Staff trip, Fy's picture book, JICA video

A long-awaited staff trip 🦀

Last month, our entire team embarked on an exciting 4-day, 3-night staff trip! Answering the popular request to “go to the sea,” we set off for Kampot and Kep provinces. With the stunning coastline as our backdrop, we feasted on fresh seafood, swam in the ocean, took a boat to explore an island, and enjoyed plenty of fun seaside activities.

One of the trip highlights was ziplining—an exhilarating first-time experience for many of our team members! While some were initially terrified (there may have been some shaky knees 😅), everyone conquered their fears and walked away with big smiles and lasting memories.

On the third day, we visited Kirirom in Kampong Speu Province, often called “Cambodia’s summer retreat.” Surrounded by lush greenery and tranquility, it was the perfect spot to unwind and reconnect with nature.

Our journey home took us along Cambodia’s first toll highway, which opened in 2022. Driving on the modern expressway was a glimpse into the country’s rapid development, with another major expressway linking Phnom Penh to the Vietnam border slated for completion in 2027.

This long-awaited trip was a wonderful way for our team to recharge and bond, leaving us refreshed and ready to dive into the second half of the CLIP3 project with renewed enthusiasm! 💪

(Note: This trip was entirely self-funded. Your generous donations remain fully dedicated to TukTuk’s daily operations and activities.)

Fy's new picture book is here! 🗑️

In last month’s newsletter, we shared the exciting news about the first picture book created by a TukTuk staff member. Now, we’re thrilled to announce that the second book has already been completed! This time, the author is Fy—a familiar face to many of you from TukTuk’s YouTube videos, where he designs activity games and lends his voice to animated characters.

Fy’s new book is titled “A Rubbish Boy”. The story follows Rayot, a young boy who picks up trash along the roadside on his way to preschool every day. His classmates tease him, calling him “A Rubbish Boy.” But everything changes when their teacher explains how improperly discarded waste harms the environment. Realizing Rayot was doing the right thing all along, his classmates apologized, played together kindly, and helped keep the road trash-free from that day forward.

Cambodia faces significant challenges with waste management, and visitors are often struck by the litter scattered across the streets. This picture book delivers a heartfelt and impactful message: children hold the key to shaping a cleaner, more sustainable future for Cambodia.

We’re so proud of Fy’s creativity and commitment to using storytelling as a tool for change!

Khmer of the month

Khmer Word: Som Tuk Tae

Did you know May 21st is celebrated as International Tea Day? In Cambodia, it’s customary to be served fragrant jasmine tea or soothing lemongrass tea at restaurants. Despite the tropical heat, tea is typically served in a teapot. If you’d like it chilled, simply pour it over a glass of ice—it’s delicious and refreshing, whether enjoyed hot or cold!

Next time you’re dining out in Cambodia, try ordering tea by saying: “Som Tuk Tae”—which means “Tea, please” in Khmer. Cheers to enjoying tea, wherever you are! 🫖🍃

Khmer Food: Tae Meaombaw (Butterfly pea flower tea) 👇

GDG meeting 🤝

Though a little time has passed, we wanted to share some exciting updates from the end of March when Adrian, Mayu, and Milly attended the annual Cambodia GDG Networking Conference hosted by the Global Development Group (GDG). This full-day event was an incredible opportunity to connect with NGOs from all over Cambodia and exchange ideas.

One delightful surprise was meeting staff from the Kulen Outreach Organization in Siem Reap, who turned out to be big fans of TukTuk’s picture books! They discovered our books at a café where Guy had introduced them and have been using them regularly for storytime at their school. After seeing the new samples we brought to the conference, they were thrilled to complete their collection with the full set.

We also had the chance to reconnect with Sunrise Cambodia, an organization that purchased our books last year. Inspired by their incredible work, we later visited their school in Kandal, near Phnom Penh. We’re excited to share that this meeting sparked plans for a brand-new collaborative picture book project—more details to come soon!

This was our second time attending the GDG meeting, and once again, we came away inspired, energized, and eager to turn these connections into impactful collaborations. We’re already counting down to next year’s event!

A professional video is now complete! 🎥

Back in February, during one of our workshops, a JICA publicity video team visited us to film a special project. Their goal was to create a video highlighting the work of Mayu, who was selected as a recipient of the 2nd JICA Returned Volunteer Social Contribution Award.

The result is an impressive video that features not only scenes of TukTuk’s activities but also interviews with participating teachers, footage from Pursat Province, and more. Thanks to this video, we were reminded once again of the incredible support we receive from the education department staff, local teachers, and our beloved TukKrousah.

The video also shares how Mayu—one of the co-founders of TukTuk—first came to Cambodia, why she decided to support early childhood education, and what lies ahead for the current and future projects. If you watch this video, you’ll quickly get a full picture of TukTuk’s journey and mission 👏

Let's learn together about menstruation 💛

As part of TukTuk’s wellbeing initiative—and to make use of donated cloth sanitary pads—we recently held a menstrual health workshop for all TukTuk staff.

