Words Cannot Express Thearom’s Happiness

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Heifer Cambodia

Story by: Hun Hieak, Southeast Regional Program Officer

It is wet season in Cambodia as rain has been pouring since June. Like many Heifer International project participants, Lang Sophea and her family are busy at work at the field to plant rice on two hectares of their rice land. The way of rice cultivation in Cambodia is that farmers sow rice seeds on a good prepared plot of land. One month after growing, rice seedlings are collected to transplant on another rice paddy, which is plowed and prepared. The farmers transplant two to three stalks of rice seedlings in a space between 20-30 centimeters each, so that the rice stalks will multiply to big clumps.

Sophea’s husband Dok gets up early each morning at 5:00 AM. Dok goes to work at the rice filed about 2-3 kilometers from their house, with help from their children who had vacation from school, while Sophea is busy at her business in the grocery shop. Around 11:00 AM, Sophea prepares food and brings it to her family members at the field, and then she returns to continue her work at the shop. Her husband and children spend a full day working at the field until 5:00 PM. It takes them one month to complete their rice cultivation. However, Dok goes to the field everyday to take care of their rice, controlling water, destroying weeds, scattering fertilizer and so forth. They expect to harvest their rice yield in November.

Besides farming, her family also focuses on their livestock production as a source of income. Last month, one of her two sows gave birth to five healthy piglets. The household takes good care of the pigs, giving swine-fever vaccine and iron-Fe 200 injections with help from community animal health workers. So far the family also has 40 chickens, remaining from home consumption and sale. During the last three months, Sophea’s family is also able to earn additional income from selling bananas planted around her house. She plans to grow water spinet for home consumption, for supporting her shop, and for animal feeds. With saved money from the household’s incomes, the family could build a small house, 4.5 meters by 6 meters and 1.5 meters high, with a metal-sheet roof and wooden walls. The life of Sophea’s family has been gradually better after the family received 15 chickens, horticultural and vegetable seeds, fruit-tree seedlings, agriculture equipment, and trainings from the project as a tool to improve their food security.

Sophea is also very happy with the good result of her children’s study as they all passed exams to attend new class this year. Her daughter, Thearom, passed her exam to study at grade 7, her third son Theara – at grade 6, and her youngest son Theary – at grade 2.

“Words cannot express how happy I am to pass the exam to study at grade 7,” said Thearom, “This comes from support of my family, especially, my wonderful mother who always gives encouragement and support. My parents work hard to get money for paying our scholastic materials and inspire us to study harder to achieve our dream. Thanks to mother and father; I love you.”

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Today’s post is the third in a series of quarterly updates on the progress of Lang Sophea and her family.

Sophea's family with help from neighbor transplant rice seedlings in her rice land late July.

The five piglets which were given birth by one of her two sows last month.

Her family's new house is built with saved money from incomes.

Her daughter Thearom and youngest son Theary are ready to school.

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Thanks to Heifer Cambodia, a Widow’s Life is Improving

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Heifer Cambodia

Story by: Chheang Sok Mao, Northwest Regional Program Officer

During the last three months, Khuon Sopheap’s family had earned increasing incomes as they increased their bamboo basket production. With help from family members — especially her aunt, Rath Tong — they have been able to meet market demand. Some incomes were generated from selling their chickens and the vegetables grown in their homestead garden that weren’t consumed by the family. From these incomes, Sopheap was able to save US $50 to buy a bicycle for transportation and driving her children to school.

It was vacation time for kids at public school. Understanding that kids in the community should get additional knowledge in Khmer and English writing, reading and math calculation during their two-month vacation, Mr. Eat Korn — a 22-year-old member of the local youth group — volunteered to run a class to help the community kids. He had provided the class two times a day: English courses in morning and Khmer courses in the afternoon.

“Sharing and Caring and Training, Education and Communication of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones values have inspired me to teach these kids,” Korn said when asked why he voluntarily ran the class for the kids. He added, “I teach them not only how to read, write and do calculations, but also how to practice in sanitation, self hygiene, environmental care and so forth.”

