The Unity Tree

The Little Hearts art gallery came alive last Friday afternoon, not just with colours and creativity, but with the voices, dreams and hopes of many children. Together with the kids from our free community English classes, we held a special activity titled “Unity Tree: Voices of the Heart.”

What started as a simple gathering became an opportunity for expression, connection and joy. The kids were given small pieces of paper shaped like leaves, hearts, butterflies or simple squares, and they were invited to write personal messages on them. Some wrote one message, others wrote several, and a few kids just couldn’t stop writing! These notes were filled with wishes, dreams, messages of gratitude and even reflections on the current military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand.

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Each message carried something deeply personal – what each child is thankful for, what they dream to become, and what kind of world they hope to grow up in.

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Michael with his friends, Sophea, Phearum, Lyhour and David.

To keep these voices alive a little longer, we laminated each note. Then, with the help of Michael, our talented graphic design student, and his friends and classmates from his university, a mural of a large tree – the Unity Tree – came to life on the wall of the art gallery. It was a canvas for the wishes and hopes of our children, so each child carefully hung their message on the tree, turning it into a symbol of togetherness, of young voices being seen and heard. 

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Unity took many forms that day:

  • unity between our kids and the community kids as they worked and played side by side;
  • unity in shared dreams and hopes that stretched across backgrounds;
  • unity in collaboration, with Michael and his friends generously contributing their talent to design something meaningful.

Throughout the activity, the room was filled with laughter, paint, tiny hands holding scissors, and big dreams being written into reality. And when all the messages were finally hung on the Unity Tree, the mural became a reflection of how we are: connected, hopeful and stronger together.

Moments like these remind us of why we do what we do. When children are given a voice and a space to express themselves, something powerful happens, not just to them, but to all of us.

Here’s to shared moments, laughter and more unity.

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Some messages from the kids.
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