Hi everyone!
We are two sisters that believe that even the smallest actions can change the world. I (Hoeun) have a degree in Anthropology and Asian Studies and Sopheab is studying to become a nurse. Both of us are strongly passionate in the welfare of children and would like to help create a world where children can grow up safely and healthy.
Our parents arrived in Australia in the 1980s as refugees from Cambodia running from the devastation of war. We have grown up knowing what it is to be blessed with all the richness of life – an education, shelter, good health and love – but we are also aware that many others do not share in this luck.
Both of us visited Cambodia for the first time in 1999 and again in 2004, and while there we witnessed the lasting impact that the war had left on the people of Cambodia. We were horrified by the mass poverty, the malnutrition of children and the daily struggle that Cambodians had to endure just to survive. It is through this experience that both of us have decided to embark on a 12 month fundraising project to raise awareness and funds to support Child Wise, an organization that is dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse both in Australia and in the Asia Pacific region.
Sexual abuse has a staggering impact on the growth and development of a child but most people forget that it also extend beyond the individual affecting society at large. For the victims it is an epidemic that can last a whole lifetime but the damage that results from sexual abuse can also be passed down to future generations. Today over 2 million children are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and many more are exposed to violence, harm and a variety of abuse on a daily basis. Many of us choose to ignore this because we tell ourselves that if it isn't in our sight then it doesn't really matter. We need to throw away this form of thinking and start to understand that what happens in one place of the world would eventually affect our own. And therefore, we offer an invitation to you to join us in this endeavour to create a safer world for our children.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has”
- Margaret Mead