The elders in our community are bringing back traditions, mentoring students, and raising children who have no one else. That’s why we call them our yeay and ta, our grannies and grandpas.
Why they’re so important to our community
Forty years ago, the Khmer Rouge came close to wiping out an entire generation of Cambodian people. This was one of the most horrific periods in the country's history, but some members of our community lived through it.
Today, these are the people who remember what Khmer culture was really like. That’s why they’re so integral to restoring lost family values, community structures, and Khmer traditions.
Your support helps our grannies guide the next generation
Grannies pass on wisdom, values, and traditions within our community
Grannies and grandpas graduated from the literacy and computer classes
Grannies are fostering abandoned and orphaned children
Meet our Grannies
These are a few of the women who bring our community together as they share their stories and pass on Khmer values to future generations. You can help a granny support her family.
Your donation will contribute to food for their families, a safe home, free healthcare, and a few trips that help them reconnect with the country they knew before the war. Each granny can have five to ten sponsors, allowing for support to extend to others throughout our community.
Grandpa Sok
Grandpa Sok is a friendly grandpa in our CCF Granny Program. He enjoys sharing life lessons and advice with junior students, encouraging them to be grateful for their opportunity with CCF and to gain as much as possible from their education. At the end of the Khmer Rouge regime he and his wife started farming a small plot of land to support their family with 7 children and struggling with daily life by living from hand to mouth.
Granny Sophy
Granny Sophy, born in 1949, has survived hardship and tragedy. She lost her family during the Pol Pot regime. She worked as a grocer in the slums, providing for her children and grandchildren. In 2014, she was accepted into the Granny program. She now lives with her two granddaughters and husband who works as a security guard.
Granny Vanthy
Born in 1964, Granny Vanthy grew up in a family separated during the Pol Pot regime. She worked as a maidservant and married a construction worker, but got divorced. Fortunately, she met Scott and the Community Outreach team, who provided her a job at Community Center for Children (CCF). She attended CCF's education programs and was offered a house in World Housing.
Granny Yim
Granny Yim, a vulnerable and friendly woman from Kampong Speu Province, lives with her family in Phnom Penh City. She married a poor farmer and had eight children, who struggled with low education and low-paying jobs. After divorce, they moved to Phnom Penh, where Granny Yen worked in the garbage recycling industry. Despite her efforts, she couldn't support herself and her grandchildren.
Granny Theary
Granny Theary was born in 1962 in Battambang province. She’s a hard-working single mother who has to take care of her daughter who is ill. Never having been to school, she joined CCF’s adult literacy program which enables her to read and write Khmer Language by her own now.
Granny Ream
Granny Ream was born in Kandal province, into a poor family with 6 members. She married a fisherman and had 7 children. Her husband passed away about 2 years after the Pol Pot regime. In 1999, she moved to Phnom Penh city with her youngest son and left other 6 children with her parents. In the city, she picked up garbage to earn a living. Mostly she didn’t have enough money to pay for the rented room or buy medicine when she was sick.
The Theang treatment
When Theang joined CCF in 2014, she had long hung up her scissors. With a little persuasion, she came out of retirement. Now, Granny Theang has no intention of slowing down. She might be a grandmother of five, but she has more energy than the little ones playing in the community’s pagoda outside her makeshift salon.
Sisters Reunited
Granny Bun Sen aged 98 meets her 101-year-old sister for the first time in 47 years.