Children without parents, now become independent. - by Sinoy

S N is fourth in her family of 9. Her entire family once lived in Banthey Meanchey province. After her parents passed away, some of them were forced under the extremely poor circumstances to leave home and stay with relatives in different provinces.

S N and her younger brother live with their aunt in Phnom Penh. There was never a day of peace at home due to the endless quarrels between their aunt and uncle.

The aunt began to pour her grievances to her neighbour Ms K. Moved with compassion, Ms K adopted S N’s younger brother and shared the aunt’s difficulties with Riverkids.

Immediately, Riverkids staff set out to visit them to see how best we can help the unfortunate family. S N was then enrolled in our Get Ready Programme to receive pre-vocational training. Being a very hard working girl and naturally bright, she entered our Bright Girls Programme in just a year.

Today, she is sewing school uniforms to support the vulnerable children who study in the state school and Riverkids. S N has never forgotten about her siblings. She wished that they will also have an opportunity to learn like her.

She shared with us that she has an 18 year old sister, G who was living in another province and had been working as a cleaner. 2 years through, she was still struggling with her daily living because of a meager salary of $12 per month.

In year 2009, Riverkids accepted G into Get Ready Girls Programme to receive intensive pre-vocational training. After 6 months, her self-esteem and confidence leaped and began to work towards building a career based on what she has learned in Riverkids.

In 2 months, G will graduate and we are already seeing this bright teenager flourish. She has started work in a shop where she sews bags, is earning $50 per month and happy. With great prospects for her, she is confident that she is able to give her younger siblings a better life in future like hers.