Building hope for a community

Nget Gnim, 57, lives in the Talor commune of Pursat province, Cambodia. He lost an arm and suffered injuries to his face when a mine exploded during civil war in his country.

Gnim can read and write, but he did not have a stable job, and with no land and animal, he could only earn a little money for his family selling ice cream. He and his wife had little hope for their family’s future.

But in 2008, he was invited to join a group named, “Productive.” He and his wife attended trainings, meetings and participated in group savings. They realized that the knowledge and skills they gained from the trainings could be used to improve their living conditions.

Hardworking, Gnim applied what he learned to better care for animals and to improve his garden. For farmers, water is key to success. Previously, during the dry season, each family must spend a few hours carrying water, and sometimes they can’t access clean water.

Gnim helped lead an initiative to build a pond to store water for the dry season. Group members worked alongside community residents to dig the pond, which has given hope to the entire community. Recently, Gnim and his family were able to buy a house and a small plot of land.

“I am so grateful to DDSP and Heifer for supporting me and other group members to be free from hopelessness and discrimination. Now, we all have hope.” he said.