Our Team & Board
Our Team & Board
To ensure that Rainbow New Generation’s activities and projects align with its vision and mission, and comply with the management structure designated for local NGOs, which consists of founding members, active members, honorary members, and advisors, we have implemented an effective management system. This system is supported by the collective commitment of all participants to achieve the sustainable revival of the project.
Upon seeing the abandoned state of the Rainbow Orphanage, where they once lived and studied, some former residents secured jobs in government and private companies, while others continued their education and completed their doctorates abroad. However, the orphanage, once a warm home, a school, and a place of education and training, was left closed and locked. The infrastructure, including the boys’ and girls’ houses, school, office, kitchen, and vegetable garden, was left neglected. As a result, the former children have come together to revive the orphanage in early 2025, starting with an initiative to teach English to local children. They hope that both old and new friends will join them in supporting the project through ideas, materials, and financial contributions based on their abilities.
WFC Founde’s Journey
Pol Pean, the son of a farmer from a rural region, graduated from high school in 1997 and subsequently passed the entrance examination for teacher training. In 1999, he began his teaching career and was assigned by the Ministry of Education to a post approximately 60 kilometers from his hometown, where he later met his wife. Due to limited teacher salaries and increasing family responsibilities, he undertook additional employment in hotels, travel agencies, security, and as a weekend guide. These roles enabled him to acquire diverse skills and interact with a wide range of individuals, fostering his ongoing personal and professional development.
He frequently returned to his hometown to visit relatives and reconnect with teachers from the school he had attended during his youth, a time when he had fled the conflict between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese troops from 1984 to 1989. During these visits, he learned about the struggles of poor and orphaned children, with teachers urging him to find ways to assist them in his hometown.
These recommendations left a profound impression on him, motivating a lifelong commitment to advocacy for children in his community. He consistently shared their needs with acquaintances, guests, and professional colleagues, ensuring that awareness extended beyond local boundaries. With the generous support of a hotel owner who granted him access to the internet, he dedicated his time to conducting research and establishing connections with companies, schools, and international organizations, seeking opportunities for collaboration and assistance
In the early stages of this initiative, support emerged through the generosity of friends in the hospitality sector and both national and international visitors. Contributions consisted of clothing, school materials, household necessities, and financial assistance. In their free time, the team collected and distributed these resources to children in several schools, focusing on disadvantaged students and orphans within the local community and surrounding areas.
This effort continued for approximately eighteen months. However, feedback from teachers indicated that student absenteeism persisted, primarily due to ongoing social and economic challenges. Recognizing the need for a more sustainable approach, I requested permission from my parents in 2006 to use their house and land as a gathering space where disadvantaged and orphaned children could receive instruction in foreign languages and essential life skills.
Although well-intentioned, this informal initiative prompted concerns from local authorities about its organizational structure and difficulties in mobilizing external support. Colleagues with experience in NGOs and government collaboration recommended formal registration. With their guidance, our team, which included retired teachers, monks, and community leaders, completed the registration process with the Ministry of Interior under the name Working For Children (WFC). This formal recognition allowed us to launch several projects, the most prominent being the Rainbow Orphanage, which operated until its suspension in 2019.
Alongside his role as founder of the organization, Mr. Pean has continued his professional career in education. He currently serves as the principal of a primary school situated approximately five kilometers from Rainbow, where he leads a team of 22 teachers and oversees the education of more than 500 students. Consequently, his direct involvement with Working For Children (WFC) has become less intensive, particularly after the majority of children supported by the organization completed their secondary education between 2018 and 2019. Currently, his primary commitment lies within the public school system, while his contribution to Rainbow New Generation is maintained in a consulting capacity.
Since 2013, Rainbow has been fortunate to receive sustained support from Mr. Trevor Syme, an international philanthropist who became aware of the initiative through a mutual acquaintance. His contributions have been instrumental in advancing the organization’s development, including the purchase of land for school expansion, the construction of a three-classroom building equipped with sanitation facilities, and the provision of essential resources. Although the partnership was interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rainbow New Generation has since invited Mr. Syme to continue his engagement with the project in an advisory capacity, ensuring that his expertise and commitment remain integral to its ongoing growth.