Battambang, KH – Father works hard for his children’s future – 18 Sep 2015

The gap between the rich and the poor in Cambodia is growing says Salee Oum, manager of the Healthy Life garden shop in Battambang. He and his team are working hard to help local poor families meet their basic needs and also increase their income.   They are helping in this way so that the families’ children have the opportunity to build a better future.

The NLS family is one of the families that the Healthy Life Shop is supporting. NLS and his wife live in Phnom Sovpove in the Battambang province of Cambodia with their two children. They undertake many activities to earn an income including; farming, picking up recyclable materials to sell, finding and selling wild honey, cutting firewood, and fishing; however, the total income they earn is not enough. They are working with Salee and his Healthy Life garden team to improve their lives in a sustainable manner.

Their Food Always In The Home (FAITH) organic vegetable garden is very productive.  After one year of cultivating the garden provides them with nutritious vegetables to eat and a small income from selling the excess vegetables. These excess vegetables bring the family US$5 to US$10 a month, which goes towards their children’s education.

Mr. NLS wants to continue to improve his garden and add other home based income generating activities like piglet fattening, duck raising, fish farming and cattle raising. All these activities will go towards saving enough money to send their kids to higher education. Mr. NLS hopes that if his children receive the proper education, they will no longer be stuck in the poverty trap like himself, and may be able to raise children of their own in a more comfortable environment.