On June 18 Cambodia celebrated the queen’s birthday, so the kids had the day off from school. To make sure the day was not ruined by chores and homework, the kids themselves suggested a holiday activity: they would prepare dinner that day. After gaining Tony’s approval for the cook-off, the kids split themselves into two teams, with a roughly equal … Read More
Last Friday afternoon all the children of Little Hearts marched out of our gates armed with rubber gloves, masks, large garbage bags and trash pickup sticks. They split up into their respective detachments and headed north. Their mission: to clean up two kilometres of road (1 km from Little Hearts to the nearest pagoda, Wat Pich Mkot, and another 1 … Read More
Last Friday was International Women’s Day, a day when we recognize the enormous contributions made by women to… well, to just about every aspect of life. It’s a time to thank our mothers, wives and daughters for everything they do, but also and especially to reflect upon the great achievements of women in the workplace – in business, medicine, art, … Read More
Rosahlee Bautista – the kids know her as Teacher Zal – is the head teacher here at Little Hearts. She studied education at the Philippine Normal University and became a licensed school instructor, but her path from her native land to the doorstep of Little Hearts has been anything but conventional. Her work in the Philippines included teaching children of … Read More
Every weekday – either in the morning or the afternoon, depending on the school rotation – a small crowd of children from the neighbourhood gather at Little Hearts for their English classes. As you may remember, in an effort to reach out to the wider community and help as many needy children as possible, Little Hearts started to provide free … Read More
Do you remember all your favourite outdoor games from childhood? Playing football on the street, or hide-and-seek in the park, or hopscotch at the playground… whether they were structured games or just running around the neighbourhood with your friends, they were an essential part of being a child. But for one of Little Hearts’ residents, eight-year-old Chrissy, these games weren’t … Read More
After an eventful and highly rewarding six months, Ilse, our temporary caretaker and teacher, is leaving to return to her home in Belgium. Ilse came to Little Hearts in February, primarily to help out in Tony’s absence. As some of you know, Tony had been struggling with a long-term knee injury, and after undergoing an unsuccessful operation in Malaysia last … Read More
During the two years of Covid-19, Little Hearts tried as much as possible to support communities in our neighbourhood that were badly affected by the pandemic. Our Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) projects targeted various groups in need, such as inactive cyclo and tuk-tuk drivers in Phnom Penh, and especially clusters of families living in close proximity to Little Hearts … Read More
Are your kids fussy when it comes to eating? Well, imagine having to cook for three dozen children and young adults who are as fussy as yours, three times a day, every day, and all on your own. This is the unenviable task of our chef extraordinaire and surrogate mother, Ma Khun, whose invaluable contribution to Little Hearts we highlight … Read More
Those of you who have visited Little Hearts in the past will know that our little campus is characterised by three green areas. There is a large, grassy lawn in the centre of the facility, which also functions as a small football field. In the front of the property, adjacent to the street, the children planted a leisure garden a … Read More