awareness of the dangers of human trafficking.
Inspired by the challenges overcome by the students of Sala Bai, Sam’s route across the Kingdom of Wonder followed the actual journey traveled by a former student named Khatna: from her floating village in Mechrey on Tonle Sap Lake, to Sala Bai where she studied in Siem Reap, to her graduation celebration on the sandy beachfront overlooking the Gulf of Thailand in Sihanoukville.
As the documentary photography- and film-making team tasked with chronicling Sam’s odyssey, we did our
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best to keep pace with him as he traversed muddy lakes and rivers, ran through small villages and pedaled across the countryside of rural Cambodia on his way to raising more than USD$30,000 for Sala Bai.
Along our journey we posted a daily "Reports from the Road" journal and photo essay. And, last year, a collection of these photographs -- along with a feature about Sam and his inspirational adventure -- was published by EX Magazine in Singapore. Excitingly, I just recently learned from EX's editor, Kate Mallord, that the story, "Khmer Ultra Tri", was awarded "Best Feature on Asian Travel" at the Asian Publishing Awards 2013.
It is always wonderful to be positively recognized for the work we do. But it is even more rewarding to know that the stories we tell can help better the lives of others. Thank you to EX Magazine for helping to give Sam's mission an even bigger voice.
Click here to watch our documentary team turn the cameras on ourselves in a short behind-the-scenes video.
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