The Trip That Changed Our Lives.

Jamie, Hannah and Paulina arrived in Cambodia in October of 2018. We had pre-arranged a huge order of school supplies with a mom and pop shop close to where we were staying in the heart of Siem Reap. Upon our arrival we were picked up, quickly brought to the hotel to drop off our bags and headed straight to the supply shop to pick up our order. Damdin, our contact in Cambodia, hadn’t realized the amount we ordered and was only expecting a few dictionaries, basic notebooks and writing utensils. When we drove up to the storefront, he walked straight past the huge pile of supplies covering the sidewalk not even realizing that it was all ours. He was in absolute shock that the entire lot was going to be donated to his wife’s school and to the children.

First day in Cambodia with all three Co-founders collecting the supplies to be donated to the children in Siem Reap. This supplied over 300 children with school supplies.

We brought the supplies back to our hotel, had some dinner after an exhausting day of travel and got to work filling each individual backpack with notebooks, pens, pencils and tons of school supplies these kids were in desperate need of. It took us almost four hours to complete, but we had more than enough energy stemming from the excitement of the next day being the big unveiling, where we would hand each and every child their very own brand new backpacks with supplies and supply the school with some of the necessities needed to function properly.

Co-founder Paulina unwrapping backpacks to fill with supplies for the children in Cambodia.

With the help of three TUK-TUKs, (local taxi drivers), we drove towards the school where we were expecting to drop the supplies off at the school and meet the children, but quickly realized the excitement in the community was going to be more than anything we could have imagined. We were welcomed on the street outside of the by a few of the best speaking english students welcoming us individually into the school and thanking us for our donation. We heard a loud crowd of kids beyond the gate and to our surprise, there were hundreds of children lining the school yard cheering for us when we walked in. Words cannot express the feeling we got when entering that school, seeing the excitement on every child’s face as we walked in with their new supplies.

Co-founder Jamie receiving homemade bracelets from the children at the village school.

Each individual child lined up and handed each of us a had handmade bracelets and handwritten cards in their best English expressing their gratitude, as well as a big hug. By the end of it, all three of us were covered from wrist to elbows in handmade bracelet in which we were able to mail each one of our donors once we got back to America as a thank you for their selfless donation.

Once this was all over the children lined up with great anticipation for their new backpacks full of supplies. Once fully dispersed, we showed the principle all the supplies we were donating to her and the school. Huge white boards of the classrooms, printer paper and ink, ceiling fans, hundreds of Khmer to English dictionaries and so much more. Chhaiky (Damdin’s wife and the principle of the school) was blown away, but we were equally as blown away by her story as well

The experience of offering a backpack filled with school supplies to a child that had been anticipating our arrival for weeks far surpassed anything we could have expected. The desire of these children to get an education touched us deeply and shaped the future of our nonprofit. The dedication of the principle Chhaiky and the generosity of all who donated has given hope to the children in this community. Our goal as The Hearts Company to continue to spread across the world, impacting children and communities in need and creating sustainable education systems and accessible supplies to those who need and deserve it.

If this story has inspired you to travel with a purpose, you’re in luck! This summer you have the chance to join us in Cambodia to get first hand experience in aiding these communities and children in need. You can find more information about group trips on our Book Now page at www.theheartsco.org.

If you cannot join us this summer but would like to show your support by donating, please check out our donor and sponsorship page.