Song Thuong
PHAN

Vietnam

Coco Phan is a 15 year old student studying in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She is the Founder of Cuckoo Cleanups, and she is enthusiastic about advancing environmental and social impact both in her school as well as her local community. 

Growing up, she was disinterested in attending school, unsurprisingly, because her mode for higher learning is through asking questions on factors she finds interesting. Furthermore, she likes to pay attention to minor details in her surroundings, in particular those related to nature. For her, the fun lies in the details, and combined with her family situation, she learned to introspect through observation at a young age.

When she was 8, she first realized a bad habit of adults - leaving behind a lot of garbage at the end of every party. “People try so hard to chase after money for a better future, yet they conveniently forget the importance of nature in their lives!”. That started her journey in environmental conservation. 

Stepping into high school, she founded Cuckoo Cleanups to raise awareness of both river and ocean pollution by garbage and plastics. The project seeks to break down their psychological barriers and encourage them to “re-ignite” or “re-discover” their willingness to take care of the planet. In addition, Coco is also working on another project called Gen-Z Crisis Podcast, serving the purpose of giving voices for other teenagers, and all the unheard stories.

In the future, Coco seeks to further engage with more people from different cultures, and advocate about environmental concerns to different communities and people. She plans to move to the United States to continue building the knowledge and skills required to scale Cuckoo Clean-ups. For her,  nature is beautiful and pristine, and she will encourage others to protect this masterpiece so the later generations can witness this beauty.