Leadership
Project Enlighten, Board of Directors
Asad Rahman, International Manager
Olivia Lorge, Assistant International Project Manager
Founders of Project Enlighten, Asad Rahman and Olivia Lorge are Wildland Firefighters in the United States of America. Asad has been passionately fighting fires since 1985 and traveling internationally for almost as long. Olivia's involvement in fighting fires initially started during her voluntary two year commitment to AmeriCorps* National Civilian Community Corps, in 1995. She returned to wildland firefighting again in 2001 through the U.S. Forest Service. Asad & Olivia share a common ethos, that all human kind shall have the right to a life of respect and dignity.
Asad Rahman and Olivia Lorge traveled to Cambodia together in 2005, in search of a young street boy Asad had met years before in Phnom Penh. The boy had left such a significant impression in Asad's heart, that he could not forget him. It was through pure happenstance or as some would say, fate, that Asad & Olivia found the boy residing in Aki Ra's Landmine Museum, roughly 240 kilometers away from where they first met. This chance meeting with the young landmine survivor inspired a dream to help children in Cambodia attain a higher education. In 2006 The Cambodia Landmine Kids College Fund was initiated with the intent of helping the children at Aki Ra's Museum have the opportunity to expand their learning platform. Through challenging, hard work, dedication and the support of many people internationally, Asad and Olivia have been able to comprise the workings of an Education Fund for the youth at Aki Ra's Museum.
After receiving overwhelming requests to support projects that spanned outside of the original intent of The College fund, Asad & Olivia saw there was a greater need to provide humanitarian support worldwide. Their vision is to have an accountable, legitimate and transparent organization that enables them to provide respectful humanitarian assistance worldwide. With the initiation of Project Enlighten, all of this is possible while allowing them to continue to support to Aki Ra's children at the Landmine Museum. As is with firefighting, when the bell is rung, we answer the call. The bell is ringing- will you respond along side us?
Matt Keyes and Riva Duncan
Matt is a forester and Riva is a wildland firefighter in the United States of America. Riva grew up in Indiana and is a graduate of Purdue University. Matt grew up in Massachusetts and is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts. Matt's parents, both teachers, instilled a love of travel and other cultures in Matt, and he passed that on to Riva. Matt and Riva met Asad Rahman and Olivia Lorge in 2006 and were immediately moved by their stories of their experiences in Cambodia and their dream for Project Enlighten. Matt and Riva had been searching for a way to improve the lives of others and feel they were brought to Olivia and Asad for a reason. They believe strongly in education as the key to empower individuals to improve their own lives and to promote peace. Riva and Matt are to be a part of Project Enlighten, and are committed to helping Asad and Olivia make their dream a reality.
Mike Carroll
Mike Carroll is a trainer/consultant with Mission-Centered Solutions, Inc. where he has spent the past six years working with organizations and their leaders to increase efficiency and effectiveness operating in high-risk environments. Having settled in Colorado in 1989, Mike is a native of Minnesota. One of four children raised in a loving family, Mike’s parents instilled in him a compassion for others, a love of the outdoors and the wonder of discovery. Pursuing the desire to both serve others and challenge himself, Mike joined the military following high school where he spent eight years on assignments both here and abroad. Whether working a commercial fishing boat in Alaska or climbing in South America or the Cascades, Mike’s love of travel and adventure have taken him far and wide. His journeys have given him a great appreciation of the similarities of all people, the unique challenges that some of them face, as well as the power of friendship. Mike, having worked with Asad several times over the past four years while supporting leadership development within the U.S. Forest Service, was honored when Asad asked him to join the Project Enlighten team. He embraces the opportunity to help the team realize its vision of success.
Program Coordinators
Ranachith "Ronnie" Yimsut
Project Enlighten Wisconsin, U.S.A. (Chapter Manager)
Cow Bank Project, Coordinator
Born and reared in Siem Reap province, Ronnie Yimsut fled Cambodia after two decades of turmoil, where he witnessed the massacre of nearly his entire family under the Khmer Rouge regime. An orphan, a refugee, and a "political" prisoner at the age of fourteen, he is now a proud naturalized U.S. citizen, a family man, a professional, an author, an educator, an activist and a volunteer back in his native homeland. Ronnie's hobbies include ethnic food & music, native arts & crafts, language, history, custom, cultural awareness, community service/volunteering, gardening, as well as numerous outdoor recreation activities. Ronnie resides in Wisconsin with his wife of over twenty years, a Khmer-American, Thavy. Together, they are raising a daughter and son.
