Why We Started Countless Cares for Cambodia…
From a Golden Age to the near death of a fallen nation, our father and 7 million other Cambodians endured a 4 year mass genocide that resulted in nearly 3 million deaths (almost 25% of the country’s 1975 population).
Our names are Emily and Ethan Kong. The experiences and countless stories from our father, grandparents, and the Cambodian community are what inspired us to start this organizations as children of a Cambodian genocide survivor. It is heartbreaking to imagine that the people so close to us have had to experience such events, like the Cambodian Genocide. Our father often tells us, “Watching you two grow up, I am so thankful that you never had to go through the things I went through as a child.” This is why we’ve made it our mission to give the children and families of Cambodia back the history they deserved, whether that be through the donation of supplies, or educating others and making acknowledgment to the tragedies endured by the Cambodian people.
About the Founders
Countless Cares for Cambodia is a student-led nonprofit founded by Emily and Ethan Kong in 2017. In addition to the stories and experiences of their family and Cambodian community members, the creation of the nonprofit was also largely inspired by Emily and Ethan’s first experience of traveling to Cambodia in 2017. After seeing the hardships and inequalities in education, access to resources, and livelihoods, faced by the children of Cambodia, many of whom were Emily and Ethan’s age at the time, both decided to begin giving back to their Cambodian heritage and recognize that they could make an impact on their community. The nonprofit has been established for over 6 years now, and both Emily and Ethan continue to make it their mission to continue giving back to the children of Cambodia.