Sopheap was very fascinated with the class as it was the opportunity to make her children’s dream come true in education. She encouraged and sent her youngest daughter Yoeun Sophort who studies at public school in grade 3 to attend this additional class. Sophort went to the class regularly and was always punctual. She is very smart in reading, writing and mathematics. Sopheap is very happy with good result of her daughter’s study.

Sopheap has kept taking good care of her two pigs. She expects they will get pregnant in the next few months, and then to have offspring to pass on to another needy family in the community. She also planted additional gingers in her homestead garden for additional income. With deeper understand about family health and environmental care, Sopheap decided to borrow US $75 from the group fund to buy cement, bricks, metal sheets and pipes to build a latrine.

“The amount of money borrowed from the group was not enough for the whole latrine construction,” said Sopheap. “We, therefore, needed to look for small trees and bamboos from the forest to use as posts and support columns of the latrine wall and roof. I feel more comfortable since having the latrine.”

Yoeun Sophort (front line, right) does her math calculation during the afternoon class provided by volunteer Eat Korn.

Khuon Sopheap works in her homestead garden. She plants gingers not only for home consumption, but also for sale for additional income.

Sopheap's son Yoeun Khol (yellow T-shirt), and her two nephews, Soeur Samoer (left) and Soeur Samai, help build latrine.

The latrine is completely built.

Sopheap buys a bicycle for transportation and driving her children to school.

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Sophea’s Story: A Blossoming Business

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Heifer Cambodia

Story by: Sok Nom, Project Coordinator for RCSA
Contribution by: Prak Somathy, Communication and Networking Manager for Heifer Cambodia

Since 2010 after joining the self help group Stey Akphiwat Reakreay, or “Happy Development Women,” Mrs. Lang Sophea and her family members received not only physical inputs from the Heifer project, but also many trainings from which the household is able to use for increasing income and improving their standard of living. Late last December, Sophea had received another training on small business and micro-finance. After the training, Sophea has transformed this knowledge into real practice.

During last four months, Sophea sold two fattened pigs for 520,000 Riels (US $130) each. Her family allocated a part of the money, with some money loaned from the group, to start a small business — a grocery shop selling vegetables, fruits and foods. Sophea is able to earn a daily income in average of 110,000 Riels from the shop from which she receives a net profit of 50,000 Riels, or US $12, per day.

“Thank very much to Heifer Cambodia and Rural Children Saving Association (RCSA) for providing my family the knowledge on small business. Now we can get diversified incomes to support the family,” said Sophea. Last month, her family also took another part of the money from selling the pigs to buy a pumping machine which now has been used for pumping underground water to sell to villagers. Her family plans to expand this business while the villagers are more aware of using clean water.

Sophea gets up at 4:30 a.m. to cook and serve breakfast to costumers while her husband goes to a wholesale market to buy vegetables, fruits and other grocery things for sale. The breakfast is served until 8:00 a.m., and then she starts preparing lunch foods for selling. Meanwhile, with help from her children, she also sells vegetables, fruits and grocery things. Her shop is open until 6:00 in the evening.

“I had abandoned my illegal job in cutting trees and poaching wildlife at the jungle,” admitted her husband, Ein Dok. “We have created new jobs at home. We buy vegetables from market for selling at our shop. However, because now we have the pumping machine, we plan to grow vegetables to support our own shop.” Dok also plans to enhance the swine production as so far the family has two sows which are pregnant, which are expected to give birth next two months. The family also has a fattened piglet and 50 hens and chickens which remain from home consumption.

“I help feed the animals when my mom is busy at the shop because I have afternoon class. My dad cleans animals (pig) pens and troughs before we feed them,” said Sophea’s daughter, Thearom. “Besides doing household chores after school time, I do my homework, which is assigned by my teachers.”

Though Sophea is busy at her businesses, she never forgets group works and activities. She attends monthly group meetings regularly, sharing her experience in animal husbandry and participating in solving issues occurring in her community. She also pays attention to social work by contributing some money to repair her village road. During this period, because she is an active member in the group, the group members selected her as deputy leader of the group.

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Today’s post is the second in a series of quarterly updates on the progress of Lang Sophea and her family. You can read the first post about this family here.