Organization Information

Shanti Volunteer Association was founded to
provide support to refugees from Cambodia,
and has now reached its 40th anniversary.
During this time, we have received the support of a great many people, and worked through our various activities, particularly library activities,
to expand educational opportunities
to underprivileged children around Asia.
Over the course of last four decades,
we have had the wonderful opportunity
to see that first generation of children
whom our organization was able to help have grown up themselves provide support
to the young children who came up after them.
We believe that this is the first step in the creation of a society of peace (shanti).
We will work together as one community
to promote our activities, one step at a time.
I would like to ask all of you to continue to watch over our activities.

When I was in Afghanistan, I came across a child soldier whom I shall never forget.
As he related how he lived, he bluntly told us, “Whenever we run out of food, we just raid the next village.”
This young boy had a tragic history. When he was a mere five years old, a militia abducted him from his home and taught him how to use a gun and fight for their cause. He grew up knowing only that he must fight on the front lines. He never again experienced the love of his parents, and he never attended any school. One day he came upon the mobile library operated by Shanti. As he listened to a member of Shanti’s staff read a story to the assembled children, this young soldier with a hardened, distrusting demeanor gradually became drawn into the story. He even began to laugh at the funny moments. Little by little, the child soldier’s face transformed into that of a 15-year-old boy again. He seemed to have regained a little bit of his lost childhood before catching himself and quickly turning his face in embarrassment.
It was at this moment that I became keenly aware of the power of storytelling, picture books, and picture shows, which is Shanti’s mission.
For more than 40 years, Shanti has been working in Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and other Asian countries, creating programs to promote reading and improve the quality of education.
Clearly, for every individual, access to education is a human right. It is not only about learning to read and write; a complete education also teaches us the skills that enable us to live our own lives. We have seen children who have found hope through books and shaped their own futures.
Shanti wants to continue working with everyone who wants to make the world a better place, working with children in difficult circumstances, ultimately for a peaceful society.