Great Books in Khmer (2004)

Recognizing that many of Cambodia’s youth lack a love of reading, AAfC translated and published the internationally acclaimed children's book by J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone into the Khmer language. AAfC partnered with a generous donor to fund the translation of the book and printed 10,000 copies.

Beginning in January, 2005, copies of Harry Potter in Khmer were distributed to thousands of children through our Rural Schools network and put on sales in three major book shops in Phnom Penh at a subsidized price of 50 cents per book. Books are sold at a loss with the restriction that only children and teenagers are allowed to purchase a copy, not adults. This policy also encourages parents to bring along their children to the book shop to get a copy. When children are brought to a bookstore, we hope that they can witness the world of picture books, comedy books, and various school materials that inspire them to develop a passion for reading and learning. Children are so inspired that they often return to the book shops to ask when the second book in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, will be published.

We are currently in the process of publishing a second book in Khmer – When Broken Glass Flows by Chanrithy Him – targeted towards teenagers and adults. The book, written by a Cambodian living in the United States, is a memoir of life under the Khmer Rouge regime. The first edition of 3,000 copies is funded by the generosity of a Rural Schools donor, ensuring that a new generation of Cambodians does not forget the story of the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime that ruled the country from April 1975 to January 1979.