Many years of service to PSE:
In 1999, during a world tour, Samantha decided to spend 15 days in Cambodia. Following the advice of a friend, she went to the PSE center to discover the association and finally offered her help to Papy and Mamie (Christian and Marie-France des Pallières, the founders) who told her: "you have the class upstairs, in the very first building at the entrance". So she found herself a teacher for 4 months in the association Pour un Sourire d'Enfant. With 3 hours of classes per day, Samantha introduces the 9th grade students to the business world, teaches them how to go through job interviews and how to write a CV. It is a real experience for her, full of memories and emotions that will make her come back 23 years later.
A return to PSE 23 years later:
In July 2022, Samantha, on vacation in Cambodia, decides to share what she experienced 23 years earlier with her daughter and her partner. It is an opportunity for her to see with her own eyes the beautiful evolution of PSE, to see Mamie and Leakhena again and to relive those strong emotions. "I saw the blue gate, I cried. Here it's a bit like a Proust's madeleine". All these emotions that come back, the good memories, the sensations. But also the shock, the shock of not recognizing the center and all these new buildings, the positive shock of seeing that everything has changed, that from now on there are no longer 150 children but 6500 children to whom PSE offers protection, education, a future. "What hasn't changed are the uniforms, the children have grown and new ones have arrived."
Children who still need you today:
Today, Samantha would like to speak to you about this need to get involved:
"The center has changed a lot and unfortunately the saddest observation is to see that around, the misery is still present, the children beg during school hours. It is like a bottomless pit. It is important to support this association for all that it is able to achieve for the children from their youngest age to professional training. If you have the opportunity to come to Cambodia to see concretely what the association does or to support in any way PSE it is incredible. You will not regret participating in this beautiful action.
Back in France, Samantha decided to get involved for 5 years as a volunteer for the association and member of the board of directors. Today, she and her family are sponsors of PSE.
