The Child’s Journey®
KANHA | Cambodia
Five-year-old Kanha lives in Cambodia’s Speu Province. She is the impoverished daughter of a prisoner. But like a growing number of children being cared for through our child sponsorship program, she is a survivor.
Kanha suffers from a serious heart condition that requires open-heart surgery. But her mother can’t afford the operation on her own. The desserts she sells in her village barely generate enough income to feed her three children.
Kanha’s father has been in prison for 11 years—since before Kanha was born.
“Since my husband was arrested, my family met difficulty and crisis,” says her mother. “My children lack food. [We don’t] have money for spending or [school] supplies.” She says their condition gets worse with each passing year.
To help families like Kanha’s, Prison Fellowship Cambodia is tapping into community resources. Twenty health centers agreed to provide regular health checks, and 54 churches now partner to help deliver essential monthly services to families of prisoners. In addition, local authorities are teaching personal safety workshops, and the department of agriculture is delivering chicken-farming training to empower families of prisoners.
With assistance from Prison Fellowship Cambodia and our child sponsorship program, Kanha received her heart surgery this year. Her condition is improving, and so is her family’s.
“Thank you!” says her mother. “[Our] burden has been reduced in our time of need, and [our] living condition is better than before, because my daughter [is now] healthy.”
Help provide health for a child like Kanha.