Today we’d like to introduce you to Micaela “Love” El Fattal.
Hi Micaela, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a child, I was drawn to stories of humanitarians, such as Mother Teresa, and started having a desire to help others. I grew up with family values of helping the less fortunate, as well as volunteering time, money, and monetary items to individuals and communities who need them most.
This eventually led me to an international tour to help elephants in Surin, Thailand and to help vulnerable, disadvantages students in Siem Reap, Cambodia. When helping at Feeding Dreams NGO, I was introduced to how desperate and passionate children of Cambodia are for education and for expanding their horizons of opportunities. It is a far difference that some students, schools, and communities, that do not value the privilege of being able to get schooling.
About 8 years ago, I started returning every 6 months to Cambodia to help at different schools (by now about 15), and I also have volunteered at Angkor Children’s Hospital and National Pediatric Hospital, the two largest pediatric hospitals, doing social work. I also partnered up with the Social Work Department at Royal University and United Nations Cambodia to learn how I can help best.
This led me to learn that one of the biggest hardships that families in Cambodia face are a) access to any education, at all 2) not truly understanding some human rights issues (such as domestic violence and child abuse) due to a lack of education. This was discouraging to me so I set out on a journey to help.
In May 2023, I co-founded Lovely Hearts Arts Academy in Puok, Siem Reap. I did this with mostly my own funds and some financial contributions from around the world. Currently, the NGO is self-sufficient and helps give education and more to 60 disadvantaged students in the rural countryside.
In July 2023, I founded Lovely Hearts Nonprofit. Our mission is to bridge communities and cultures through education, purposeful travel tours, and community service. In January this year, we were able to gift our first international scholarship to a volunteer, who wanted an experience to help and give back to many communities in Cambodia for 3 weeks.
In early December, Lovely Hearts will be going back on our largest international tour for two weeks seeing temples, learning khmer, taking Cambodian cooking classes, helping in classrooms, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Khmer Rouge, which was when 3.2 million people were killed in Cambodia. We will also be helping at Tiny Toones NGO.
Our individualized tours provide solo travelers, families, and large groups the opportunity to get to know locals, taste Cambodian delicacies, and mainly, they are very affordable with two different cost options, depending on your travel needs and accommodations. Lovely Hearts is really looking forward to meeting our new friends and helping them connect and learn more about international communities and how little it takes to help and give back in a meaningful and long-lasting way.
To learn more information about our tours, visit www.LovelyHeartsNonprofit.com or visit our Facebook page, Lovely Hearts Nonprofit. We are also quick to respond to emails at: Lovelyheartsnonprofit@gmail.com
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not smooth sailing, as the process of being approved as a NGO was very challenging and difficult for someone who is a foreigner of Cambodia. For example, your NGO name in English and Khmer need to have the same meaning or be considered the same idea, yet, many words do not translate or have the same meaning. This made it difficult to process and get approved for paperwork through the Cambodian Ministries.
When I started Lovely Hearts Nonprofit, I faced other challenges, such as having board members, who were very inactive and actually working against our mission. Think about taking a tour to Cambodia but not actually using our own tour, but then giving our organization a hard time since they missed special moments, helping in a rural community, and seeing unpopular but amazing locations. This was challenging but we did overcome it, like we always do, and years later, our tour is more popular than every and supported by new board members, who have booked their flights 6 months prior over excitement on getting involved. I always stay hopeful as both organizations give locals and community members opportunities to expand and learn more about getting more deeply involved.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My nickname is “Love,” which was how my co-founder and I created the NGO, Lovely Hearts Arts Academy. This also makes it easy for people to identify what our passion is, to spread love, education, and community through acts of service and learning.
My nickname is “Love,” due to my huge humanitarian mission of helping others. I have helped with homeless communities in San Diego, Escondido, Oceanside, and Skid Row area, all aiming to provide food, support, and clothes. I was also the first person to help the Grifters MCs have their first fundraising event. I was also the first American female to interact and meet 12 indigenous tribes on Palawan Island of the Philippines, when we did an outreach for 1800 individuals.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Check out our upcoming tour in December with Lovely Hearts Nonprofit. It will be an experience of a lifetime. What better way to start your holiday season with giving back to those that most need?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lovelyheartsnonprofit.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelyheartsnonprofit
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550557284572
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micaela-el-fattal-2796a7319
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PS-2iGgdMmc&t=88s&pp=ygUabG92ZWx5IGhlYXJ0cyBhcnRzIGFjYWRlbXk%3D
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/lovely-hearts-bonsall?osq=Lovely+Hearts
