Little Angels is an orphanage founded by Sery Rathana in 2002. Rathan grew up as an orphan, exposing him to the cruel conditions one has to bare as an orphan alongside his three brothers in a poor country like Cambodia. In order to get himself and his brothers an education, he had to sell cans and sand from the river. In spite of only having an education equivalent to Middle School, Rathan was able join the  House of Peace Association, where he learned the skills of leather carving, and finally founded The Little Angels organization. The Little Angels is an organization through which Rathan adopts orphans, providing them with essential food, shelter, clothes, water, and the education needed to be successful in the future.

We learned leather-work from the kids, who make beautiful handicrafts to sell at the orphanage.

Global To Local visited the Little Angels organization on June 29th and 30th. Thanks to our supporters in the U.S, we were able to fundraise enough to donate 2 laptops, 2 routers (necessary because of the limited bandwidth access), and the capabilities to have wifi. The children at the orphanage were truly grateful for the little they had. Working with the students was amazing and educational, and they taught us leather carving so we could help them make puppets. Even with a  language barrier, the communication and teamwork it took to create murals and puppets did not stop us. We even sang along to “You Raise Me Up” together as one teenager played his guitar. 

Stepping back and seeing how appreciative these students were for what they have made us understand how grateful we are to be in the position we are today. The students often consume soup as it is a cheaper food option, but they enjoy eating rice, which is a luxury they cannot always afford. The appreciativeness that these students shared with us compelled Global To Local to purchase three 25lbs sacks of rice. We left this orphanage making every single one of us want to continue our volunteer work in future foreign countries, as well as in our hometown, Newburgh.

-With love from Cambodia

By Eliana, Juan and Iggy