Cho Choch
Outdoor educational instructor with more than 10 years experience
Cho was raised in Siem Reap, Cambodia, just a stone’s throw away from one of the wonders of the world, Angkor Wat. He spent his childhood helping his parents look after their land, cows and his 9 siblings.
As a teenager, Cho became a Primary School Teacher while he was studying in High School. He also very naturally picked up languages and the English language came easily to him. He used this language skill to then teach English in his community where students had very limited access to other languages. He was often called “Teacher” across his village. Even today people fondly call him “Teacher Cho” in the countryside.
With a passion for providing more educational opportunities to Cambodian youth, Cho managed to stumble across PEPY Tours, a social enterprise for educational travel and a sister NGO, PEPY Empowering Youth, an organization he has been involved with for 10 years, and this became a pivotal moment in his life. Here he felt an affinity with concepts such as sustainable community development, voluntourism, global citizenship and the collectiveness of the human experience. He started to deeply care about sustainability, responsible tourism and leaving the world a better place than how one finds it.
Cho is now the Board Chairman of PEPY, where he is deeply involved and oversees the amazing work this organization does for underprivileged Cambodian youth. Not only this, but Cho continues to enjoy working with students across the world, and being part of their learning experience as they explore new places, meet new people and explore themselves.
During the pandemic, Cho created a podcast called “Komru” meaning “role model” in Khmer, with the hope of providing young people with conversations that motivate, uplift and inspire, which is one of the things lacking in Cambodia. Cho has 2 young children and, although they are both under the age of 6, he is already excited about the pair of them experiencing a Dragons trip! An instructor who is passionate about experiential education, has a deep knowledge of Cambodian history, culture and way of life, Cho thrives from teaching about sustainable community development, and enjoys hiking, camping and cycling and working with inspiring people who seek to improve themselves and the world they live in.