Our board of directors
Darren Southcott, Board of Director
Mr. Darren Southcott is from London, UK, but he will soon be travelling out to the Indochina region to work with partner organisations. During this time he will make a much anticipated visit to SSF to see first-hand the valuable work Vichetr Uon and supporters are undertaking.
Dara Sim, Board of Director
Dara is Director & Founder of the Assistance to Poor Children’s Agency. APCA was established in 1995 by him with the mission of stimulating community development and increasing the standards of living in one of Cambodia’s most economically disadvantaged provinces, Kompong Speu. APCA seeks to assist the poorest of the poor by creating education and employment opportunities in rural villages where they are scarce or non-existent. It currently runs kindergartens, literacy schools, and concrete skill-building courses, as well as provides over 1200 families with seeds, chickens, and nutrition training so that they can run self-sustaining gardens and farms.
Aaron B. Marshburn, Board of Director
Aaron B. Marshburn is currently a 3rd-year college student at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He is studying International Affairs and Photojournalism with a minor in German Language. He hopes to one-day become a either an aid worker or a photojournalist able to document and report on the third world, its conflicts, problems, and leaders. As part of the board of directors he will be heading up the Overseas Bank while advocating for SSF in the USA.
William Chua Sow Ngang, Board of Director
William was with SIA for 36 years and is experienced in soft skills and had been a trainer in service skills for 6 years. He has been involved in social work for the past 23 years. He was asked to jump-start a community club, and SIA Cabin Crew Club for Community Care (5Cs) was born. He also initiated ROPES, (Reach Out Programmes by Employees of SIA) and introduced reach out programs in children education & skill training, helping elderly, sick, poor and abandoned children in Bohol, Philippines, Siam Reap, Phnom Penh, West Timor, Myanmar, Vietnam and Singapore. He introduced many programs for the 5Cs. William is also heading a Social Enterprise project in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and have started ChangiVille Training and Tutorial Center in Cambodia, providing education and skills training. He is best remembered for his deep passion for charity work and having a pleasant personality, very optimistic, cheerful person. He likes to explore the unknown especially the exotic places in Asia, and planning to expand his work in ASEAN.
Aurélie Jost & Benoit Mensac, SSF Directors in France
Though this experience, we quickly became aware with the poverty in the area. There is a huge gap between the social classes: Either you are rich or you are extremely poor. Our experience there made us realize many things, including that even a small organization can do a great work. Today, in addition to go to school, these children can learn so many things like raising chicken, growing vegetables, doing housework…The children had the idea to start a business selling cakes, they get up very early in the morning to prepare the cakes then they take turn to sell them to the public outside SSF Compound.
Ben and I are both attached to these children and we decided to invest ourselves in SSF. We worked with the children, teaching them English every day in morning and evening classes ending with a big game so they could remember what they learned. Later Vichetr showed us the villages and families sponsored by SSF. It was an interesting but overwhelming human experience. This visit has been very upsetting for us and made us realize how hard the life must be for those people.
When we had to leave this big family that is SSF and the children, it was very hard. Back in France, we cannot forget what we saw and lived there with all these people. That’s why we have created an association in France, "Sao Sary France" to help SSF Cambodia to find sponsors, and to make SSF known around the world.
Vichetr Uon, Founder & Executive Director
He was born in a rural remote area of Takeo province in Cambodia. His father was shot dead anonymously during a humanitarian mission which led his family into a terrible situation. His sister and brother were forced to stop their primary education to keep him in school, while there was no money for the rest of the six siblings to attend. He was granted the opportunity of a lifetime to go to college, through the kindness and financial support of his foster brother. He graduated with a Science Degree from Norton University in Phnom Penh provided by a full-four year sponsorship from his Australian foster brother. Mr. Uon is passionate about putting an end to the human trafficking of the vulnerable in Cambodia, starting from the poorest province, Kampong Speu. His philosophy is that in order to stop trafficking SSF must improve the livelihoods of the poorest in the community, thus removing any potential opportunity for the traffickers. He believes any organization must work with families on a long-term basis and utilize the strengths they have already acquired in their lifetime. This involves nursing existing talents such as baking and turning them into fledgling businesses that will provide income and security form families.