Siem Reap, KH – Hope for a better life pays off

Hi, I am Rey the Peaksneng Thormacheat garden shop manager. I am so very pleased to share with you his encouraging story – How Weun is proving that all of us, even those from very poor families, can improve and do well in life.

I hope this inspiring story of our Food Always In The Home (FAITH) organic vegetable gardener can give us hope that even with poverty and disability we can be happy and build better lives. As humans, we all like to hear inspiring and uplifting stories. I hope that this story of a road to a happy and better life will easily inspire us to continue our own fight through hard times. This story shows just how far sharing, coordinating and helping others can inspire people to improve their lives. Here is the story.

Weun Ti, who is now 30 years old, grew up without knowing his real father and mother. He never had the chance to go to school because of his extreme poverty and a disability since birth. His disability meant that he could not walk or do hard work. Discrimination was widespread at multiple levels in his village, and this contributed to his hardship. There were times when he felt hopeless, but he was always hopeful and positive that one day he would have better health and a better life. Weun’s dream of having a shot at a better life carried him through to when the local church sponsored an operation five years ago that enabled him to walk for the first time, a wonderful liberating miracle for Weun.In mid 2013 Weun was introduced to our garden shop’s FAITH garden program, and he became the care taker for the shop’s Better Lives farm. On the farm, Weun built a FAITH garden and was able to experience its benefits of good food, additional income and hope for the future. Weun has inspired us all with his positive attitude and willingness to work hard to move out of extreme poverty. Since he has had a regular income as a caretaker, he has been motivated to provide a clear direction for his family, to work hard and have aspirations for them.

After one year of working, Weun and his family were able to own a small piece of land, build their own small house, and raise chickens with the help of Better Lives micro-loans. Weun sees his new family home as an opportunity to grow more and start a new life that offers hope for his family.

I want to thank Better Lives for showing a good example and inspiring the Weun Family, and also thank the generous individuals who provided the micro-loan for his family’s new home. Weun’s courage, strong determination and hard work has enabled him to overcome a number of life’s obstacles and climb his way towards a better life. Thank you also for helping rebuild many more lives in the poor areas like Peaksneng. You are assisting our garden shop to help families improve their nutrition with the organic vegetables, and to help poor people stand on their own feet with self-sufficiency projects. Projects that include income production like micro-loans for agriculture and animal raising (pig, duck and chicken).