Denise Arnold and Soeun Ouch have been working together for about 10 years, changing things for the better in Cambodia. Photo/supplied
Angelina Jolie is certainly making waves with her new film First They Killed My Father, even though it hasn't officially been released yet.
The film showcases her skills as a writer, director and producer while also raising awareness of the shocking things that happened in Cambodia under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
More than three decades after the regime collapsed, the developing southeast Asian country is still struggling to recover from losing 2 million people to starvation, murder, disease and over-work.
Angelina's film is especially timely for Tauranga, where our very own angel of mercy is raising money for a bold new plan to help young Cambodians get a better education.
Denise Arnold has already done much to help the country's schools through her charity, the Cambodia Charitable Trust, which has helped raise education standards in 16 schools and two teacher training colleges over the past 10 years.
This month, a range of charity events and an art exhibition are being held to fund her idea to turn these schools into "hubs" that will help lift up education standards at a much greater number of surrounding schools.
"The idea behind having core schools is that they can help lift up the surrounding schools," Denise says. "We can fund a whole cluster of schools for around $40,000 or so, and it's something that we can easily scale up in other parts of the country."
Denise has been flying over to Cambodia regularly for several years now to work hands-on with her charity. But during the past few weeks her focus has moved closer to home as she rushes around getting the events organised, with the support of a dedicated team of volunteers.
All this has been going on while Denise juggles her role as a fulltime lawyer at Tauranga firm Lyon O'Neale Arnold.
"It seems like there's always so much to do," Denise says. "Hopefully, people will respond to Soeun's story and find it within themselves to help out."
She's talking about Soeun Ouch, the country director of her trust, who is coming to New Zealand for the first time to open his heart about his chilling experiences under the Khmer Rouge.
Soeun will speak at a charity event at ASB Stadium in Tauranga - and this will be the only time he will speak publicly while in New Zealand.
Soeun was snatched away from his parents as a child and forced to work in the rice fields with a labour gang. There was very little food, and before long he became so hungry he couldn't chew his meagre rations properly.
Soeun also took to sleeping with his back against a tree so that he'd have the strength to stand up in the morning - those people who couldn't stand up were murdered.
When the regime fell in 1979, Soeun learned his parents were dead. An older sister helped him by enrolling him in a school that was a 4km walk from the place where he was living. Soeun learned to write on pieces of scrap paper torn from a cement bag, and went on to become a teacher.
Much later, in 2007, he met Denise when she travelled to Cambodia to see how she could help.
"I had heard what an amazing person he was through VSA. I met him at a school and was so impressed with him I asked him how he would go about changing things for the better in Cambodia and we have worked together ever since," says Denise.
Soeun says the trust is doing amazing work in his country.
"It's providing teaching resources, uniforms, books, learning materials, paper, crayons," he says. "And then there's the school improvements such as water, infrastructure, repairs, toilets, water tanks and gardens."
It might seem strange to encourage gardens in schools, but Cambodia lost much of its agricultural knowledge under the Khmer Rouge. Parents have been visiting the trust's schools to tend the gardens so they can learn with their children about plant care.
I came to this country and I fell in love with its people and learned its history. In doing so, I learned how little I actually knew about the world.
Knowledge was lost from the school system, too.
"It might have been three decades ago," Denise says, "but Cambodia is still really struggling because most of country's teachers were murdered under Pol Pot and all that knowledge was lost.
"That's why our work is so important. Apart from helping the schools, we're also training teachers in modern teaching methods that will help rebuild all that knowledge."
Denise acknowledges there are a lot worthy causes here in New Zealand, but says the things that happened in Cambodia "really are on a different level".
Angelina's film is due to be released on Netflix on September 15 - just one day before Soeun will give his talk in Tauranga.
The film is based on the memoir of the same name by Loung Ung and was filmed in the Cambodian province of Battambang. "The point of this film is to bring attention to the horrors children face in war, and to help fight to protect them," Angelina says.
She hopes the film will help Cambodians speak more openly about the trauma the country experienced under Pol Pot.
It's been a special journey for Angelina, who adopted her eldest son, Maddox, from Cambodia.
"This country was my awakening," she told the BBC in an interview.
"I came to this country and I fell in love with its people and learned its history. In doing so, I learned how little I actually knew about the world."
Hopefully, people will respond to Soeun's story and find it within themselves to help out.
The movie has already been screened in a temple at Angkor, where Tomb Raider was partly filmed. Angelina attended the screening with her six children and Cambodian king Norodom Sihamoni, who had earlier given her citizenship for the work she had done through an environmental foundation she established in the country.
Denise's Tauranga charity plays an amazingly hands-on role in helping Cambodians, as all donations received are spent directly on helping out.
"Unfortunately, money given to some charities doesn't always go where it's meant to go," Denise says. "That's why I control the spending myself, through New Zealand banks."
Apart from Soeun's talk, a fun night of Scottish song and dance in Tauranga with Celtic band Twisty Willow and an art exhibition in Auckland are being held to raise money for the trust.
"Kiwis are wonderfully generous people. But not everyone wants to hear about the horrible things that happened in Cambodia, so a night of dance is one way they can help a great cause while having some fun."
the details
Charity events
What: A Child of War: A Generation of Hope
Where: ASB Stadium Lounge, Tauranga
When: Saturday, September 16, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Tickets: $40, including nibbles and two drinks, at www.eventspronto.co.nz/cambodia
What: Ceilidh
Where: Tauranga Citizens Club, 13th Ave, Tauranga
When: Sunday, September 24, 6pm-9.15pm
Tickets: $30 from www.eventspronto.co.nz/ceildh
What: Children of Cambodia - A Rising Generation
Where: Studio 541, Mt Eden, Auckland
When: September 15 to October 1
More info: www.studio541.co.nz