The ground is dry again. Salout and Sna watch their crops wither as their town in rural Cambodia is affected by the devastating effects of climate change. To keep feeding their children, they have had to borrow money from the bank to help them with their farm.
Their old house didn’t fare much better than their crops. They used to live in a poor, dilapidated structure with their two children. They work hard to care for their family: Sna works as a fisherman, a construction worker and a labourer while Salout is a tailor. They earned just enough to cover their expenses and the bank loan but they didn’t have enough to improve their home.
In November 2021, their dream of upgrading their home finally became a reality when they partnered with Habitat for Humanity Cambodia. The whole family was so relieved when they moved into their upgraded house. “I still remember how excited I was, as I thought that from now on, my family would not be worried anymore about the leaking roof and my kids as well will have a proper place to sleep and do their schoolwork,” Salout said. Sna echoed his wife’s thoughts. “We have more hope after we moved into the house upgrade as it has given us the mental energy to continue our family life journey,” said Sna.
“The water filter supported by the project has helped the family access clean water,” said Sna. “My family no longer worries when I go out to find fish. My family at the same time also gained knowledge related to hygiene sanitation,” Sna added.
To help the family ease their financial struggles with expenses and the loan, Habitat Cambodia empowered Salout to scale up her vegetable garden as well as raise chickens. She felt released from the burdens of meeting her family’s needs through this improvement to her livelihood. Now, the whole family including the kids can just focus on thriving.
“This is such a daydream for our family to have such a beautiful home; I would like to thank everyone for this support; I wish you all prosperity and happiness,” said Sna.
This project receives support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) and is in partnership with our implementing partner Habitat for Humanity Cambodia to provide access to safe shelter.
Read more stories like Salout’s here.
