ABOUT US

Founders Story

A Note From Our President:

I met the most amazing people during my trip to Koh Tao, Thailand. It was while volunteering with Koh Tao International Primary School that I realized there was still much more we could do!
Little Hearts Learning was founded to help children and residents of impoverished villages around the world.

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Ambassadors

Ambassadors Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley, United States

Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley are generous Ambassadors for Little Hearts Learning. The two both work with LHL as Honorary Board Members. Taylor is also an original Founder of Koh Tao International Primary School, with best friend Claire Wyndham. Taylor and Morley, married May 2019, are both Australian-born actors and directors, currently living in the United States. The couple’s philanthropic endeavours include mental health initiatives, suicide prevention, wildfire relief, and of course, the children and communities of Koh Tao International Primary School. Between projects, they enjoy spending time with their two dogs, who reflect each of their personalities, making homemade pasta and building LEGO cities.

Eliza Taylor

Eliza Taylor

LHL Ambassador

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Bob

Bob Morley

LHL Ambassador

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Board of Directors

Amber

Amber Mangus

Board President 

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Esther

Esther Dan

Campaign Director

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Magalie

Magalie Huang

Project Manager

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Volunteer Team

Maddie

Madelief Joore

Netherlands

Creative Director

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Eliza with Beanie Hat & Tshirt

Siew Khim

Singapore

Web Developer

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Eliza with Beanie Hat & Tshirt

Miah Bannerman

Canada

Tech Advisor

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Koh Tao International Primary School & Its Founders

Koh Tao International Primary School, Koh Tao, Thailand

Eliza Taylor

Eliza Taylor

Founder of KTP

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Claire

Claire Wyndham

Founder of KTP

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Claire Wyndham and Eliza Taylor founded Koh Tao International Primary School in 2014. Since then, it has grown from a few students on a balcony to over 70 students, desperately in need of a proper schoolhouse. KTP, as we call it, caters to the poorer Thai and Burmese populations, as well as some ex-pats seeking a quality international curriculum education taught in English. The School has the support of Pra Ajan, the head Buddhist Monk on Koh Tao.

Founder Claire lives on the island and handles daily operations, including but not limited to, managing the school, conducting learning assessments, recruiting Burmese students from villages, taking the children to doctors, and providing food to hungry families. Claire and her staff post the School and community’s activities to social media, almost daily, for clear transparency of how donations to the School and Little Hearts Learing help the students and communities on Koh Tao. Founder Eliza assists Claire in funding School initiatives and fundraisers, and her visits to Koh Tao, when her busy acting schedule allows, are always a highlight of the year for students.

Friends of Koh Tao International Primary
EIN: 84-2372035
P.O. Box 622
Toulon, Illinois 61483
info@littleheartslearning.org

Friends of Koh Tao International Primary
EIN: 84-2372035
P.O. Box 622
Toulon, Illinois 61483
info@littleheartslearning.org

Amber MangusBoard President

Amber is a small business owner, specializing in construction, real estate management and home restoration. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Illinois State University. While construction is her business, mentoring youth and working in her community is her passion. She spent 15 years as a youth camp mentor and now volunteers her time and skills to help the community. She splits her time between visiting her family and Godchildren in Olympia, Washington, her farm in Illinois, and now the Island of Koh tao. She spent five months during summer of 2019 on Koh Tao, helping the school establish its Burmese English Language Program. Needless to say, she fell in love with the children and found a new calling. Upon returning to the States, she has continued to help the Thai and Burmese families by providing nutritional supplements and financial aid. Amber’s hobbies are working around her farm, taking care of her family, and writing.

Bob MorleyLHL Ambassador

Bob Morley was born and raised in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia. He is the youngest of four, and his mother is an immigrant from the Philippines. He finished his schooling in Kyneton, then moved to Melbourne at the age of 17. He began a Geological Engineering degree, only to realise early on, that it wasn’t for him. The following year he began a degree in Creative Arts. At the age of 19 he began his acting career, performing at the Melbourne Arts Centre. That same year, he also received a writing grant. At 21, Bob was starring in Home and Away, after which he went on to act in other Australian TV series and films. In 2009, he took time off work to return to university to finish his degree. After completion, he returned to work, on various TV series and a film called Blinder, where he met his future American manager. One year later in 2013, Bob landed a role in the American TV series The 100, he would go on to direct an episode in 2019. In his spare time Bob has worked to raise money for his first responders in the Australian Wildfires, and is a staunch advocate for mental health awareness. He is also an ambassador for Little Hearts Learning.

