Angkor Kids Center (AKC) the name formed by SamRong community youth. It was born without anything in its mouth. It is just standing on its decayed and unsecured feet with only the indigenous, volunteer, and dedicated team growing up from one single person!
The infamous souvenir from the genocidal regime of Khmer Rouge is destruction to both humanity and public infrastructure resources. SamRong village where a young boy Samnang was living in, had also one of the most seriously suffered. With a limited remaining resources permitted Samnang to finish his primary school. Due to the historical and cultural values, Cambodia start to be more glorious to the outer world, in parallel, English has become popular, especially for the people living in the tourist designations such as temples of Angkor areas.
You might know that Buddhist monasteries were the place to survive the Cambodian culture and tradition. Due to the unavailable educational infrastructure around his village, Samnang had mobilized to live with the monks for his capital development. During the three years he could continue his high school, the religious study, and the dreamed skill which was ENGLISH.
As regulated by the pagoda, Samnang had been ordinated to be a monk. The year of 2002 after his six month ordination, Samnang abandoned his monkshood to continue his study. To practise his English, as requested by the village at his community, Samnang initiated an English class under his brother’s house. He got USD0.75 participatory support from the students’ families which it really permitted him to pay for his English school fees.
PERSONNEL EMPOWERMENT OF THE LEARNING CENTER
In 2004, Samnang meet a German couple, Mr Andreas and Mrs Jasmin DORNER who were his customers when he was working as a motor-taxi driver. Sam was taking them on tour around the temples of Angkor and along the ride, he shared his stories. His biography had touched the couple deeply, as a result they supported him to go to a good English school in the town center. And supported him with a basic living cost. What is more, Samnang has been paid to go to a vocational course on Travel and Tourism in 2005-2006. After his graduation, he was offered a job in one of the most famous European tour operator based in Siem Reap office. To get himself familiar with the new city life atmosphere, Samnang forced to give up his teaching in the village in 2006.
The world was not going to end. Thanks to one of his outstanding students, Ms Salet NHEY took her teachers’ role and moved the class to her house with the basic support from Plan International Cambodia Organization. She had done the best job, consequently in 2008, she passed a scholarship of a Restaurant and Bar in a vocational training school similar to Samnang’s, but this one is 100% free of charge Sala Bai. In the following year she got a job working for a luxury cruise from Cambodia to Vietnam and vice versa. Again, Salet forced to leave her class, but her younger sister, Mrs. Salin NHEY was volunteering to replace her teaching duties. Under Salin’s direction, the project has improved a lot from time to time.
THE FOUNDING OF AKC CENTER
2009 was the year of Angkor Kids Center (AKC) founding as a community-based center! After three-year successful job, Samnang could spare his time to look back and help the center. He named it Angkor Kids Center (AKC) as a gratefulness token to his German adopted family, his own family and the whole community itself.
As always a proactive and advanced himself in learning new thing, Sam got himself handy with the new technology especially internet world. From his learning, he adopted to put the information and activities of AKC online with free domain website and social media like Facebookpage. The AKC popularity was spreading around and out to the world. As a result, this site reached to the online search result of a University student unions in the UK, called Cambridge Hong Kong Operation for International Children's Education (CHOICE) in 2011-2012. They came to visit our learning shelter and did the fundraising their return to the university.
With this group of students, AKC got to build a proper school building with three classrooms. From this point, AKC kept on progressing and getting more and more people and charity association involved.
AKC Officialized to ALL FOR KIDS ORGANIZATION
The old friend reunited. Since their first meeting in 2004, Sam, Andi and Jasmin meet again in 2015. This time, the meeting was even greater. A charity association (Helpucation e.V.) had been founded in Germany to support the work of AKC. While on the ground in Cambodia, another proud historical moment was creating. The registration of AKC to the Ministry of Interior of the Royal Government of Cambodia as ALL FOR KIDS ORGANIZATION (AFK).
AFK NGO mission is to Inspire, Educate, and Reintegrate rural communities in improving their standards of living, with a focus on increasing accesses to qualified education and life skills in their own place. Create job opportunities through vocational training and partner with established enterprises. Be self-sufficient by creating substantial business life-circle (train-produce-sell-income) and run by its own.
As of 9th September 2019, AKC marked and celebrated its 10 years anniversary.
AFK DREAM PROJECT - SELF REINTEGRATION PROJECT
With the German team including the couple who had give Sam the bright life, AKC has developed itself significantly. Apart from the primary project of the English Language Classes Project, it has also a Computer LAB project, Sponsorship Project and Scholarship Project. Above all, AKC has its dream project which a Self-Sustainability Project which is a meant to reintegrate itself to be self-sufficient. The project called Hospitality Training Center (HTC).
This Hospitality Training Center (HTC) will firstly offer Restaurant and Kitchen Skills. When this first skill is optimized, Travel Agent & Tour Operator skill will be offered and followed by Hotel Management Skill as the last one in the circle.
In order to deliver the most productive lessons as in Theory and Practicum as in Internship, AFK will need to build its own Restaurant and Kitchen right in the community, that is SamRong Kitchen. The design of the restaurant will be incorporated with traditional architecture and fairly and suitably matched the community landscape.
SamRong Kitchen is not just a Training Restaurant and Kitchen, but an Experiential and Inspirational Dining Venue. The kitchen will be equipped with international cooking and storing tools caring for hygiene and safety. The menus designed representing community scene using the amazing and ridiculous ingredients and presentation. While the tastes are international, the taste of everyone.
The reasons to come and dining in SamRong Kitchen is Experience. A unique and diversified Local Experience and knowledge will be oriented, right from the entry to the village from Visiting, Hand-on, Presenting, and Dining. This is authentic not just a show. This crafted experiential dining will be a once in a lifetime taste for the guests.
SamRong Kitchen is an ideal for those who visit Angkor temples and most other must-visit attractions. The restaurant is just located a few minutes from Angkor temple complex. Guests could either one full half day experiencing with the project or just an hour dining. With SamRong Kitchen guests could save time from returning to Siem Reap downtown just for lunch. After the experience or a meal with SamRong Kitchen, guests can carry on the visit of the planned routes.
Why SamRong Kitchen
Having a unique product is a core, addition of a great story to inspire is Unique Selling Point (USP) for SamRong Kitchen. Along with the personal credential in the field of Sam, getting SK to the right market would be not so challenging. However, the primary partner to approach is the social-conscious local Tour Operators / Destination Management companies. Online travel communities like TripAdvisor, Air BNB, hotels, restaurants, NGOs and businesses.
Helping AFK NGO bring their Dream Project come true GET INVOLVED
Have an idea to help us, contact Sam email: [email protected] whatsapp: +855 86 524 777 website https://www.afk-ngo.org/
