Rithy Lay survived the killing fields in Cambodia and is now helping his country's poor. Credit:Simon Schluter So he engineered a solution that was to set the course of his life. In our interview, the full transcript of which and a short video statement by Lay are at theage.com.au/opinion/the-zone, he tells that life story, central to which are the Buddhist monks who cared for, and educated, him for the next 15 years. ''I had a friend who lived in the pagoda [Buddhist monastery] and worked in the pagoda, and we call such boys pagoda boys. He always walked along with the Buddhist monks to beg food from the villagers, and I met him one day and asked him if it was possible for me to live in the pagoda like he was. ''He said that was fine, so I moved into the pagoda at that time. It was a very good opportunity for me to grow up in the pagoda and to learn things from the Buddhist monks.'' After spending seven years in the pagoda in his village, Lay was transferred by the monks there to a pagoda in Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh, because the village monks had taught Lay and other children in their care all the English they could. The monks in the city had a better command of the language, and were willing to harbour Lay, who went on to spend eight years in their care.

One particular Phnom Penh monk was pivotal. ''A few hours before he passed away from us, my Buddhist monk called my group, the nine children, to his bedside. Some us of had grown up, some were still boys. He just called us close to him and he told us that in the future if you had ability to help people please, please do it. It means helping people with less opportunity than you. ''His words come into my mind and I keep doing things to help my people because I just want to repay my sincere thanks to him for the time that we lived in the pagoda. That is what I am doing.'' What he is doing is improving, even saving, lives. During his time with the monks, Lay managed to complete bachelor degrees in teaching and agriculture, and a master's degree in management. He used his command of English to become a tour guide, and started working with European Union officials when they visited Cambodia. This led to a successful business arranging tour guides for various visiting groups. One of those groups was the Melbourne South chapter of Rotary International, a global organisation with 1.2 million members spread across 34,000 clubs. Rotary members volunteer to work here or overseas to support education, health, training, water, sanitation and other programs in disadvantaged communities. During a Rotary visit, Lay met one of the driving forces of the Melbourne South Rotary Club, Bronwyn Stephens. Through their collaboration on various projects, they have formed a deep friendship.

Pol Pot's legacy is tragic. Since his regime fell, Cambodia's population has grown to about 15 million, of which 85 per cent are uneducated, struggling farmers. The Khmer Rouge pretty much wiped out the educated classes. Today, only a third of children finish school. There is no social welfare system. Nine in 10 people do not have clean water. Cholera, typhoid fever, malaria and dengue fever are common. Lack of food was a chronic problem in the aftermath of Pol Pot. Lay and the other boys at the pagoda were unable to beg sufficient food for the monks, let alone themselves. So, in between going to school during the day and studying English at night, they would scrounge used plastic bags and sell them for a pittance to recyclers to earn money for food. Since late 2011, under the auspices of a Rotary program called World of Difference, Stephens has led eight visits to Cambodia, during which $70,000 has been donated. Should you wish to volunteer time or money, you can find information at: wod.org.au In a recent letter to a Rotarian in Kowloon in Hong Kong, she set out some of the progress: ''We were introduced to 3 villages, all within 3 kilometres of each other, back in November 2011. The villagers had only contaminated river water to drink. Consequently they were infected with cholera and typhoid fever. In fact, 6 villagers had died in the week before from these illnesses. They were also starving, and we met a woman whose total food for her family of five that day were three frogs that she had managed to catch in the rice paddy. ''Since then, the villagers have been systematically assisted with emergency food, water, aquaculture, health and agricultural projects. They remain extremely poor but cholera, typhoid fever and malaria have been eliminated.''

Stephens goes on to explain that starvation has been alleviated and emergency food is no longer required, as the locals are now growing crops. Three dams have been built and stocked with fish. World of Difference also provides alternative tours for school leavers. Instead of going on week-long party holidays after finishing secondary schooling, young people have the option of going to Cambodia. In a note she wrote to me before my meeting with Lay, she said: ''The students fundraise in Australia to take money to Cambodia. They purchase their donations and take them to remote village schools and donate them directly. The feedback from students is that the tours are life-changing, fun and a great alternative to hedonistic choices that are popular for schoolies week.'' In recent months, Lay and Stephens took four optometrists and a support crew to Cambodia. More than 4000 children, none of whom ordinarily have access to such care, had been pre-screened. About 800 were treated by the optometrists. World of Difference also sponsors programs to clear fields of landmines, opening up land desperately needed for growing food. Lay says Cambodia's top three needs in order of priority are food, education and healthcare. Emergency food for an entire family - often including several children - can be bought for $50 a month.

The next big project for Lay and Stephens is to build a school, for which about $40,000 is needed, for the villages of Bosalla and Kroa Boa, where the 670 children currently have to trek 20 kilometres to school in temperatures often above 30 degrees. They are also working on providing energy for cooking and lighting by using agricultural waste to produce biogas. Lay, who has a wife and two young daughters, retains only enough money from his business to keep his family fed, clothed and housed. He never accepts any cash donations, preferring to work with groups like Rotary. There is much corruption in Cambodia, he says, and he does not want to be seen in any way to be profiting financially. He does profit, though. He has a purpose in life, and it is inseparable from the notions he learned from the monks. This is what being Buddhist means to Lay: ''The main thing that I believe is Buddha is wise and that if you act good you receive good, and if you act bad you receive bad. And help yourself before you ask someone to help you.

''You have to help yourself before you ask someone to help you. It means that you have to try your best to help yourself and to survive on your own, and if you find it is impossible for you to help yourself then it is time for you to appeal for some help from somebody else.''