Meet the Team
We - the Reconnecting Cambodia project - have been proudly going since 2021, organically growing into a small but highly dedicated team, expertly positioned and united by our love for Cambodia and deep respect for the identity of the Khmer people.
With international offices in the UK as Reconnecting Cambodia and in the Netherlands as DNACambodia, we proudly operate on the ground in Cambodia as the Khmer Family Charity Organization KFCO). These locally registered sister NGOs unite in our mission to bring families back together!
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Co-Founder, Reconnecting Cambodia (UK)
Patron, Khmer Family Charity Organization (Cambodia)
Li-Da was born in Cambodia but raised in the UK. Her background in TV and independent film helped her explore her identity and Cambodia’s history in her documentaries Belonging (ITV, 2004) and Prue Leith: Journey With My Daughter (Channel 4, 2020). She maintained a connection to Cambodia through the Nginn Karet Foundation for Cambodia and her mentor Ravynn Karet Coxen. Inspired by the harrowing but not unfamiliar story of 77-year-old Mrs. Soth losing her baby daughter, Li-Da founded Reconnecting Cambodia.
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Co-Founder, Reconnecting Cambodia (UK)
Ilana was born in the UK and raised with a relaxed approach to her Jewish faith. While not religious, she understood her family’s history and knew the stories of her grandmother’s cousins lost in the Holocaust. Upon meeting Li-Da and learning about the Cambodian genocide, she felt an immediate connection. She wanted to support Li-Da’s mission to reunite families and educate younger generations on preserving these stories. Only together, we learn, rebuild, and continue our hope to reconnect.
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Director, KFCO (Cambodia)
Po-Thai has worked as a tour guide and archaeologist at the Angkor World Heritage site for over 20 years. Through his film and TV work as a fixer and producer,he met Li-Da Kruger in 2019 while she was searching for her birth parents for a documentary. Despite extensive research, a DNA test proved Li-Da and a mother looking for her daughter weren’t related. Inspired by his experiences, Po-Thai is helping his compatriots by leading Reconnecting Cambodia’s efforts through KFCO in Cambodia to help society heal from the Khmer Rouge regime.
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Volunteer | Phnom Penh Representative (Cambodia)
Chanserey was born in Cambodia and raised in the UK. Feeling out of place and disconnected from her Cambodian roots, she returned to Cambodia with a desire to reconnect with her heritage. Introduced to Li-Da by her uncle, Chanserey passionately joined Reconnecting Cambodia to support its mission of reuniting families and rediscovering history. She deeply believes in the power of healing and forming new connections with lost relatives, especially given the painful past that tore many families apart.
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Co-founder | DNACambodia (NL)
Kari and her spouse adopted two children from Cambodia. As the children grew older, they questioned their origins, and Kari realized the stories they were told might not be true. Familiar with DNA testing, Kari saw its potential to help her kids. In 2012, she started the Khmer Cousins DNA Project to test adopted children for familial connections. Remarkably, her two kids were found to be 4th cousins. Merging this project with first DNACambodia, then Reconnecting Cambodia will expand testing and support in Cambodia.
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Co-founder | DNACambodia (NL)
Meta first visited Cambodia in 2002 to adopt her daughter. She tried to gather information about her origins but later found it was likely incorrect. Using 23andMe and Ancestry, they sought relatives and joined the Khmer Cousins Project. In 2016, Meta started a Facebook page to help find her daughter’s birth relatives. Inspired in 2018, she raised funds and traveled to Cambodia in 2019, collecting 15 DNA samples. In 2020, Meta’s dream came true as she, Kari, and Li-Da started an NGO to continue this work.