Builder Level: $2000 Donation

Donation Tickets Available: 20

Two 60-minutes Hangout with Eliza & Bob Zoom Sessions up to 20 ticket holders. These sessions are meant to be a Q & A time with Bob & Eliza among 20 people. One person in attendance per ticket. Please post your questions prior to your zoom.

Featuring Special Guest: Claire Wyndham, Founder of Koh Tao International Primary

Photo on Zoom with Eliza & Bob

Personal Shout-Out Thank You to you from Bob & Eliza on Twitter

BONUS: Be in a DocuCharity Commercial of Little Hearts Learning with Eliza & Bob to be released in 2021

Be in a HaveFundy Video Commercial of Little Hearts Learning with Eliza & Bob

Your name on the Hall of Giving at KTP Thailand School once the building is built

Thank you autograph from Eliza & Bob

Free Beanie & Baseball Cap

Certificate of Donation

Claire WyndhamFounder of KTP

Claire grew up in Sydney, Australia until age 8, and then moved to Melbourne where she spent the rest of her childhood. She began to travel in 2002. Claire completed an Advanced Diploma in Legal Practice and Business Management after highschool. She then went onto her first trip overseas at age 19 to India and Sri Lanka in 1999. In the following years, Claire travelled through most of Southeast Asia hitchhiking, busing, training, and boating her way around most of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, before returning to the South of Thailand. It was then, in 2005, that she fell in love with a small island called Koh Tao. Life eventually led to marriage in 2007, and her first child was born in Australia in 2008. In 2014, Claire and her Finnish husband, Alexander Lundberg, moved their small family to the island of Koh Tao, in search of a life that allowed them to enjoy their son and family with more freedom. Though buying into a restaurant, the couple spent their time focusing on having another baby and enjoying living on a tropical island. In that same year, Claire opened Koh Tao International Primary on the balcony of a friend’s house, a not for profit school. She did this in hopes to change the lack of educational opportunities for children living there. In 2015, their daughter was born in Bangkok. That same year the school was lifted onto social media platforms by Eliza Taylor, actor, good friend and God Mother of Claire’s children. Claire still to this day lives on the island running the school and many initiatives to support the Burmese migrant community and Thai local families.

Eliza TaylorFounder of KTP/ LHL Ambassador

Eliza Taylor was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. She started acting at the age of 11 when she got one of the leads in a Disney show called Pirate Islands. She acted all through her teens on such shows as The Sleepover Club and Neighbours. In her early 20’s she taught drama at The Actors Nest before heading off to LA where she landed her first major American role in the hit show The 100. Eliza was always interested in giving back. She adopted dolphins through the Dolphin Research Institute, as she was very concerned for endangered species and ocean conservation. When she was 12 she sponsored a child in Malawi through World Vision the same age as her. She continued to sponsor the boy, Umali, through high school until they were both 18. It gave her a great sense of purpose. When she saw the need in Koh Tao for proper schooling she jumped at the opportunity to help Claire build her school. She has been in love with Koh Tao International Primary and it’s students ever since.

Esther DanBoard Member / Campaign Director

Esther was born in Malaysia and has been advocating for education without borders for the past 25 years. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing & Business Administration, and a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Her parents took her and her brother, Samuel all over the world to teach them about cultures and education. To date, she has traveled to over 70 countries, visiting orphanages and schools. Recently, her parents passed away in an eight month period. To honor her parents legacy, she was looking for a charity online to support for the next ten years. She came across the documentary of Koh Tao International Primary in 2019, she flew to Canada to meet Eliza, Bob and the volunteers, Amber & Gina. The rest is history. Esther currently resides in Atlanta, GA and her hobbies include globe trotting, hiking, and reading.

