Book Sales Helping Feed Poor Children

Khmer Times
Tin Sokhavuth

A copy of ‘The Culinary Traditions of Cambodia’ published by PSE to raise money to buy food for hungry children. Supplied

Pour Un Sourire d’Enfant (PSE), or For A Smile of Children, an NGO taking care of disenfranchised youths, has published a series of books entitled “The Culinary Traditions of Cambodia” in a bid to collect money to improve the lives of those who come to under their care.

Sok Sauphorn, the communications and fundraising director at PSE, told Khmer Times yesterday that one book sold for $40 could provide 32 meals for one youth at the PSE center.

“So far, we have sold 200 copies and we have published 2,000 copies. The book is written in Khmer, English and French and can be found in 60 bookstores across the country,” she said.

She added that the book featured about 70 popular Cambodian food recipes, each selected based on their popularity and simplicity.

She praised the book for its authentic feel, with many of the photographs taken in rural Cambodian kitchens.

“The book is very special, because we want to show the readers authentic food. We don’t want to exaggerate it just to make the food look good as many other books do,” she said.

The PSE has previously published a wide range of books based on Cambodian cooking, including Cambodian deserts and books on specialties for cooking fish as well as common tools found in Cambodian kitchens.

The NGO carries out a range of relief and vocational training programs to help lift disenfranchised youths out of poverty, with education being first and foremost in its campaign.

“If we want to get a child out of poverty for good, education is a priority. A child taken under PSE’s wing will go to a state school or to a remedial educational center according to his/her academic level,” its website states.

The PSE was founded by French couple Christian des Pallieres and his wife Marie-France in 1996 after they saw children collecting rubbish in the biggest garbage dump in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district.

According to PSE, more than 4,000 youths living with them attend school, with 1,500 getting vocational training.