Cambodia school built in memory of Cobham teen

Thoeun Sergeant

June 07, 2010
By Rebecca Connop Price
GetSurrey.co.uk (UK)

A SCHOOL in Cambodia being built in memory of a Cobham teenager will welcome its first pupils in 2010.

Just over two years ago, Thoeun Sergeant, a 17-year-old A-level student at Esher College, died in a fire at his house in Byfleet Road.

Since the tragic accident, his mother Ingrid Morris has set up Thoeun’s Trust in an effort to do something positive following his death.

Thoeun spent the first six years of his life in a poor area of Cambodia where many children still have little or no access to regular education.

Thoeun’s Trust aims to help the children in this area get access to education.

Helped by family and Thoeun’s friends from the Thames Ditton college, Ms Morris has worked with a local charity to establish the plans for the school.

Once completed, it will be a six-classroom school in the Cambodian village of Leap.

Ms Morris said: “The villagers were so keen to give their children an education that they donated the land and built a road to the site themselves.

“The provincial governor approved the project and the Cambodian government has agreed to supply teachers and text books.”

Building started in February and the school is expected to be completed this autumn, ready to serve more than 500 children from Leap and the surrounding villages.

Ms Morris said: “As an additional bonus, the construction project is bringing work to a desperately poor area and a sense of optimism to the community as a whole.”

Fundraising dinner

There are plans to take students from Esher College to the Cambodian village during the next academic year.

Thoeun’s Trust, now a registered UK charity, was set up following the teenager’s death in April 2008.

He had lived in an orphanage in Cambodia before he was adopted by Ingrid and her husband Karl Sergeant.

Ingrid said Thoeun - who died from smoke inhalation at the family home - was a bright child who wanted a career where he could help people.

She said he would have liked the idea of the school.

“He was a very kind and generous person, he really was.

“We took him back to Cambodia and I think he wanted to help out.

“But it’s very hard to know what to do when something that awful happens. I’m doing it for him and for me and for the community.”

The trust is holding a fundraising dinner and auction with entertainment at the Inn on the Lake, Silvermere Golf Club, Cobham, on September 17 .

For more information, visit www.thoeunstrust.com.

School could be built in memory of tragic Thoeun

Thoeun Sergeant

Mar 10 2009
By Vicki Eltis
Surrey Herald (UK)

A 17-year-old student killed when fire ripped through his Cobham home is to get a trust in his memory to raise money for Cambodian villagers.

Esher College pupil Thoeun Sergeant, died in the blaze in Byfleet Road last April when a fire spread through the roof.

His mum Ingrid Morris managed to escape. She adopted Thoeun when he was six years old from an orphanage in Cambodia and wants to help other Cambodian teenagers as a tribute to her son's life.

Former journalist Ingrid, who now lives in Weybridge, said: "Thoeun had a trust fund and I want to set up a charity to add to that fund for Cambodian teenagers. I thought his life would then really have some great meaning. It means out of a tragedy something good will come and I will feel better."

Ingrid wants to focus her fund raising efforts on the Kompong Thom Province, and the village of Leat, where Theon was born.

She said: "There are a number of possible projects but one I hope to start is to build a school. Currently there is a little hut where 67 children aged five to 13 learn in the morning and another 67 learn in the afternoon.

"I had big ideas in the beginning but then you have to think that they don't have electricity, so we have to start with the simple things like desks, writing materials and books."

Ingrid, who is half Swedish, adopted Thoeun with her late husband Karl while living in Singapore. They then moved to Australia, where Thoeun spent most of his primary years.

He was a keen piano player who had been studying English Literature, history and music at Esher College at the time of his death.

Ingrid said: "Thoeun had lots of brothers and sisters who he grew up with in the orphanage and who now live all over the world. He was loved by so many friends from around the world.

"He was very artistic, sensitive and a lovely kid. He was a typical teenager, who had a very difficult start in life but who grew into a lovely, gentle boy.

"He did remarkably well for somebody who started with nothing and who didn't even speak any English."

Friends and family from all over the world raised money for a well in Leat, which they named in memory of Thoeun after hearing about his death.

Ingrid returned from a fact-finding trip to Cambodia on Monday (2) where she investigated possible projects, along with Tabitha UK, a charity which runs the orphanage Theon was adopted from and who she hopes to work with in the future.

Ingrid also has the support of Esher College.

International development officer for the college, Rachel Evans, said: "We are looking for opportunities to support educational projects in Cambodia and it is hoped that in the future students may participate in volunteer work in Cambodia."

Students who are studying leisure and sports at the college are also organising a boat party to raise money for Thoeun's Trust.