Our alumni
We are very proud of our children. Many of them have managed to come to terms with their often difficult childhood experiences and find their own way in life. Thanks to the school qualifications, vocational training, stability and warmth they have experienced with us, many of our former children are now able to lead a self-determined life and leave behind the poverty into which they were born.
Many of our children remain very attached to the Children's Village and their surrogate family even after they have moved away. They visit the Children's Village regularly and are important role models for the younger children.
Here we would like to present four examples of the lives of children who grew up with us, live independently today and remain connected to the Children's Village as alumni:
Sokly
Her mother left her siblings behind to find work in Malaysia. Sokly's childhood was marked by poverty and child labour, and she had never attended school until she came to us. As her mother was dependent on the extra income, Sokly had to support her with various odd jobs to feed the small family. When the situation became untenable, her mother looked for work in Malaysia and left the children in the care of a sister in the province. However, the living conditions there were so miserable that the siblings went hungry and eventually the local authorities had to intervene. Children's Aid Cambodia learnt of the difficult situation and immediately initiated the prescribed process to bring Sokly and her brother to our children's village. At the age of 13, Sokly was enrolled in the 2nd grade. She was overjoyed to wear a school uniform for the first time. She quickly made friends both in the children's village and at school and developed into a hard-working pupil.
She completed Year 9 in the 2015/16 school year and passed the entrance exam at Don Bosco. In October 2016, she began her training in the ‘Food and Hospitality Service’ department. At the time, she said: ‘My dream of becoming a chef one day is just coming true. Without Children's Aid Cambodia, I can't imagine what my life would be like today and my dream would have remained unattainable.’
Today, Sokly works as a chef and lives a self-determined life.
Bora
Bora was born in the province of Mondulkiri in 1995, the third of six children. His father worked as a security guard while his mother looked after the children at home. However, his father's salary was not enough to provide for the family and the situation became increasingly difficult due to his father's growing alcohol consumption. Everyday life for Bora and his mother was characterised by domestic violence and hunger. At the mother's request, the Cambodian authorities finally intervened and Bora and three of his younger siblings found a safe home in the children's village in 2010.
Bora quickly settled in and became a diligent pupil. After the 9th grade, he began an apprenticeship in graphic design and printing at Don Bosco and continued to live in the Children's Village of Children's Aid Cambodia during this time.
After completing his training, he did an internship at a company that later offered him a full-time position. In 2015, he left the children's village, moved into his own flat and has been living independently ever since.
Tola
Tola was born into a very poor family in the province of Kampong Cham in 2001. He has two younger sisters, and the siblings' childhood was characterised by constant hunger, as the parents tried to ensure the family's survival without steady work and only through odd jobs. When these opportunities also dried up, the family moved to the province of Rattanakiri in the hope of finding work there. But in 2008, Tola's mother suddenly fell seriously ill and died shortly afterwards. Tola's father felt overwhelmed with the sole responsibility and left the family.
Initially, the grandparents looked after the three children, but soon afterwards they received the news of their father's death. The grandparents were overwhelmed by the difficult living conditions and did not know how they were going to look after the three orphans in the long term. Finally, they asked the local authorities for help. They recognised the urgency of the situation and contacted Children's Aid Cambodia, where the three siblings were taken in in August 2008. Tola was delighted to finally be able to attend school.
He finished school in 2017/18 and trained as a chef, which he successfully completed after two years. He now lives and works in the capital as an independent young adult.
Mao
Mao was born in Phnom Penh in 1999 as the youngest of three children. Both his parents were HIV-positive and his father died in 2001, but fortunately Mao himself was spared the virus. After his father's death, his mother was initially able to support the family with her work in a garment factory and they lived in a small hut in the central poor neighbourhood of Phnom Penh. In 2007, however, the entire neighbourhood was relocated to the northern outskirts of the city and Mao's mother lost her job as her health deteriorated. She initially tried to support the family by doing odd jobs and took any work she could find, be it on building sites or as a dishwasher. However, the situation continued to deteriorate until the local authorities finally intervened and Mao was admitted to the Children's Village run by Kinderhilfe Cambodia in December 2007.
At the age of eight, Mao was enrolled in first grade, as he had never attended school before. He felt very much at home in the children's village and at school. After the 9th grade, he completed a two-year training programme at Don Bosco to become a car mechanic, which he successfully completed in 2019 and found a job in a workshop on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Shortly after completing his training, his mother unfortunately succumbed to the consequences of her illness.