A WEALTH OF DEVELOPMENTS AND COLLABORATIONS FOR KROUSAR THMEY

2024 was a significant year for Krousar Thmey, in terms of visibility and action, thanks to the development of new partnerships and the enhancement of our image. We were fortunate to work closely with one of Cambodia’s leading sports organizations: Susu Running Team. Thanks to their recognized commitment to various social causes, we were able to combine our respective expertise to organize a charity race and raise funds to support Krousar Thmey’s actions.

The event, held in Phnom Penh on December 15, 2024, brought together 2,000 runners and several local partners and stakeholders. More than 40 Krousar Thmey staff members, accompanied by children from our protection centers, took part in the event, underlining our shared dedication to the cause. At our stand, we were able to interact with participants and present our specialized educational programs for the deaf and blind. In collaboration with the National Institute for Special Education (NISE), we offered workshops to runners demonstrating our efforts to provide accessible education for students with disabilities.

The event raised $16,161 for Krousar Thmey, an important contribution to our work. This remarkable event also put Krousar Thmey in the spotlight thanks to effective communication on the race’s equipment and infrastructure: communication panels, start and finish line ribbons, a photobooth, and messages delivered by the event’s host.

This race marks the start of a partnership between the Krousar Thmey and Susu Running teams. We will be working together for a year on sports training for our social workers in the northern region of Cambodia. This partnership illustrates Susu Running’s commitment to the health and well-being of disadvantaged communities, which resonates particularly with our mission.

Krousar Thmey’s reach continued to expand thanks to the initiatives and support of local partners such as Musica Felice, which raised $5,000, and the “À l’Art-rencontre de l’Autre” performance at the Lycée Descartes, which attracted over 400 students and raised $2,502 in donations. In addition, a social networking campaign highlighted Cambodians’ growing awareness of Krousar Thmey’s issues and their increasing willingness to support us.

All in all, 2024 was a year of extraordinary achievements for Krousar Thmey. These impactful partnerships and events not only raised funds but also broadened our outreach established meaningful connections, and intensified our mission. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported us, and we look forward to continuing our collective efforts to create lasting change for the children and communities we support.

Boren TOCH and Xavier de LAUZANNE are two passers-on of this memory. The first is director of the School of Art and Culture created in 1996 by Krousar Thmey in Serey Sophon, Cambodia, and works hard every day to teach and promote Khmer culture to a wide audience. The second, a French director, is releasing a new documentary dedicated to Cambodian classical dance, La beauté du geste, in French cinemas from March 13. Both answered our questions.

Dance is part of the DNA of Khmer culture

For more than a thousand years, the Royal Ballet of Cambodia has contributed to the prestige of the Cambodian crown, and is considered sacred. « This dance is unique, says Boren TOCH. One of its most famous forms, known as Apsara, comes directly from ancient engravings and bas-reliefs in the temples of Angkor. Immortalized in stone, the Apsara dancers were considered to be angels messengers of the gods, and are inspired by Hindu legends dating back thousands of years. In my opinion, Apsara dance is now emblematic of the country, because it reproduces the postures and costumes of the Angkorian era, adding the qualities of the modern Cambodian woman ».

The Royal Ballet of Cambodia intrigues as much as it fascinates foreign audiences. « In 1906, the troupe performed outside Cambodia for the first time, on the occasion of King Sisowath 1st’s visit to France and the Marseille Colonial Exhibition, explains Xavier de LAUZANNE. The sculptor Auguste Rodin attended a performance and immediately fell under the spell of this art form, completely new to him. He then produced a major series of watercolors and helped bring international recognition to the Royal Cambodian Ballet. » As the starting point for the film, this encounter is above all a meeting of two cultures. « Khmer dance gestures are very different and don’t have the same meaning as Western gestures. I also wanted to demystify these codes and make them more accessible to the uninitiated. »

Aquarelle de Rodin (1906)

Passing on the memory to new generations

Originally, Royal Ballet dance was transmitted orally within the palace circle. « The first archives date back to 1898. It’s one of the very first films in the history of cinema, made in Cambodia by an operator from the Lumière brothers, explains Xavier de LAUZANNE. There’s an inherent fragility in this oral tradition. At the end of the 1920s, Frenchman George Groslier feared that the decline in the budget allocated by the colonial Empire to finance ballet, in the context of soaring modernity, would doom this heritage, so he photographed the dancers’ positions on almost 300 glass plates. » 

The filmmaker is following in the footsteps of his French predecessors to document this art form and leave material traces in history: « Prince Sisowath Tesso wanted to preserve the work of Princess Buppha Devi, a great dancer and later director of the Royal Ballet. With my camera, I had the privilege of following her as she organized her last ballet. »

For over 30 years, Krousar Thmey has witnessed and contributed to the development of Cambodia, a country devastated by war from 1970 to 1991. We are currently telling this very special story through the touring exhibition “Krousar Thmey, 30 years of history in Cambodia”, inaugurated on 15th June at the Institut Français du Cambodge in the presence of H.E. Dr Hang Chuon Naron, Cambodia’s Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, H.E. Mr Jacques Pellet, French Ambassador to Cambodia and our founder, Mr Benoit Duchâteau-Arminjon, known as Benito.

Over 250 archive photos and texts in 3 languages (French, Khmer, English) retrace the history of the NGO, from its creation in the Site II refugee camp in Thailand in 1991, to the development of a special education system for deaf and blind children from scratch, via the promotion of traditional Khmer arts, which were almost decimated by the Khmer Rouge.

The exhibition is also a great opportunity to raise public awareness of visual and hearing disabilities. Workshops introducing children to Braille and Khmer sign language are being organised with the help of the National Institute for Special Education (NISE). A number of objects, both past and recent, dedicated to education for the deaf and blind are also on display to illustrate practices and how they have evolved.

The exhibition is currently touring the capital to reach a wide audience. After the French Institute and the NGO Taramana, several schools will be hosting the exhibition from September, including the Ecole Française Internationale and the Lycée Français René Descartes.

Benoît Duchâteau-Arminjon, founder of Krousar Thmey, received for the second time an award from World of Children honoring his action and that of the Foundation for the benefit of underprivileged children in Cambodia. Visit the page dedicated to Korusar Thmey

To help Krousar Thmey increase its impact, World of Children has launched an online fundraising matching campaign : every dollar donated will be duplicated by the organization, to the benefit of Krousar Thmey. Thus, a $10 donation will be worth $20, and $100 will become $200!
Donate now on the campaign page
(donations not eligible for tax deductions in Europe)