Siem Reap, HK – A good education starts with a good home and garden – Nov 2024

The Leow Yang family is one of the families that enjoy the Rent-to-Own home (RTO) and Food Always In The Home (FAITH) programs provided by Peaksneng Shop and Better Lives. Growing one’s own vegetables is the solution for improving nutrition and eliminating hunger for families in our rural community. The addition of vegetables to their diet gives the children and families much needed vitamins and minerals that improve and sustain health.

Let’s take an example of one of our RTO home family’s FAITH garden cared for by Mr. Leow Yang who says that “before I joined the RTO community, the manager of the Peaksneng shop Rey mentioned the health giving and productive gardens in the community. One thing that was obvious was that FAITH gardening supports the well being of the children”.

Rey the Peaksneng Shop manager says “I’ve been gardening with families and young children for almost 10 years now and have noticed how being engaged in the hands-on act of gardening provides young children with such a sense of achievement. When I and my team go for a monthly mentoring visit, the children are excited to see us and they take us to the garden to show us what has grown in the time since I was there last. I can see how happy and proud they are about what they have grown in the garden, the feeling of achievement they experience! FAITH gardening allows children to connect with nature and each other. As they learn more about gardening, they are build their confidence”.

Through the simple act of engaging children in gardening on a regular basis we are opening up a world that enhances well-being over time, the knowledge can be transferred to other aspects of their lives, especially in their education and relationships with others. It also builds the confidence to pursue higher levels of education. Yang’s eldest daughter, who will be studying a vocational course with a church scholarship, said “thank you to our RTO home, where I feel safe and comfortable, and thank you to our faith garden that provides us with learning about how to grow, be healthy and earn an income”. She is the second student from an RTO family to receive a Don Bosco School scholarship.