A Family Again
Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Rushed to the hospital for emergency care, 14 year old *Kimly’s life was on the line after going through repeated physical abuse by her stepmother. Her life was saved by...
Friends-International Together, building futures.
From Recycling to Rebuilding
*Sandar, a 12-year old girl, had been experiencing the hardships of life since a very young age. Her family could barely afford their daily needs. She had to do her part in collecting plastic...
Focusing on Food for a Better Future
The story of our young chef starts when he met one of our #everydayheroes (Mith Samlanh Staff) at a pagoda in 2004. Young as he was, he knew one thing, he loved food and...
A Tale of Two Restaurants – #socent in Lao PDR
Beginnings Coming to life in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 1994, Friends-International (FI) rapidly established innovative approaches to work with street children, youth and marginalized populations in the capital city. This was to help them...
A Family in Recovery
In 2019, when Tom was nine years old he and his four siblings could not go to school because they had to take care of each other. Their parents were not capable of raising...
Rebelling against Poverty
As a young teenage lad, Jerry* was considered rebellious. He dropped out of school against his parents’ wishes and started spending more time outside with his friends. His parents were worried about him because...
A Bite of a Better Future
The ongoing crisis in Myanmar is not enough to block the cooking dreams of a young man. When Mon* had to stop his formal education, he pivoted and found his true vocation. He found...
Sewing Brighter Futures
Xieng Khouang province in Lao PDR is known to be the most heavily bombed place on Earth. This has taken a toll on the health of the Hmong people, an indigenous tribe who live...
A Champion of Child Protection!
For this story, we will focus on one of our #EverydayHeroes from Indonesia–Mrs. Ms.* A vital member of her community, Mrs. Ms. is a mother, a shopkeeper and – a trained ChildSafe Agent! As...
Barista Dreams Big
A call to the Futures Jakarta Hotline was the start of the next step in Andi’s coffee dreams. After some three years of planning, he and his brother finally opened their own coffee shop...
Ending Exploitation On The City Streets
This next story is from our Thailand team. It highlights the risks of abuse and exploitation many children face on city streets. It also shows how our #everydayheroes, social workers and ChildSafe Agents, work...
No Business Too Small
Mother of two Yuliana has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. The responsibilities and challenges of being a full time mom did not hinder her from putting up a small sidewalk store (known locally as...
ChildSafe Agents – The Right Support At The Right Time
We’re going to put the focus onto some of the recent work of our #everydayheroes in Thailand in these next couple of posts. We’ll show how integration between our teams and ChildSafe Agents helps...
Gem of an Idea Takes Flight (The Vanna Jewelry Incubation Story)
Fascinated by the beauty of gems and jewelry, Vanna started collecting jewelry as soon as she was earning her own money. She shared her love for them by gifting friends and family. Her job...
Taking Steps to Better Futures
Under the summer sun, we find Mg Mg* selling bird seed to support his family’s daily needs. A young person with bright eyes and a welcoming smile, he sits by the roadside in the...
