LionCore Collective is facilitating this fundraiser to ensure support is shared thoughtfully, transparently, and with dignity.

I met Madden nine years ago while traveling through Cambodia with my husband. At the time, Madden and his family welcomed us into their small hut, where we stayed as guests. They had very little, yet they shared everything—food, stories, and a level of kindness and generosity that has stayed with me ever since.

Madden comes from a deeply poor family, but he has always been driven to improve not only his own life, but the lives of those around him. Over the years, he has explored multiple ways to support his family—small business ideas, hosting travelers, and most recently, building handmade, eco-style tree huts to help revive tourism in his village.

Those tree huts are now live on Airbnb. Tourism is slowly returning, but it is still not enough to reliably support his family or his community. COVID wiped out travel entirely, and while conditions are improving, recovery has been slow and uneven.

This fundraiser supports the completion and improvement of Madden’s Airbnb huts, so they can become a sustainable source of income for his family and a long-term benefit to the community. Funds will go toward basic infrastructure many of us take for granted, including running water, construction materials, roofing, toilets, and vegetable gardens to support food security. These upgrades are essential to making the huts livable, functional, and sustainable.

Beyond his own family, Madden’s vision extends to his village. As the huts become stable, his long-term goal is to reinvest into the community—creating opportunities for others and eventually helping build a space where local children can learn English.

This fundraiser supports Madden directly by strengthening a project he has already built—helping stabilize his family and enabling continued reinvestment into the community.

This is not a large organization.

This is not charity at a distance.

This is people helping people—real connection, real impact, and real lives changed.

Collective milestones

How funds are used as we reach each milestone

Milestones reflect collective totals from all donations.

Each milestone builds on the previous one.

$150 total

Water connection + piping installed

$500 total

Outstanding construction materials fully paid

$750 total

Palm leaves for roofing & toilets / terrace

$1,000 total

4 toilets fully built (materials + labor)

$2,000 total

Desks for a school and vegetable gardens

$3,000 total

A building for children to learn English

Thank you for being here and for supporting Madden in whatever way feels right to you.