The video of a 14-year-old Cambodian boy speaking in multiple languages while selling souvenirs at Angkor Wat Park went viral across the internet last year. The boy recently moved to China to study. Before his relocation, CGTN's Miro Lu caught up with him in Siem Reap.

14-year-old Cambodian boy Salik has captivated netizens around the world with his ability to speak over ten languages. Since the viral video, interests in the polyglot and his family kicked-off, with many well-wishers offering donations and hordes of tourists following him at the park.

MAM CANNA MOTHER OF SALIK "Our lives have changed for the better. Before, we were poor and people didn't want to be friends with us. Mothers and children sold souvenirs and they didn't even want to look at us. We owed money. But now, we are famous everywhere we go."

Salik no longer needs to sell souvenirs. This month, the Cambodian boy and his younger brother moved to China to study at Zhejiang Hailiang Foreign Language School.

MIRO LU SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA "Salik and his family have been the fortunate beneficiaries of the country's and the world's attention, but they are just one among thousands around the Angkor area and right across Cambodia it's common to see underprivileged children doing odd jobs to supplement family incomes, sometimes at the expense of their education."

To help marginalised youth to learn practical skills, Friends International, a social enterprise organizes vocational training programs.

THO MANETH PROJECT MANAGER, FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL "Normally, in the strategy of the Ministry of Education, they are very committed to say that all the kids need to be at school until at least Grade 9. But in the reality, it's very hard to reach their strategy because most of the children are struggling between Grade 6 to Grade 9 because their parents need them to be working to support to get income."

Although the thought of child labour is unfathomable for the developed world, many in Cambodia understand that this is the unfortunate trade-off between education and survival. Some work within these current parameters to give children as many education opportunities as possible. Full time tuk tuk driver, Jimmy Chan, has set up a grassroots evening school to teach children English.

JIMMY CHAN FOUNDER, JIMMY'S VILLAGE SCHOOL "I always fight everything for education. I always try to do everything in order to make my own income to pay for education. So that's what I see the value of education is very important."

Jimmy doesn't charge his students and provides them with notebooks and stationary, as well as a bicycle if they are struggling to make it to class. Jimmy does this as part of his karmic duty, saying that many people helped with his education when he was growing up in a very poor family.

JIMMY CHAN FOUNDER, JIMMY'S VILLAGE SCHOOL "We need the world to watch Cambodia. We need more because Cambodia has been isolated for a long time. You know of the history, we had a civil war and this is time we need to open the door of Cambodia to show the world that many Cambodian children can be better kids."

It is clear that young Cambodians are placing an importance on education and preparing themselves for a new dawn - a bright future that was denied to their parents due to the nation's tragic past. Miro Lu, CGTN, Siem Reap, Cambodia.