Hip Hop & Hope: One woman’s journey through the slums of Cambodia

Part memoir, part history, part travelogue, this is the inspirational story of one woman’s journey in the slums of Cambodia.

When Romi Grossberg decided, at thirty-five, to give up her job as a social worker in Australia for a two-year contract at Tiny Toones, a hip hop youth centre in the slums of Cambodia, she could never have imagined that the experience would change her life forever. 

Hip Hop & Hope is part memoir, part history, part travelogue, and completely engaging. Its portrait of Phnom Penh is complicated and indelible. Its story of work in an NGO is inspirational. At Tiny Toones, Romi evolves from a frightened to a respected manager who knows the words, the tunes, and the moves.

This is the story of trust and friendship, faith, and belief in oneself even when the world is against you. NGO’s founder KK, Romi, and their kids forge unbreakable bonds and eventually breakdance their way onto the TEDx stage and to sold-out performances in Australia. 

Hip Hop & Hope will make you laugh and cry as Romi shares with brutal honesty the highs and lows of life for the forgotten in Cambodia.

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Romi Grossberg is an Australian-born social worker, public speaker and author of two self-help books, who has been living in Asia since 2010. Romi has spoken at TEDx Phnom Penh 2011, SXSW Austin Texas 2023, and numerous festivals and international conferences in between. She appears regularly on television, podcasts and radio, including with Cambodian Princess Soma Norodom. Romi is still living in Asia (Thailand), working as a counsellor and in professional development. She is currently on the Board of Directors of Tiny Toones Cambodia and Asia Pacific Writers and Translators.

www.romigrossberg.com