There are five main things I truly love about my new house. First, it is strong and sturdy. Second, the design is beautiful. Third, it has a heat protection sheet to keep it cool. Fourth, the lock and solid walls provide security. And lastly, I love the wooden steps.
Around the world, 1 in 3 people live without a safe, secure home. In Cambodia, many families are living on very low incomes, making it difficult to build or improve their homes.
For families like Peou and Sam, Ket Sour and Ry Yen, and Rem and her daughter Sonita, a safe home has meant more than four walls and a roof. It has meant protection, security and a stronger foundation for the future.
Peou and Sam
For Peou and her husband Sam, living in a safe and comfortable home had long felt out of reach. Peou lives with HIV and often struggles with poor health, while their son Ny has severe cerebral palsy and needs additional care from the family. With the family surviving on just a few dollars a day, there was little money left to improve their home.
With support from Habitat for Humanity, the family has been able to build a new home that is stronger, safer and better suited to their needs. There is space for the whole family, protection from the heat and rain, and a safe, dry place for Mariya to study.
As she watched her new home take shape, Peou said: “I will be gone one day, but this house will remain.”
Ket Sour and Ry Yen
For Ket Sour and Ry Yen, a safe home became an urgent need when their small, fragile home collapsed last year. Ry Yen was inside with their baby daughter at the time. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the family was suddenly left without anywhere safe to live and had to stay with relatives.
The couple live with their three children in rural Cambodia, earning around £100 a month between them. With support from Habitat for Humanity, they were able to build a new, sturdy home for their family.
Their new home has brought a sense of security that was once missing from their lives. Ry Yen says: “We no longer worry about the roof collapsing or the rain soaking us. Our children have more space to play and grow, and we feel safe and secure.”
Rem and Sonita
In a small village in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, Rem and her daughter Sonita now live in a bright pink home built on strong stilts, designed to keep their living space safely above floodwaters when the heavy seasonal rains arrive.
Not so long ago, they lived in a small hut made from wood and tree leaves. It was hot and cramped, with fragile walls and a roof full of holes. When the rains came, water poured inside. As a mother raising her daughter alone, Rem worried about how she could keep Sonita safe.
Rem earns less than £60 a month growing and selling vegetables to neighbours. She makes sure Sonita never goes to bed hungry and dreams of seeing her daughter graduate from college and build a good life of her own.
Today, their new home gives them protection from the elements and space for Sonita to study. Strong walls and a secure door provide greater peace of mind, while the home’s design helps protect them from flooding.
