Meet the Yang Taeng FamilyRepresentative Family in Asia

Taeng (Dad), Choun Sarim (Mom), Chantha (son), Chanthouen (son), Sarorn (daughter), Konkia (daughter), and Sarouen (daughter)

They live in the Prey Anse village in

Cambodia’s Kompon Speu Province

Life for the family is not easy. They make their living growing rice on a 2.5 acre farm.

Rhoda Phiri is the oldest of Vaida’s grand children.

A few years ago, her family got sick. After her siblings and mother died, Rhoda’s father remarried and stopped caring for the children of his first wife.

This was when Vaida asked if Rhoda and her younger sister Sarah could come and live with her.

Here, Taeng and Choun Sarim inspect their yearly store of rice.

It must last them until the next year’s harvest. If they run out, they will need to borrow money at high interest rates to meet their family’s needs.

They also borrow money to pay for things like medicine when one of the family members get sick.

Each morning Vaida makes her family a breakfast porridge

made of maize flour mixed with chopped

Up groundnuts, called msere

In the evening, she might make Nisma

Kapenta – Nsima is a thick porridge made

from maize flour that is rolled into balls. Here it is served with cabbage

and small fish, Kapenta.

CRWRC and a local partner, Communities for Transformation, are working with the Yang Taeng family to diversify their crops, try new farming techniques, and improve their lives.

Jason Banda is another of Vaida’s grandchildren. He is 16 years old.

Both his parents died of HIV/AIDS complications when he was only ten.

He lives with Vaida and goes to a school during the day. When he is home, he helps her clean the yard and wash the dishes.

The family recently built this frog pen. Raising and selling

frogs has given the family an new source of income.

Caring for a family and running a farm, is difficult for Vaida to do on her own. Through CRWRC, she has joined the Orphans & Vulnerable Children (OVC) program by the Reformed Church of Zambia.

Choun Sarim also attends the CRWRC supported Farmer

Field School (FFS). She has learned

to maximize every inch

of her farm to grow vegetables for her

family.

Here she grows onions in a hollowed out log

she has filled with dirt.

During her monthly classes in the Farmer Field School, Choun Sarim works alongside others to try out new techniques.

Vaida works in her own field from 7am – 12 noon every day.

Through the things she’s learned as part of her group,

she is able to harvest 50kg of groundnuts

on her own per day.

Through programs like these, the Yang Taeng family’s life is improving.

They even built this new outdoor kitchen.

In this program Vaida and other families caring for OVCs in their community are learning new techniques for growing maize & groundnuts and for fish farming.

They also work together to raise crops on a shared field. They use some these crops to feed themselves and sell the rest in order to get cash for family needs like school and supplies.

The future looks brighter for 12-year-old Sarorn and her siblings

This year, Vaida's group grew and

harvested a total of 750 KG of maize.

Once sold, this will provide US $400 to cover the needs of

families & invest into

next year's projects.

Your prayers and gifts make this possible.

When you decide to partner with the Free a Family program, you get

the opportunity to connect with a real family that CRWRC is working with

- to celebrate their success, join them in challenges, and support

them with your prayers.

Thank you!

For more information, visit

www.freeafamily.org