Other than her family and friends, Suzanne Mitchem (pictured above) held two things close to her heart: children and making the world a better place.
In the last months of her life in 2022, Suzanne spoke to her younger sister Belinda about leaving a gift in Willto ChildFund Australia to help children living in poverty around the world.
“We weren’t surprised Suzanne was leaving a gift in her Will to ChildFund,” Belinda says. “She was always a kind, empathetic, considerate person.
“She was passionate about making the world a better place for humans and animals.
“She would always give, but she never expected anything in return.”
Suzanne spent the last five years of her life supporting a little girl, Sara, from Zambia, through regular donations to ChildFund Australia, before leaving a gift in Will to ChildFund’s Healthy Futures Fund, an initiative that delivers projects with impact to children and communities who need it most.
For a decade, until a year before she passed away, Suzanne worked as a home carer, supporting older people in her community in Melbourne, Victoria.
Suzanne’s giving and nurturing nature was noticeable early in life, says Belinda.
Suzanne (pictured in the front row, middle) channelled her love and nurturing nature towards her nieces and nephews, and through supporting children through charities such as ChildFund.
Suzanne was 14 years older than Belinda, but they were best friends. Suzanne was also “like a second mum” to Belinda and their brother Michael.
“We had a very close bond,” Belinda says. “She looked after me and Michael a lot. She was very nurturing and very caring, and that continued into our adulthoods.
“She always put a lot of thought into gifts and remembered birthdays. She would spoil me and Michael.”
Suzanne had always wanted to be a mother, says Belinda, but didn’t get the chance to have her own children. She channelled her love and nurturing nature towards her nieces and nephews, and through supporting children through charities such as ChildFund.
“Suzanne was really proud that her contributions to ChildFund were making such a difference,” Belinda says. “She really enjoyed getting updates on what Sara was doing and how she was going at school. It fulfilled her.”
Suzanne’s gift in Will to ChildFund Australia’s Healthy Futures Fund will help provide education and health care for children. “She was always a kind, empathetic, considerate person,” Belinda, Suzanne’s sister, says.
A family visit from Suzanne was often accompanied by gifts and treats. “She treated my son and daughter like they were her own,” Belinda says. “She spent a lot of time with them when they were growing up.”
Suzanne’s Gift in her Will to ChildFund Australia’s Healthy Futures Fund will go on to invest in the lives of many more children, through projects that provide safe and inclusive education, immunise children against diseases, and construct or renovate healthcare and water facilities.
“In Suzanne’s mind, it was only a small donation,” says Belinda, “but she knew it was going to have quite a big impact on people.
“I would like to see and get updates on how her gift in Will is making a difference to people’s lives. I think if Suzanne knew, she would be quite proud.”
ChildFund Australia’s Healthy Futures Fund is possible thanks to the generosity of people like Suzanne. Gifts in Will to the Healthy Futures Fund are matched by government grants to leverage every donation, and go to projects that improve children’s lives and where the need is greatest. Pledge your commitment before 30 June 2023 and be recognised as a founding member of ChildFund’s Healthy Futures Fund. Call 1800 023 600.
Twelve-year-old Kankham used to walk two hours a day to collect water. This World Water Day, on 22 March, we are celebrating how access to clean water changed Kankham’s childhood and the lives of many other children like him.
Kankham loves playing football after school with his friends. But he’s only been able to do this for the past year.
Living in a remote village in Laos with few resources and facilities, Kankham spent a lot of his childhood collecting water from a river far from home. He would wake up at dawn every morning to help his mother, Khonejai, fetch water for the day for drinking and cleaning. Together, they carried three buckets, a total of 25L, of water back home. It was a tiresome one-hour trek up and down the hills of Houaphanh Province.
In the evenings, Kankham and his mother repeated their walk to the river: Kankham carrying a 5L bucket and Khonejai, two 10L buckets. The water they collected was just enough to last them through the night. In the morning they would make the trek to the river again.
For half of the year, during Laos’ wet season, the walk to the river was especially tiresome and dangerous. Kankham and his mother navigated muddy and slippery paths as they balanced buckets full of water.
A few years ago, Kankham became very sick with diarrhoea after drinking unsafe water from the river. “We had to walk 8kms to the hospital,” Khonejai says. “It was a hard time for the family.”
Kankham, age 12, and his mother Khonejai (pictured above) used to walk two hours every day to collect water from a river far from their remote village in Houaphanh Province. A newly built clean water system in their community means Kankham has more time to learn and play.
About 829,000 people – including more than a third of children – are estimated to die each year from diarrhoea because of unsafe drinking water, and poor sanitation and hygiene. In Laos, only 55 per cent of people have access to basic handwashing facilities, including clean water and soap.
In 2022 ChildFund in Laos worked with local partners and community members to build a clean water system in Kankham’s village, benefiting more than 400 people. The gravity-fed water system collects and filters water from the river, and stores it in a large tank in the village. Community members helped to build a plumbing system, connecting the water in the tank directly to 88 houses. Today, more than 100 families in Kankham’s village are accessing clean water instantly through taps in their homes.
ChildFund in Laos and local partners helped to install a clean water system in Kankham’s village in 2022. Kankham and his mother Khonejai (pictured above) can now access clean water from the comfort and safety of their own home.
Khonejai says Kankham is healthier and safer now that they no longer need to walk the long distance to the river, and can get clean water at home. She also says: “I have more time to spend with my family.”
For Kankham, he can get back to doing the things he loves. “I have more time in the morning to enjoy breakfast and get ready for school,” Kankham says. “After class, I have free time to play football with my friends.”
This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
Children in Kankham’s village, in remote Laos, enjoy clean, running water in their community for the first time.
How you can help change children’s lives this World Water Day
This World Water Day, on 22 March, you can give the gift of clean water and sanitation to children like Kankham who need it most. Everyone should have the right to access clean water and sanitation around the globe.
ChildFund Australia’s Gifts For Good range is a fantastic initiative for donations this World Water Day. Gifts For Good incorporates a number of water-based gifts that have the power to change lives.
You can help provide children and families overseas with access to clean water and sanitation by donating:
A hand pump well: This will provide clean water for children and their families for drinking, cleaning and bathing. Children may no longer have to make long, dangerous journeys on foot to collect water from unreliable, contaminated sources. This will also offer children the protection from the risk of deadly waterborne diseases.
A deepwater borehole: Imagine your impact when you give the gift of clean water that a whole school – or even an entire community – can rely upon for years to come.
A hand washing station: This is a simple gift with the power to help everyone in a community improve sanitation and hygiene, and stay healthy.