An educated man, Ronnie received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Oregon in 1988. With twenty years of experience as a Landscape Architect/Planner, his contributions to the USDA Forest Service have been extensive. He has been actively involved in various national and international NGO’s and Diversity Committees. Ronnie's involvement in human resource development includes: micro-business development to assist poor urban families, micro-finance lending programs, urban and rural planning, Animal and Seed Bank management in support of local farmers, and special forest product income generation in rural and remote areas. He is a co-founder of Cambodia's "Big Brother, Big Sister" program, which has supported and served over 200 orphans in Cambodia. He has been serving as an Environmental Consultant to the World Monuments Fund on conservation projects at the Angkor World Heritage Site for over a decade. As an activist, Ronnie is the subject of numerous documentary films and news reports, such as CBS News, NBC News, National Geographic Explorer, Europe ARNTE TV, and several independence documentary films. He is an accomplished writer, instructor and has provided training to university students. Contact Ronnie at: ryimsut@gmail.com or by phone at: (414) 297-3129 or cell (414) 238-5374
Gail Anderson
Education Coordinator, Project Enlighten Cambodia
My name is Gail Anderson and I'm happy and proud to call myself an Australian. I'm an avid movie watcher, love to read, enjoy team sports, I enjoy the beach and bush and of course now my new interest.... Project Enlighten!
Prior to moving to Asia I was living and working in Australia. My professional life included two different career paths: the first as a Personal Assistant and; the second as a Corporate Trainer. These two paths enabled me to work in the areas of real estate, finance and government, hospitality and last, but by no means least; education and training (my passion).
Our family moved overseas 10 years ago for both professional and personal reasons. Initially we lived in Thailand for four years, then moved to London, returned to Thailand and have now settled in Cambodia. During that time I did some corporate work, taught English to under-privileged school kids in Bangkok and now spend the majority of my time raising our young son.
I feel very fortunate to have met Asad and Olivia during their time in Cambodia in December 2007. And I now look forward to doing whatever I can to help Project Enlighten achieve its goals.
Lisa McCoy
Education Coordinator, Project Enlighten Burma
Lisa McCoy is a Rotarian from Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. She recently retired after having worked 23 years in the Public Library field. After having extensively traveled around the world throughout her life, she decided to give worth and meaning to her travels by volunteering her efforts in aid of those less fortunate than herself; particularly the children and young adults of Cambodia and Burma. Lisa's first visit to SE Asia saw her arrive the day of the Boxing Day Tsunami. She immediately headed down to southern Thailand, and helped in relief efforts there. Upon her return to Canada she fundraised for the Red Cross’s Tsunami Relief Fund. In the winter of 2005 she returned to Thailand, and took a tour of Cambodia that changed her life. She met Akira and his family of ‘adopted’ child landmine survivors at the Land Mine Museum in Siem Reap. After returning to Canada, she initiated several fundraisers to raise money for computers and some of Aki Ra’s kids’ other needs.
The winter of 2006 found her returning once again to Cambodia for two months in the capacity of English teacher to Aki Ra’s ‘kids’. It was then that she was introduced to Richard Fitoussi, International Project Manager of the Cambodia Landmine Museum and Relief Facility (CLMMRF). She also spent two weeks in Laos, where she participated in delivering school supplies to rural schools in need. The following spring she met Asad and Olivia, and was impressed by their determination and dedication to provide educational funding for Aki Ra’s young landmine survivors and the impoverished children of rural Cambodia. She went on, and continues, to fundraise throughout her Ontario district toward a government approved school-building project in northern Cambodia, supported by the CLMMRF.
This past winter Lisa spent two months in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot, volunteering in the capacity of English teacher to Burmese refugee students at ABITSU, migrant workers, newly released former political prisoners, and members of the National League for Democracy of Burma (NLD-LA). Thailand has nine huge Burmese Refugee Camps, which house over 153,000 refugees. Some of these people have been there for 20 years. Many more thousands of refugees are living their lives hidden in the mine-riddled border area jungles, with little food to survive on. Throughout her time in Mae Sot, Lisa kept in close contact with Project Enlighten, conveying the distress she felt about her incapability to provide assistance for the plight of her dedicated English class students. These students’ dedication and determination to continue their education, despite the lack of money to do so, compelled Lisa to seek help and advice from her good friends at Project Enlighten – hence the birth of ‘Project Enlighten Burma’: Project Enlighten’s new program to provide scholarship funding for eligible Burmese refugee students.
