KNGO CAMBODIA
Greetings from Saveth SUN - Founder KNGO CAMBODIA
Dear Friends,
I'm Sun Saveth, the founder of Khmer New Generation Organization (KNGO). Growing up in Bospo village during the challenging Khmer Rouge period, I faced the struggles of poverty and limited educational opportunities. Despite my family's hardships, I managed to complete high school in 1996, thanks to my parents' support. However, I couldn't afford English lessons, so I sought help from a local teacher who tutored me for free in exchange for assisting other students.
In 1998, I volunteered as an English teacher with a local NGO to provide free education to children in my community. My goal was to empower underprivileged kids with education for a better future. My wife, coming from a similarly disadvantaged background, joined me in this mission after our marriage in 1999. With determination, she sold cakes to support our family, while I continued volunteering as an educator.
Despite challenges, our commitment grew. By 2002, we had our first child, and I received a scholarship to university in 2002 after three years of volunteering with a local NGO. In 2007, with three children of our own, I established the Khmer New Generation Organization (KNGO) school. The school started in the verandah of our modest home.
KNGO officially began in January 2008, offering free education in Khmer, Math, English, computer skills, primary health care, environmental education, and vocational training to 30 students. To support the project, I became a tuk-tuk driver, sharing KNGO's mission with tourists visiting the area. Some tourists volunteered to teach at KNGO, and soon we had foreign teachers helping out. The demand for English classes grew, and more parents sent their children to KNGO.
By the end of 2008, we had 100 students, and with the support of friends who had studied with me, we worked as a team without salaries. Through volunteers' donations and my tuk-tuk business, we purchased books and pens for students. A chance encounter with a German man led to the creation of KNGO's website. Support from various volunteers, including Australians and British organizations, helped the website gain international attention.
In 2011, a volunteer from New Zealand sponsored my university education in Human Resource Management. In 2013, an Australian couple and a young girl initiated Khmer New Generation Organization Australia (KNGOA) to further support KNGO's work in Cambodia. With their help, we now have improved facilities and offer education in English, IT, and Khmer literacy to students in Bospo village.
I am proud of the progress we've made for the children in my village. Education remains the key to a brighter future for Cambodian children.
Warm greetings,
Sun Saveth
Founder & Director