Battambang, KH – Visal has a brighter future – 19 March 2013

Visal, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, is a 12 ­year old boy who grew up in desperate poverty.  He spent most of his life doing farm work along the Thai/Khmer border in order to help his family survive.  Children of migrant workers often don’t get the opportunity to go to school, as they continuously move to wherever they can find work.

An agreement was reached between Children’s Future staff and Visal’s parents where his parents would allow for his return to school if we provided the necessary support for his schooling and nutritional needs.  So with the support of Children’s Future, Visal entered school at the age of 12 for the first time in his life in 2012. He now takes daily catch­-up classes at the Children’s Future Learning Center and was able to pass the grade four public school final exams last summer.  While many of the other boys his age can usually be found running around the soccer field, Visal loves to draw pictures in the activity room and practice his reading skills in the library.

Although he comes from a very difficult home environment, Visal is one of the most gentle children we work with.  He has opened up tremendously since coming to Children’s Future and can rarely be seen without a smile on his face.Children’s Future are supplying students with school uniforms, supplies, and school registration fees, which has allowed not only Visal, but dozens of other children to enter school for the first time in their lives.  We are confident that with continued support Visal and his peers will grow up to become compassionate and self-sufficient adults with bright futures ahead of them.