Help Vote for A Cambodian,Phymean Noun, to win CNN Heroes for 2008
CAMBODIA - I want to turn everyone’s attention to CNN Top Ten heroes for 2008. This year it is an honor for all Cambodian around the world to have Phymean Noun, a Cambodian Canadian, be apart of the Top Ten. Phymean Noun is a Cambodian genocide survivor who lives in Toronto and has opened schools and provided health services to children in Cambodia.
Voting is still going on and I ask everyone that reads this blog to help vote for her. Why vote for her? ” In 2004, her organization — the People Improvement Organization (PIO) — opened a school at Phnom Penh’s largest municipal trash dump, where children are a large source of labor.
Today, Noun provides 240 kids from the trash dump a free education, food, health services and an opportunity to be a child in a safe environment. ” - CNN
There are 9 other individuals who have done great things to help others. For me, voting for Noun means a lot because as a Cambodian, I know that we I hear about the news it has always been horrible stuff. This is one of the few time that I feel especially proud to be Cambodian. I know that those kids would not make it if it wasn’t for her help, she is not only my hero but a hero to all Cambodian.
So please take a few seconds and click on the vote widget provided below. Voting continues until 6am ET, Thursday, November 20, 2008
If you would like to help spread the vote please put this widget on your blog.
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October 12th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I [will] vote for her because she help Cambodian poor children.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Okay, I’m going to vote for her! She sounds like a wonderful caring human being - and lives in Canada!!!
October 13th, 2008 at 2:46 am
I’ll vote for her. thks for sharing
October 13th, 2008 at 4:28 am
She sounds so selfless and caring and deserves every vote, i hope she wins
October 13th, 2008 at 9:15 am
wow, that’s awesome. she’s doing some wonderful things. i hope she wins too!
October 13th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I will be voting for her, thanks for the post.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Voted, and even buzzed it up (first vote!). Admirable person
October 13th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I voted.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
What an admirable person. She deserves everyone’s vote.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Very admirable person, voted for her and also buzzed this up.
Thanks for sharing.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:26 am
She is working for a noble cause and I voted for her, she more than deserves it!
October 14th, 2008 at 10:13 am
She is a very admirable person. She got my vote!
October 14th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
What a selfless individual! And a great role model for others!
October 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I’ve seen her on the CNN Heroes series. I will consider her as I read through the other entries. She does sound very deserving though.
October 17th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Dear E and all supporters,
First of all I would like to say thanks you to you and everyone that support my work. I am so grateful that CNN has dedicated time to profile people like me doing important work for others and I cant believe that I have been selected as a CNN’ Top 10 Heroes of 2008. I can say that CNN Heroes is an important program that gives voice to all the people that are doing selfless work in the world. By bringing the power of CNN viewers together with people who are continualy doing selfless work in the world can indeed make a difference in the world.
Nowaday I have 3 schools and serve over 600 children a day. We provide food, clean water, hygiene and health care. I started PIO back in 2002 and has worked for almost 6 years. I spending of my savings and dedicating all my time to the kids and the families of some of the poorest communities in Cambodia. Without my help those children don’t have chance to go to school, especially the girls. If they don’t have education it is easy for them to be trafficked
or slave and some time end up in life as a beer girl, working in nightclubs and brothels and my country will see more HIV everywhere.
Education opens doors to a better future for them. I am very happy that all my hard work has been recognized in the world and that I can share my work with a lot of people.
When I started my organization and resigned from my last work, everyone in my family and some of my friends say that I am crazy becaue I have a good job and can live in a good life. Some people asked me that do I am rich? I told them that I am not crazy and I am not very rich, but I rich in my heart nobody can see it. I see the people sadness is my sadness. I am hapy that I have made a difference in the lives of these children by providing them with education and the basic of life so that they can have a better future. I never forget what my mother had taught me dont give up hope and all the good things even she had very short life to spend with me but she inpired me and taught me that education is the key to success and not to look down on anybody and listen to people and respect people advise. In that short time I spend life with her she was able to taught me the value that make me who I am today.
As I have had a tough life, when I was 10 years old my parents were separated. I lived with my mother and a few years later she got cancer. She was sick for a few years and in my country we didn’t have good doctors. She preferred to use natural medicine to treat her cancer. She finally passed away when I was 15 years old after a long fight with cancer. I was alone, a 15 year old girl living alone and responsible for my 3 year-old niece. At that time, the rest of my family and cousins were either killed during Pol Pot. I survived my life alone with my niece and worked hard to continue my school, because I knew education is very important for me and my future. If I was not strong during that time, I don’t know what would happen to my life. Maybe I might work in restaurant, a beer girl or karaoke girl or maybe worse.
My life is connected to those children who need help… nobody wants to work on the garbage dump and sleep on the street. I couldn’t sleep when I saw the children go sleep without food and work on the garbage dump. I hope my work will inspire people to do somethings extraordinary to help others.
I am very happy to see them smiling with hope and enjoying study at PIO schools and not worried about paying the teachers like in public school. Next year I planning to build an orphanage and my long term plan is I want to create foundations for PIO in Europe, Canada, Australia and USA to continue my work helping these children. I will continue to support those who need assistance and I will never disappoint the children in Cambodia and the people that support me. This vote is for PIO, children in Cambodia and my beloved Country. I thank you to everyone that support my work. Especially I will present for Cambodia to the world. Cambodia is a small Country and the media always shows it in a bad way as being , problems with war or other bad news. I want to be a positive story from Cambodia and I want people in Cambodia to be proud of their Country and to be inspired to bring Cambodia up. I am proud of my Country and I want to show the world that there are positive stories from this small Country.
Wishing you all the best and happiness.
Many thanks,
Phymean Noun
Excutive Director, People Improvement Organization
“Serving over 600 children a day”
Vote for Phymean, one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of the year
http://heroes.cnn.com/default.asp
October 17th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Just voted for you. Thank you for doing the work that many of us can only, speak of.
I will visit your site next time I visit Cambodia.
-Sopheak
October 18th, 2008 at 10:55 am
@Phymean Noun
Thank you for stopping by and telling us more about yourself. I am glad to help get the information to people around the world about your work and about the need for education for Cambodian children.
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:38 am
Dear Phymean,
Thanks for the great job u have done for our local kids. I’m very proud of what u have commit to meet their various needs. Even though it’s not completed yet.
October 28th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
A hero thinks of others before they think of themselves.
A hero is courageous, loving and brave.
That is you Phymean Noun.
You are my inspiration.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I really admire what you are doing now. It’s selfless and courageous and major kudos to you! I would love to go to Cambodia one day and give a helping hand. This just encourages me even more to work harder and to give back to those that need help. Thanks for what you are doing.