12-year-old Sila grew up experiencing poverty and occasional homelessness throughout his childhood. When food was scarce, he and his siblings would walk around nearby villages catching wild snails and picking vegetables so the family had food to eat.
In 2018, Sila’s mum made the difficult decision to send her children to an orphanage. She couldn’t afford to care for her children on her own and believed it would provide them with enough food to eat and a safe place to live.
After spending 18 months at the orphanage, Sila and his siblings asked if they could return home to live with their mum and grandparents. In March 2020, the local authorities in Battambang helped Sila and his siblings leave the orphanage and reunite with their family. Although they were still struggling to make ends meet and the children weren’t going to school every day, the family were back together.
In October 2020, freak flooding hit Battambang and Sila’s village was hit especially hard. Tragically, Sila’s mum was 1 of the 11 people in Battambang who died in the floods.
Sila and his grandparents had to leave their house, pack up their things and were living on the street as their house had flooded so badly. This is when the local authorities in Battambang notified CCT about a vulnerable family who needed help.
CCT responded and went to meet the family and deliver food, water, blankets, pillows, tents and medical care. We made a plan with the family to provide any support they needed and to build them a new house. CCT worked with 2 other NGOs in Battambang who all came together to support Sila’s family and build them a safe, new house.
Now that Sila and his grandparents are in their new home, the focus is on providing medical care for the grandparents and supporting Sila to go back to school. CCT will be behind the family every step of the way, ensuring they have all the food, water, healthcare, counselling and social work support that they need.