This workshop was made possible through the generous support of Ms. Motoko Matsubara, a Japanese menstrual trainer who promotes “Let It Out Menstruation” methods that allow women to manage their periods without pads. Motoko kindly encouraged us to share her approach here in Cambodia as well.

From her many workshop topics, we chose one that both men and women could benefit from—basic menstrual health education for all staff. In addition, the female staff also had the opportunity to learn about the "Let It Out" method that Motoko herself practices.

Although Cambodia includes sex education in its curriculum, it often lacks detail and depth. This workshop became a valuable opportunity for learning and understanding, for both women and men. It was also fascinating to see how perceptions of menstruation differ between Japan and Cambodia.

We hope that this initiative contributes to making our office an even more comfortable and supportive environment. If you’re curious about Motoko’s work and menstrual training, be sure to check out her Instagram!

Voluntuker spotlight | Cerrie

This month marks Cerrie’s third visit to Pursat Province. Nearly 10 years have passed since her first time here, and she has continued her connection with Cambodia ever since. This time, she’s volunteering with TukTuk!

What first brought you to Cambodia?: In 2015 I travelled around South East Asia, but unfortunately didn’t make it to Cambodia. I loved the experiences I’d had whilst travelling, immersing myself in new cultures and communities, and wanted to do more. However, I felt that if I travelled again, I needed to do it with a purpose and to contribute in some way to places and communities that may need support, which led me to volunteer in Cambodia in 2016 for 10 months, and in 2018 for 3 months. To be returning 7 years later is a dream fulfilled and I’m so pleased to be able to help with various projects once again.

How did you first get involved with TukTuk?: I met Adrian and Mayu when I first arrived in 2016, whilst volunteering with another local NGO. They’d created a wonderful support network and community of volunteers from many NGOs in the town, and we became great friends. I remember even back then, being in awe of their work and their ambition to bring brightness and fun to young people’s lives through education and creativity. I’ve been blown away by how much their work has evolved and the extensive and original resources that have been created by the team, to support, inspire and empower teachers. TukTuk has always been in my thoughts, and I’ve always intended to come back and visit, and see how I can contribute and support their amazing work.

What is your current job?: I’m a Project Consultant providing leadership and support to establish and progress community development programmes – predominantly in the health and community development sector space. I’m also the founder of Mindful Moves which focuses on providing support and resources to individuals, organisations and communities to help improve peoples health, wellbeing and a sense of connection. Delivering wellness support that’s approachable, sustainable and built around real-life tools.

What do you do at TUKTUK?: I’ve been learning new skills at TukTuk…helping to build their new studio for filming videos…it’s amazing what can be built with the simplest of materials and bamboo! I also helped the lovely Olivia to make books as mentioned in the previous TukTalk newsletter. I’ve also been working closely with the wonderful Keiko to explore how we can strengthen coordination and communication across the team—and it’s been fantastic to see the energy building around this! With so many brilliant pieces of work underway—like writing books, developing activity sheets, producing video content, and preparing for and delivering workshops—we’ve introduced new ways to stay connected and on track. These include daily Huddle meetings to keep momentum high, supportive 1:1 weekly check-ins to talk through progress and any challenges, and easy-to-use templates to help with prioritisation and planning. We’re also excited to be launching monthly team meetings where everyone will have the chance to spotlight their work, share achievements, reflect on what they’ve learned, and set their focus for the month ahead. It’s been inspiring to witness the team’s creativity and commitment shining through!

What makes you want to keep coming back to Cambodia (or Pursat)?: Most definitely the people! My dear friends and colleagues literally inspire me every day with the positive impact they make. It’s been a heart-opening experience to have returned. I see such passion and pride in the work people are doing to help educate others and support the development of future generations. Coming back to Cambodia reminds me every time about the important things in life - to share knowledge and skills where you can and where it’s most needed, to embrace and integrate into different cultures and communities, and how the gifts we truly receive are through giving back.

As mentioned above, Cerrie is currently helping us review TukTuk’s management structure. To efficiently achieve the goals of the CLIP3 project, which now has less than a year remaining, we’ve started implementing daily meetings and other team coordination practices. We hope to share more about this with you all soon. Cerrie’s bright and positive energy lifts everyone’s spirits each day, bringing a cheerful atmosphere to the whole team ✨

We are currently looking for volunteers with the following skill sets to help TukTuk bring educational resources to Cambodia;

• Google Ads
• Fundraising
• Website Development
• Videographer

If you want to get involved or know someone with skills that could help us spread positive education in Cambodia, hit that link below and say hi (we're friendly, we promise). 😉

Get Involved ⇢

Tuktography highlights 📸