Johnny S. Ourn was born in Battamban in Northern Cambodia, Battambang. After surviving one of the worst genocides in the world’s history, he fled Cambodia to the Thai border  1979 and lived in a refugee camp for four years. During these time , he leant English and obtained a job as a receptionist with UNHCR, an agency that helped refugees  with their settlement. In 1984, Johnny and his family went to Long Beach , California, U.S.A as a refugees. In the US Johnny, he attended high school

and university for eight years, and studied his English and computer science. In 1995, Johnny returned to Cambodia by himself with the mission to help the abandoned children and create a clean and safe place for them to live and grow. In November 2000, he opened an organization, called  Soeun Children Center (SCC).