Name:
Soeung Sok Chamroeun

Position:
General Manager

Profile:
Chamroeun, our General Manager, was born in 1969 and still has vivid memories of how hard he had to work as a child in the labour camps of Pol Pot. His mother and father survived and he lives with them in Phnom Penh. He is still single, but has had a lot of experience with children growing up with his brothers and sisters. In 1994 he received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and in 1995 completed his Teaching Degree, qualifying him to teach Philosophy and Sociology in high school and university. He then worked for the national airline, Royal Air Cambodge as their Flight Operations and Planning Manager until the airline closed down in 2001. Chamroeun started with Sunrise just before our opening in September 2002 and his skills were certainly tested, as it was an extremely stressful and busy time for anyone to start a new job! On his day off he likes to read, play soccer and watch television.

Name:
Mel Soth

Position:
Director

Profile:
Mel Soth, our father figure, survived 4 years of tyranny under Pol Pot and escaped to a Thai refugee camp where he was trained in basic medical care and learned English. Soth is especially good with our "littlies" and is considered to be a Grandpa although he is younger than Geraldine!

Name:
Thou Siphoen

Position:
House Mother

Profile:
Thou Sepoun, our mother figure, lost all her family under Pol Pot except for 2 sons who survived. One of these sons recently died of TB, a legacy of the Killing Fields that stayed with him all his life. Her dedication to the children is clear for all to see. Even on her day off she prefers to stay home with them!

Name:
Eb Thierry

Position:
Music Teacher

Profile:
Eb Thierry, our assistant music teacher, is the daughter of Eb Chea and has inherited her father's musical talent. She is especially a favourite for our teenage girls. She is also a member of the Fine Arts School Orchestra and goes with them when they travel abroad.

Name:
Saam Monitha

Position:
Dance Teacher

Profile:
Saam Monitha, our dance teacher, is adored by everyone. She is quite a beauty and is also a professional dancer with the Fine Arts School. To watch her and her handsome husband dance together is like watching poetry in motion.

Name:
Prak Vannak

Position:
Book Keeper

Profile:
Vannak was born in 1975, the year the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia, and like many, she lost family - her father and other close relatives. She has a Diploma in Accounting and is also the Accountant for the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), the wonderful Australian firm that project managed the construction of Sunrise. She is marvellous with figures and really knows what she is doing. Vannak is married and her husband is also an accountant. In her spare time Vannak likes to shop, like most women! She also likes to watch television and read fashion magazines.

Name:
Sin Sok An

Position:
Cook

Profile:
Sok An, our head cook, is always cheerful with a wonderful disposition. She and the assistant cook are great friends as they work so closely together. Sok San does most of the actual marketing as well. She loves to go for walks and watches television in the very little spare time that cooking for us leaves her!

Name:
Phean Phleang

Position:
Cook

Profile:
Phean Phleang, our assistant chef extraordinaire, lost her complete family and all her friends in the Killing Fields. She used to weave Cambodian silk for a living, but at the time of the coup, was deserted by all her workmates who ran away. Phleang said she wanted to run away to be safe too, but said, "I had no one and no where to run to..." She has an abnormal fear of doctors and dentists and hides when they come to see the children! She does not read or write but boy, can she cook! She is the salt of the earth.

Name:
Seng Kim Sri

Position:
Cook

Profile:
Sri was born in 1950 and is 5 years younger than Geraldine, but looks so much older because of the years she spent in the labour camps under the Khmer Rouge. She is a widow with 2 surviving daughters, who she lives with not far from Sunrise. After she escaped from the Khmer Rouge she found herself employed as a cook for the head man of Site B Refugee Camp in Thailand where many of our original children remember seeing her. She does not know how to follow a recipe, but she can turn out dozens of delicious dishes. On her day off she likes to help her daughter sell vegetables in the local market.

Name:
Pao Hear

Position:
Farm Hand

Profile:
Hear was born in 1979 the year the Khmer Rouge were deposed by the Vietnamese and although he was too young to suffer in the Pol Pot years, he still lost many family members. He went to school up to Grade 9 and left at 16 to become a car mechanic. He was also engaged by Prime Minister Hun Sen to repair the engine on his speed boat and is very proud about this! He is married with one little boy. He has worked as a driver but prefers the peace and quiet of the countryside and lives with his family near us. As well as taking care of the farms, lawns and gardens he is quite a handyman and has proved his worth many times over.

Name:
Touch Ed

Position:
Farm Hand

Profile:
Ed was born in 1965 and tells terrible stories of what he saw during the Pol Pot times. He was able to finish school to Grade 8 after the Khmer Rouge were deposed. He married at 19 and has 6 children. He has worked as a rice farmer and for a brief time in the office of Care, a local NGO here before deciding to go back to the land and work with us at Sunrise. In his spare time he is quite a musician and often plays traditional music on the "treu" instrument at local weddings in the village. He looks far older than he is. He loves working on the land and we consider ourselves lucky to have him.

Name:
Ouch Phiroum

Position:
Farm Hand

Profile:
Phiroum was born in 1969 and lost many family during the Pol Pot era like everyone in Cambodia. He was only 6 when the Khmer Rouge forced him and his family to the countryside, where he worked in the jungles cutting down trees for the army to use. After this was over he was able to go to school to Grade 5 and left to join the army where he eventually ran away, because he could not survive and feed his family on the low salary. He is married with 4 children. He is a real favourite with the children and on his day off he likes to play volleyball. He is very fit and wiry.

Name:
Eng Sopheak

Position:
Farm Hand

Profile:
Previously one of our students, Eng Sopheak is now a fully fledged staff member at Sunrise as part of our farm project as a well paid farm hand with special duties in our orchard and transplanting/marcotting section.

Name:
Keo Thy

Position:
Farm Hand

Profile:
A Sunrise boy now working for us reporting to his friend Eng Sopheak on the nursery project.

Name:
Gerald Trevor

Position:
Chairman / Financial Advisor

Profile:
Gerald spends most of the year in Cambodia, where he is responsible for the day-to-day administration of Sunrise and without him Geraldine would jump off a cliff! He is on the Management Committee and assists with fundraising and the administration. Being a Chartered Surveyor, he is closely involved with the new building project.

Name:
Geraldine Cox

Position:
President

Profile:
For detailed information on Geraldine visit the Publicity > President section.

Name:
Dr Khov Mong

Position:
Weekly Doctor

Profile:
He holds a surgery every Saturday morning. He has been coming to us for over 5 years and is more like an uncle to the children and a personal friend to the rest of us. There are lots of scratches and scabs to treat. Some of the more needy little ones bring pinpricks to show Mong and us, just to get some extra TLC!