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| This is Ratanak, pictured with school children in Siem Reap |
After multiple trips to Cambodia, founders Chris and Scott Coats decided to move to Siem Reap, Cambodia to dedicate their lives to improving the water quality for local Cambodians. They began Trailblazer Foundation (TF) after seeing that some basic needs were not being met, such as clean water. Their first project was the building of a school but quickly shifted their focus to well digging and water filter installations once they saw they could serve more this way. Now they do branch out to things such as appropriate agriculture projects and micro financing, but it all started with water. Weekly, they are still installing up to 14 filters in one of the 3 provinces in they work in Cambodia.
The onsite staff for TF is made up of 12 Cambodians and 1 American. Although the foundations members of TF are all American, they have been intentional of hiring local staff to run their Angkor location. This way they can continue to reach rural communities through local Cambodians who know the culture and NGO landscape.
Ratanak has been working for Trailblazer for 5 years as the field manager. Here is oversees the many projects that TF Angkor take on. He is responsible for the over 200 volunteers that come to TF to help assemble the water filters for as short as just a day or as long as multiple months. They rely on this volunteer support to ensure enough water filters can go out to the many villages they serve. Ratanak says that he not only enjoyed the work but the compensation allows him to provide for his family. Ratanak along with the other employees at TF Angkor have dedicated individuals that are trying to answer the needs of their community and continually giving back.
Started by an American couple, TF’s on the ground crew is solely made of Cambodians. They are a passionate group of young people that feel empowered to work with local communities on the group to make their daily lives better. With guidance from their founders, Ratanak, and his crew have autonomy to manage their projects in ways that are fit for the community. With the high intake of volunteers and interns, they also create a space for voluntourism to thrive. The volunteers work for both the benefit of themselves as they experience a new country and also the communities that receive TF’s services.
