Five years ago, Little Hearts met Sokhoeur Choun, who would become their now-beloved taekwondo instructor and, in his own words, a second father to the children of Little Hearts. Sokhoeur, a former competitive athlete, came to us through our previous taekwondo teacher, who had been his own instructor growing up. No stranger to poverty, Sokhoeur was the fifth of seven … Read More
It was a chance encounter that led our new art teacher to Little Hearts. Bjorn and Net, our public affairs administrator, were exploring the outskirts of Phnom Penh one weekend afternoon when they drove past a small café with paintings hanging outside. Intrigued, they went in, ordered coffee and chatted with the owner and painter, Kun Sotha. Still only 35, … Read More
Several Little Hearts teenagers are currently participating in the Rise Challenge, an annual programme that aims to identify brilliant people from around the world who would like to make a difference by serving others, improving society, or safeguarding the environment – in short, tomorrow’s leaders and social innovators. Applicants must be 15–17 years old and create and carry out a … Read More
The results are in—Little Hearts kids are brilliant! In today’s post, we review the achievements of our five university students, all of whom have earned high marks and are well on their way to completing their degrees. Ilang Ilang is our oldest girl at LH and will soon graduate for the second time. Eighteen months ago she finished her bachelor’s … Read More
Passion For football Starts Young Bodhi, one of Little Hearts teenagers, started playing football at four. Arriving at Little Hearts when he was eight, he started practicing more regularly and his skills improved. One day his cousin took him to watch a local team, Asia Europe United and he was invited for their under 15 (U15) team trials. Bodhi remembers … Read More
Preparation This past year proves, more than any other, the importance of having empathy for others, and what can be achieved by cultivating the spirit of giving. In an ongoing effort to help impoverished families facing hardship due to Covid-19, we continued the positive momentum with our Random Acts of Kindness campaign part two. This time we focused on Vihear … Read More
Imagine having your own botanical garden, featuring a large Koi fishpond with water sculptures, surrounded by a multitude of tropical plants. Add to that a lush green lawn with banana trees for shade and a bamboo lounge at the back. Sounds too good to be true? Well, that’s exactly what the kids at little Hearts have been busy building for … Read More
Covid has been a huge challenge for everyone at Little Hearts but it hasn’t stopped the kids’ spirit of compassion and care for the community. In Phnom Penh, we’ve witnessed enormous suffering. For example, cyclo and tuk-tuk drivers have been locked down with no home, no income and literally forced into starvation. Community spaces including the local pagoda have been … Read More
Sarim arrived at Little Hearts with his two brothers many years ago shortly after witnessing his father die and his mother unfortunately unable to support them anymore with 5 other children to care for. Now at 21 he is completing his 2nd year in a Bachelor of Marketing at the National University of Management and has recently taken on the … Read More
The last few weeks have seen Cambodia’s most serious COVID outbreak leading to city-wide lockdowns, food markets closed and extreme travel restrictions. Yet despite the new challenges the resilience, adaptability and determined positive spirit of the kids here has been nothing short of inspirational. At Little Hearts markets closing led to food prices rising unpredictably and many of our usual … Read More