Sim Sao
Khmer Liaison, Project Enlighten Cambodia
I was born in Kampongcham Province in 1973, and grew up during the reign of Khmer Rouge. Many of my family members died during the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The Khmer Rouge separated my parents and oldest siblings from the rest of the family. They were sent to do forced labor in unknown locations. From early 1987 until 1989 I was a Pagoda boy at Ponly Pagoda/Anhcheum Commune, Tbongkhom district, Kampongcham Province. As a Pagoda boy, I served the Monks by collecting food from the villages for them to eat. During this time I began to learn Buddhist prayers and chants from the Monks. I was a student to the Monks before becoming one him self. The Monks took care of me by providing food to eat (Monks would eat first, then temple boys eat second).
1989-1998 I proudly became a Monk in Kampongcham Province. In 2001 I worked as a Hotel Receptionist at a small hotel in Siem Reap until its close in 2004. After, I saved all I could I acquired a tuk tuk & began working in this trade. It was during my time working as a receptionist that I met Asad Rahman. Little did I know this friendship would change my life path forever! In late 2005 Asad returned to Cambodia and we were reunited.
During most of the year, I’m a farmer. I help tend to the family farm, working in the rice fields. I also raise pigs, a trade I’m still learning. During the “tourist season,” I operate a tuk tuk; I proudly provide transportation to people in and around the Siem Reap area and to the Temples of Angkor Wat.
I was recruited by Asad to be a part of the Project Enlighten team and given the opportunity to work, translating (Khmer/English), for Project Enlighten. I have gladly helped in bridging cultural and language barriers for Project Enlighten.
My dream is to build a free education school someday. Emphasis will be on Khmer, Buddhism, Morals & Value, English and computer skills to people three years of age and older. I feel education is the best way to accomplish these dreams. I enrolled in a life skills computer classes but would like to get additional training in English and computer skills so I can be a better teacher. One dream that has become a reality is: http://tuktukforpeace.blogspot.com
Our Advisors
Kilong Ung
Kilong Ung of Portland, Oregon USA is a Khmer Rouge genocide survivor, a husband, a father, a Senior Software Engineer and an adjunct Instructor at Portland Community College.
A former Cambodian refugee, Kilong came to the U.S. in the summer of 1979. Education has been an element of importance for him through all his years in the United States. He is Reed College graduate and holds a Masters of Science degree from Bowling Green State University (BGSU).
Kilong Ung has a rich history of involvement and support of humanitarian and community programs. He is President of the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon (CACO), a Rotarian, Royal Rosarian and charter school board director. A speaker and messenger of two million lives claimed by the Khmer Rouge genocide, Kilong has become the voice of those who were silenced by death. It was through one of his speech engagements, that his life crossed paths with Founders of Project Enlighten, Asad and Olivia. He has become one of the most respected sounding boards for many of the ideas and dreams that have filtered into Project Enlighten.
Chann Noun
Chann was born and spent his early years growing up in Cambodia. He is one of the fortunate survivors of the Khmer Rouge’s Genocide in the Killing Fields. He attended Cambodian School of Nursing in Phnom Penh from 1980-1984. Chann struggled for sometime as a refugee, spending nearly 4 years (Aug 1984-Apr 1988) in various refugee camps along Thai-Cambodian borders and 8 months in Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Bataan, Philippines before he immigrated to Saint Paul, Minnesota on December 7, 1988. It was alone that he came to the United States, no family and no friends. With only hope and a great spirit to survive, Chann Noun has become an accomplished family man, professional and community member. He married a Cambodian orphan and emigrant of the Khmer Rouge’s Killing Fields and is raising a daughter with her. He is a graduate from University of Minnesota, holding a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and accounting. His compassion extends beyond an everyday existence in life. He has been volunteering for both non-profit and for-profit companies in various industries within the accounting field. Chann is employed as a Lead Accountant for Exchange of Portland, a maritime related corporation. He holds a volunteer position as treasurer of Cambodian-American Community of Oregon and is an advisory board member for Asian Family Center. He is passionately involved with various humanitarian projects in Cambodia and his local community.
Chanly Bob
Chanly Bob, a simple man with a heart and conscience, living life with a purpose. A simple man, a voice for the world's injustice, and a glimmer of hope for so many living and suffering in a place that took my father, left my families and my people hungry and hopeless. If I were not fortunate enough to be one of the survivors, I would be living their suffering. Fortunately my life is good, too good. Sadly I have to witness their suffering. But I, like the humanitarians of "Project Enlighten", we have a choice to do what is right. We can help ease their suffering. Best yet, we can give them hope. Living in a country infested with landmines and unexploded ordinance is one of the many things the people of Cambodia have to live with each day. And I, in my warm bed, cranky when I don't have my cup of coffee, cranky because I have to take the bus to work…we have a choice. We can do something right, something good. I am a simple man, with a heart and conscience. I am a simple man, living life with a purpose. May the world see our actions and join us in helping to ease the suffering of so many in Cambodia, in this world.
