BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Prey Lovear village, Sangkat Chom Chao 1 , Khan Po Senchey, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia

Nuon So Thero is Mrs. Nuon Phaly's son. He took over the responsibilities after Mrs. Nuon Phaly died in a car accident in 2012.

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He was born in 1972, just a few years before Phnom Penh fell under the control of the Khmer Rouge. As a child, he was separated from his mother and sister and sent to a children's labor camp during the Khmer Rouge regime. He had lost his biological father as well as a younger brother. He saw starvation and the deaths of many children in the children's labor camp. He survived the execution ordered by the camp's director woman, who accused him of sleeping on the floor without permission.

She stated, "Mr. Krisher told me about you", and I hope you will agree to teach our children here about new technology that is very new to our children." I didn't respond to her about my decision because our country had just joined ASEAN at the time, and I had a lot of work to do at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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I emailed Bernie and informed him that I would be unable to teach at the center due to a full day of work and the need to travel extensively for the ASEAN meeting. He suggested that I teach from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., or from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. if I couldn't make it from 6 p.m. I agreed, and my evening computer classes began the following day (1997-2005).

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During my first six months of teaching at FLO from 6 to 10 or 11 p.m., I had to sleep at FLO after class because it was not safe to ride my motorcycle back to Phnom Penh at that time. Every night after classes, I slept on a hanging hammock in the old canteen in front of the computer room. FLO did not have a place for me to sleep because there were too many children with limited space.

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The boys were housed downstairs in a wooden Bishiken dormitory, while the girls were housed upstairs. Because we lacked a concrete fence, one guard with an AK45 rifle walked around the campus, taking turns guarding the entire center with our older children. Almost every night, a robbery occurred near FLO.

After 2005, Bernie assigned me to run another IT program called the World Links program, which took me away from teaching at FLO. Instead of teaching computers, Mrs. Phaly asked me to be her personal advisor from that day until the day she was killed in an unexpected car accident in 2012.

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For the past 25 years, FLO has been a part of my life. The Future Light Organization (recent) is a name that many people, both national and international, are familiar with as a center for orphans and vulnerable children, but what they don't realize is that the true heart of FLO is the Family Living Opportunity for orphans and vulnerable children. They came here because their parents died or because they did not receive love from their parents/relatives due to poverty. 

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I was sitting here at FLO, watching from generation to generation the children who came to FLO with nothing and left with everything they needed to make their lives better in society. I always hope that, if at all possible, I can be a lifetime teacher for the FLO's children of all generations.

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Last but not least, many thanks to Mrs. Phaly and Mr. Hem Soeurn for establishing this home for Cambodia's needy children. Thank you to all of the donors who have helped and continue to help FLO. Thank you to all previous generations of English and computer teachers. Thank you to all of the dedicated employees who prioritize FLO's children over their own children. THANK YOU for your generous hearts in assisting the children of FLO and ensuring that FLO continues to exist today. MANY MANY THANKS!

Children will always be the ones to lead the world. This planet will be beautiful and peaceful if they are raised in a beautiful and peaceful manner. We gave them love, knowledge, and health at FLO. We want them to develop wonderful hearts full of knowledge as well as strong, healthy bodies. That is the fundamental need of every child on the planet. Despite the fact that they live in the center, the center is their one big family with no discrimination or bullying. Instead, we established a culture of solidarity, respect, helping, kindness, and gratitude, as well as, most importantly, good behavior and discipline.

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FLO will continue to serve children for many years to come. Thank you to all government agencies for your unwavering support. Also, thank you to all of the Future Light Organization's board members and staff members for their dedication and commitment to carrying out the organization's mission and preserving the legacy of our dear founders.

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Thank you to all of our local and international friends, supporters, and donors who keep FLO running in any situation.

NUON SO THERO

PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

After I finished my diplomatic mission in Japan in September 1997, Mr. Bernard Krisher (Bernie) introduced me to FLO (Future Light Orphanage at the time), which was the first orphanage to set up 30 sets of Macintosh computers. He wanted me to teach those children Information Technology skills, not just in theory, but in the practical, fast way that I was doing. I graduated from Cobol programming in Bangkok in 1985 and studied Network Administration in Japan in 1994 with an HTML web developer during my post there. After that, I launched the first Cambodian Embassy website, followed by the Cambodian Embassy in Washington.

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Mrs. Phaly was having a Buddhist ceremony on the day I arrived at FLO. After the ceremony, she took me on a tour of the campus and the computer lab. The center housed around a hundred children. Mrs. Phaly greeted me with respect and hospitality.

KEO PHANNARIN

BOARD MEMBER AND PERMANENT SECRETARY

SIMON PETRO

MEMBER OF THE BOARD AND EDUCATION DIRECTOR

NUON SOTHEAVY

MEMBER OF THE BOARD

CHAN RATANA

MEMBER OF THE BOARD