For many children in Cambodia, their sixth birthday signifies the exciting day that they get to go to school. But 13-year-old Sobine didn’t start school until the age of 10. Despite a late start to his education, Sobine is determined to finish high school.
“My family was very poor, and I had no idea how I would be able to send Sobine to school. We live in poverty and there was a lot of violence in our home,” said Sobine’s mother, Sophors.
When Sobine and his mother moved in with their stepfather, a construction worker, he was enrolled in the nearest primary school. But he struggled to keep up with reading and writing.
“I couldn’t read very well in the second grade. Since I’m older than my classmates, they could read but I couldn’t, and this stressed me out. I didn’t like myself because I couldn’t achieve as much as the others.”
ChildFund Cambodia’s ‘Easy to Learn’ program makes sure that every child can access a quality education. The program runs activities that give teachers the skills to support children who are falling behind in literacy and numeracy. It also renovates libraries and provides tablets that have a digital library of age-appropriate books.
The goal of the project is to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of primary school children and to develop a peer tutoring program so children can help their peers who may be falling behind.
The project provides school uniforms and other school supplies like bags, books, and pencils to other children in need, so that they can complete a primary school education. As a mother, Sophors is delighted that programs like this have been able to contribute to her son’s education.
“I am really pleased that he has been able to move his study further. Even though I am limited in what I can provide, I want all my children to be literate so they can have rewarding careers in the future. I don’t want them to be as impoverished as I am,” she said.
“I’m so happy that I can read better now. My teachers and classmates gave me a lot of support. They helped me to memorise the alphabet and symbols. I also enjoy using the apps and reading toolkits to help me learn the letters,” said Sobine. “When I grow up, I don’t want to work in a restaurant like my older brother. I want to work in an office building.”
Learn more about how ChildFund Cambodia is working with local communities and partners to make sure that children living with hearing impairment and other disabilities can access an education and have a chance at a brighter future.
Vikki and Chris, from Western Australia, were planning their wedding when a pamphlet from ChildFund Australia arrived in the mail, asking for support for children living in poverty.
Vikki and Chris (pictured above and below) responded, and that year they began a lifelong commitment to not only each other but to helping children. “We thought that it would be a good way to start our marriage doing something good for someone else,” Vikki says.
Seventeen years later, Vikki and Chris, who are still happily married, have turned their unwavering support for children into a legacy by writing a gift in their Will to ChildFund.
Long-time ChildFund Australia supporters Chris and Vikki began supporting children the same year they got married. “We thought that it would be a good way to start our marriage doing something good for someone else,” Vikki says.
“We support a number of charities, but ChildFund is by far the one that gets most of our support because we feel that there are so many children that don’t have opportunities, and we want to make sure we can help change that,” Vikki says.
“Chris and I don’t have children, and our families all have enough money to support themselves, so we wanted to make sure that any money that we have when we pass away goes towards doing good. We feel that if it goes to ChildFund, it can help children to get an education, and help families with what they need to support their children in the long term.”
Vikki works with a bus company, and Chris is a fitter machinist. Writing a gift in your Will to a charity is not only a worthwhile act that wealthy people can do, says Vikki.
“I would say that before leaving something to people who already have many possessions, think about people who are less fortunate,” she says.
When Chris lost his job several years ago, things became tough for the couple, but they felt strongly about continuing their support for children. It was about setting priorities, says Vikki.
“We just feel that many children don’t have the luxuries that we have; they are struggling just to get basic things like clean water.”
A fortunate childhood
Western Australians Vikki and Chris have decided to write a gift in their Will to ChildFund Australia. “We wanted to make sure that any money that we have when we pass away goes towards doing good,” Vikki says.
Both Vikki and Chris were born in Kalgoorlie and enjoyed the freedom of playing among nature in the countryside, but they know for many children in developing communities in similar rural areas, this is not the case.
“Chris and I both had fun childhoods,” Vikki says. “If a child needs to work when they’re six or seven years old and they’re not getting a childhood, and we feel we can help them, then we will.”
Vikki’s mother passed away when she was nine years old, but she remembers her father was still able to take her and her siblings away on holidays. “We never missed out on anything,” she says. “We were very fortunate in that way.”
Vikki and Chris have seen the positive impact their donations have had on the lives of children and their families. Among the many children they support is Nulu, from Uganda. They visited Nulu, and her family and community, in 2009. The smallest things, says Vikki, can have a big impact on children in places such as Uganda. “We brought koalas and soft soccer balls to Nulu’s school, and you could see the gratitude on the children’s faces. You can’t remove that memory from you mind.”
Today, Nulu is all grown up and runs her own salon. “It’s so worthwhile to know that we’ve played a small part in helping her achieve her dreams,” Vikki says.
“I see our donations as helping children to start on a path to a better future.”
