How do 100 university students lead and manage a world-class organisation? How do they lead and manage projects in areas as diverse as women's empowerment, energy poverty, social inequity and environmental degradation, reaching thousands of beneficiaries annually? Empowered is the inspirational story of rural youths in Cambodia who empower themselves and their families from poverty to middle class in eight years. These students accept the challenge to go from the rice fields to world-leading organisations, from fishing boats to boardrooms, from working in restaurants to representing government ministries. Founded by Australian businessman Aviv Palti and his family, the Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST) is a unique non-government organisation entirely led and managed by its students. Through formal education, extensive mentoring and the opportunities to gain hands-on practical life skills, the students of CRST support and inspire over 20,000 rural students in Cambodia every year, becoming role models for the next generation! Empowered narrates lessons in leadership. Featuring the stories of CRST alumni who worked to become the future social leaders of their country, this book highlights that leadership is a set of responsibilities anyone can learn, practise and own.
