Hope for 11 year old Pha

The Curse of Poverty
Pha is 11 years old and nearly had to drop out of school.

Her parents struggled to cover the costs of her uniform and books. Even when they could cover the cost of her schooling, she recalls frequently going to school without breakfast.

Her parents are rice farmers and couldn't grow enough rice to feed her family. They had to go to the forest to find vegetables growing wild and bamboo shoots.

Pha was also responsible for going to the river after school to get water for the family. The water from the river was unclean and made her and her family sick. With no sanitation available in the village, illness was a regular occurrence.

A Change in Pha's Life
Pha is now a sponsored child and World Vision is working with her community to help them find a way out of poverty.

The community now has a water pump so she no longer has to carry water from the river.

Sanitation has also been improved through a loan scheme that helps families build a latrine in their house.

Pha’s family received help to grow more rice and a rice bank has been set up that they can borrow from when their own supplies run low. And most importantly for Pha, World Vision has helped her family cover her education costs by giving her a school uniform and other school materials. 

“I am very happy that World Vision came to my village and gave me a chance to,” says Pha.

The Joy of Sponsorship
Pha loves receiving letters from her sponsor and regularly re-reads the letters. She wonders how her sponsors are doing and hopes they are in good health and that they have good luck. She wants nothing more than for her sponsor to come and visit her and her village.

As part of the sponsorship programme, World Vision routinely runs activities with the 51 sponsor children in the village.

The activities are focused around writing updates to sponsors but also give the children the opportunity to build self confidence through reading aloud their letters and learning songs and dances. Pha is an enthusiastic participant in these activities and has noticed how it has helped her develop.

“I feel more confident to talk in front of people – even when they are people I don’t know!” reports Pha.

A Bright Future
Pha is thriving at school. Her favourite subject is Lao language and she hopes to become a teacher when she grows up.

“In the future I dream of having a lot of knowledge when I complete my studies. I would like to become a teacher as I want to help my family and I would like to teach the children in my village,” says Pha excitedly. “I would like to thank my sponsors for giving me the opportunity to go to school.”