The Dream of an Education: How Phymean Noun Built a School

“We want to go to school.”Part of the Orca Biography series for middle-grade readers, this illustrated nonfiction book introduces young readers to Phymean Noun and her mission to give Cambodian children living in poverty access to education.



As a young child, Phymean Noun dreamed of learning to read and write. But growing up during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in Cambodia in the 1970s made that dream impossible.



Formal education was not only forbidden at that time but also could result in a death sentence. When the Khmer Rouge government was eventually overthrown, Phymean was finally able to go to school and fulfill the promise she made to herself as a young girl.



Years later, when Phymean was working in Phnom Penh, she met several unhoused and hungry child laborers who were unable to get an education because they had to work to feed their families. Like Phymean, their greatest dream was to go to school. Phymean knew she had to help. She left a stable job and salary behind to start the People Improvement Organization (PIO) in 2002, an NGO that educated, fed and also housed children in need. Since its founding, PIO has helped 8,000 children accomplish their dream of receiving an education.