Founders Story

Our goal through Little Hearts Learning is to help break the poverty cycle by working within communities to provide education, food, shelter and medical services. It was after traveling to Koh Tao, Thailand and volunteering at KTP that I saw the true unpolished picture of poverty. I spent a lot of time working with the Burmese Program and getting to know their needs. This experience caused a compelling desire to do more and so we did!

We started Friends of KTP in early July of 2019 in order to get charitable status in the United States, as the US would not recognize a foreign charity. Little Hearts Learning, the business trade name for Friends of Koh Tao International Primary, represents our purpose and passion. We have put together an amazing team of volunteers who share our passion. Within our first year as an official charity, we’ve been able to help Koh Tao’s poorest families send their children to a world-class school on the island, which otherwise would be unaffordable. In those situations, when school is unaffordable, the children either stay at home receiving no education or are sent away from the island of Koh Tao to live with relatives. This was something I witnessed while there. The children that came to school were so eager to learn and understanding their struggles broke my heart. We help keep families together by financially supporting any student in need with education costs, school meals, uniforms, and any other requests necessary for the child to have a healthy, happy learning experience. Our work continues in Koh Tao as we plan to build a proper school lifting the financial burden of rental buildings and the hassle of moving. It’s been our joy and honor to work alongside the Koh Tao International Primary School’s Founders, Claire Wyndham and Eliza Taylor, and its staff and volunteers.

We look forward to seeing this project come to fruition and expanding our reach of compassion to other children and communities in need.

Thank You,

Amber Mangus

Madelief Joore, Netherlands Creative Director

Maddie is our Creative Director. Since discovering the School, her print and clothing designs have helped raise over $8,000 for the children. Her clothing designs will soon be sold on Koh Tao to help raise additional funds. Maddie enjoys snowboarding, playing the piano, binge-watching tv shows and movies and geeking out over Hamilton. Maddie has a bright future in front of her as she continues her freelance career and higher learning in audio visual arts.

Magalie Huang, France Board Member / Project Manager

Magalie is our Board Member and Project Manager. She assists the team in order to optimize the value of the work and development process through every step. She also brings her expertise for web design, photography, and audio visual elements. She has a Masters in Computer Science Technology. In 2018, Magalie made her first volunteer trip to Koh Tao, and has returned two times since. She enjoys teaching the children origami and helped paint the mural in the School nursery. Magalie compiles audio visual interviews of the children and of her time there. She also takes pictures for the school’s social media. When not doing all of the above, she creates artwork for school merchandise and school auctions.

Miah Bannerman, CanadaTech Advisor

Miah is our tech advisor and helps out with our technology and design. She brings with her the knowledge and experience in production, event planning, business process, and graphic design, that she gained as the founder and co-owner of Unity Events Canada. She continues to lead in her role as a Coordinator of Administration at NorQuest College in Edmonton, Alberta where she also resides. For over 15 years, Miah has enjoyed giving back to the community. She enjoys volunteering her time and skills in different roles, from working with children and youth to working with the production and media team at her church with her husband. Miah is happy to have used her talents to help "Bridge to the Future Foundation" create a new logo for the Letics Sports Football Club in Tijuana, Mexico. In her downtime, Miah enjoys crocheting, gardening, building LEGO, and playing board games with her family.

Pillar Level: $1000 Donation

Donation Tickets Available: 20

  • 2 X 50-minutes Hangout with Eliza & Bob Zoom Sessions up to 10 ticket holders. These sessions are meant to be a Q & A time with Eliza & Bob among 10 people. One person in attendance per ticket. Tickets will be divided to Group A & Group B. Please post your questions prior to your zoom. Dates TBA. No recording allowed. Non-disclosure agreement required.
  • Featuring Special Guest: Claire Wyndham, Founder of Koh Tao International Primary
  • Photo on Zoom with Eliza & Bob
  • Your name on the Hall of Giving at KTP Thailand School once the building is built
  • Thank you autograph from Eliza & Bob
  • Free Beanie & Baseball Cap
  • Certificate of Donation
Siew Khim, Singapore Web Developer

Siew Khim is our Web Developer. She answered our plea for website assistance and jumped into the deep end with us. She has volunteered hundreds of hours of her own time to build us a professional and functional website. She is proficient in WordPress, coding, payment integration systems, and many more. She is a professional freelance web developer and a true miracle worker in helping us explain and show our mission.