After seeing photos of their sponsored child’s home in Cambodia, two Holt sponsors feel moved to act – providing funding above and beyond their monthly sponsorship gift to cover the cost of a new roof and walls for the child and her family.
In October, two Holt sponsors — a couple – opened the latest update from Holt about their sponsored child, Sreytouch, who lives with her parents in Cambodia. In their latest update, Sreytouch stood in front of her house — a single room built on stilts with a thatched roof and walls. Sreytouch’s sponsors, who requested not to be named in this story, felt a tug at their hearts after seeing where their sponsored child lived, and what life must be like during wet and cold winters. The sponsors called Holt’s sponsorship department to ask if they could pay to fix Sreytouch’s roof, and if so, what the cost would be.
In two days, Holt’s director of the Southeast Asia program returned the sponsors’ call with a quote for the cost of the repairs.
The sponsors decided that they would not just pay to fix the roof, but the walls as well!
Fifteen-year-old Sreytouch is in the 8th grade, and attends a school near her home with the support of her sponsors in the United States. Her father, Bros, and her mother, Yun Kan, also have two other children — another daughter and a young son. The family works to grow rice on their land and sell any extra produce for profit. However, their plot of land is small and they often don’t yield enough to support the whole family.
The family’s village has very little access to health care and proper sanitation, and when Sreytouch was enrolled in Holt’s sponsorship program, she hadn’t seen a doctor since she was born. Her water supply and waste water system were considered unsafe because strong sanitation development hasn’t been established in her village yet.
When Holt and our partner in Cambodia learned about the needs of this family, we immediately enrolled Sreytouch in sponsorship . With the support of her sponsors, Sreytouch and her family could access emergency food rations. Through sponsorship, Sreytouch also received the resources to attend school, including uniforms and academic supplies. However, their house remained unsafe with its weak walls and leaky roof.
Now, with the new roof and walls complete on their home, the family’s health and safety have improved significantly, all because one sponsor chose to act.
“All members of my family, including my wife, my children and me are very happy,” Bros writes. “We can live in the new house with new wall which is very comfortable and safer for us, especially safe for my daughter.”
At Holt International, we are so grateful for child sponsors. Through monthly gifts, sponsors help transform the life of the child they support. Whenever possible, it is especially fun to show that transformation in before-and-after photos — as you can see in the photos below of the Keo family’s newly repaired home!
If you are interested in giving an additional support to your sponsored child or their community — above your monthly sponsorship gift — please call our office at 541-687-2202.
Become a Child Sponsor
Connect with a child. Provide for their needs. Share your heart for $43 per month.