Mark Smith
Mark Smith is a partner in Mission-Centered Solutions, Inc., a company that develops leaders for organizations working in high-risk, high-consequence environments. He is also involved in the 9 Ether Clothing Company, LLC, whose clothing line is dedicated to helping people achieve the 9 levels of superior consciousness.
Mark’s parents introduced the core values of gratitude, duty, honor, love, courage and hope as the foundation for his worldview. During his 22-year military career, he struggled and strived to embody these values on operations throughout the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific and the Balkans. He is well seasoned in the best and the worst of the human experience, and is thoroughly convinced that even the humblest positive action can break down a wall of fear and hopelessness.
Mark and his family have a home in Northeast Thailand and he belongs to the Erawan (Thailand) Chapter of the Special Forces Association. He also has family in Laos and Cambodia. In addition to Project Enlighten, Mark also works to support the Free Burma Rangers, who alleviate the suffering and empower ethnic peoples persecuted by the Myanmar government.
Mark’s vision is that his family’s work has enriched their lives, the lives of those they serve, and has created a legacy of successful chain reactions with far reaching positive effects beyond their time on earth.
Mark is married, has two daughters, a granddaughter and lives in Denver, Colorado.
Richard Fitoussi
International Project Manager
CAMBODIA LAND MINE MUSEUM RELIEF Fund
Canadian photojournalist, Richard Fitoussi, met Aki Ra for the first time in April of 2000 while photographing him de-mining near Poi Pet. At the end of their meeting Fitoussi asked Aki Ra if he had a dream for the future now that the war had ended. Aki Ra responded by saying he wished to one day have a “real” landmine museum NGO so that he could continue to clear mines around his country. Fitoussi returned to Canada to realize Aki Ra’s vision of a landmine free Cambodia. He spoke at schools and service clubs across North America, fundraised, and developed an NGO mandate that embraced Aki Ra’s dream. Over the course of seven years, while Fitoussi worked to find donors to finance the project, he also implemented diplomacy strategies that helped to provide international support for the organization. In addition to holding the positions of the CLMMRF’s founder in Canada and International Project Manager in Cambodia, Working in conditions of human suffering has motivated him to seek hope in places that are often the darkest. During his second tour in Afghanistan in the spring of 2006, Fitoussi survived a Taliban roadside bomb attack that killed four Canadian NATO soldiers whom he was traveling with. He plans to work with the CLMMRF in the future and continue to photograph conflict in an effort to raise global awareness about war.
Bill Morse
Bill Morse graduated from Kemper Military College in 1968 and Texas Christian University in 1970 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and majors in education, history and economics. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army, Military Police Corps and served on active duty in 1971 and was honorably discharged in 1985. For a number of years, Bill taught high school in Augusta, Georgia, before he left the teaching profession and entered business.
Bill Morse’s career has been primarily involved with the evolution and growth of small manufacturing companies. Each of his sales positions involved finding and establishing stocking distributors, as well as hiring and managing a group of manufacturer’s representatives and/or direct salespersons. His responsibilities included the development of new products; the integration of products from acquired companies, a comprehensive marketing program, the hiring and training of both a direct field sales force and a network of manufacturer’s reps to handle specific markets, as well as profit and loss responsibilities. In addition to this Bill Morse has held positions as president and CEO of several companies since and now works as a consultant.
In 2003 Bill was introduced, through a friend, to Aki Ra, an ex-Khmer Rouge soldier taking on the daunting task of clearing all the landmines left in Cambodia. He traveled to Siem Reap to meet Aki Ra and on his return began the Landmine Relief Fund (www.landmine-relief-fund.com) to support the work of the Cambodian Landmine Museum and its Managing Director, Mr. Aki Ra. To date he has cleared in excess of 60,000 active landmines and IEDs while adopting 25 maimed, needy and orphaned children.
The Landmine Relief Fund charter is to support the work of the Cambodian Landmine Museum NGO. The LMRF became a 501c3 charity in 2004. All the funds received are forwarded to the Cambodian Landmine Museum. With the establishment of the ‘new’ museum in April of 2007 we have moved our work under the umbrella of the Museum Operations and will be sponsoring all of the de-mining activities that Aki Ra will develop in the future.