Something like a Phnom-enon
“Today is a very special occasion because it represents a dream that has become a reality,” said Pred. “When Tiny Toones asked Bridges Across Borders for help a year and a half ago, I asked Kay Kay what his dream was, and he told me that all he wanted was to be able to run Tiny Toones full-time and to have a real center where the kids could practice and learn. Today, I am so proud that Kay Kay’s dream has come true.”
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As crowds pierced into the venue, they were greeted by a throng of youth cheering and showcasing their hip and funky moves. For kids from the streets and slums of Phnom Penh, June 9th represented exciting exploration into a plethora of new beginnings. Wooing the crowd with their top rocks, backspins, waves, six steps and other renowned break dancing moves, the “b-girls and b-boys” known as Tiny Toones joined Bridges Across Borders in celebrating the opening of our new Youth Drop-in Center. Tiny Toones is a break dancing phenomenon that is inspiring the city’s disadvantaged youth and providing unique opportunities for education, income generation, harm reduction and personal growth. Bridges Across Borders (BAB) has partnered with Tiny Toones since 2006, providing financial and technical support to build their program. The new center will be run jointly by Bridges and Tiny Toones, and will provide after-school classes in English, Khmer, arts, computers, music, health and life skills, in addition to break-dancing. 
Tuy Sobil, more commonly known as Kay Kay, founded Tiny Toones after he was deported to Cambodia by US immigration authorities in 2004. As soon as the local street kids in his new Phnom Penh neighborhood learned he was a well-known break-dancer back in Long Beach, California, Kay Kay was hounded to teach them to break dance. He finally relented and began offering evening break-dancing classes in his living room. And that is how Cambodia’s first break dancing troupe was born. Highly respected amongst the youth that he teaches, Kay Kay instills in the kids the importance of staying in school and avoiding drugs, gangs and HIV/AIDS. Kay Kay maintains a strict drug-free policy for Tiny Toones participants, which provides a strong incentive for many troubled Phnom Penh youth to get and stay clean.
Through our partnership which began in late 2006, BAB has helped Tiny Toones develop into an informal child protection network that monitors the at-risk kids they reach and provides educational and social work services. After more than a year of fundraising, BAB finally secured enough funding to open the new center in mid-2008. The major donors include the East Asiatic Company Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, Arts Network Asia, and the Global Concerns Committee of the United World College of Southeast Asia. As a result of their support, Tiny Toones has a new drop-in center that is now providing classes in Khmer, English, computers, arts, and music for more than 200 kids, in addition to the break-dance lessons and education about drugs, gangs and HIV/AIDS that they were already receiving. The center boasts three classrooms, two tiled dance floors, a basketball court and a small music studio where hip-hop lessons will be provided and original Tiny Toones tracks recorded. 
At the opening event on June 9th, BAB Co-founder and Cambodia Country Director David Pred spoke about the strong partnership between Tiny Toones and BAB and his high hopes for the future of the program that the new center brings.