In Svag Rieng, Cambodia, families are so poor that they have no choice but to send their children into neighbouring Vietnam in search of work and food where they face the very real dangers of exploitation and abuse.  

14 year old Yorng Saman says “I have no father and my mother is sick so she cannot do heavy work.  My sisters and I have to work to support our family.  I often followed my sisters to Vietnam to look for work.  I had to work, for my sisters alone couldn’t earn enough money to buy enough food.”

ActionAid has two priorities in Svag Rieng –  to help the families develop a living and to get the children into school.  260 families have received donations worth about 100,000 riel (£17), to start small businesses. Saman’s mother has set up a small grocery stall and Saman is now training to weave baskets that can be sold to supplement the family income.  She says “Of course I do still help my family at home, but it is much better now.  I stay at home making baskets in the morning and in the afternoon I go to school.”

Svag Rieng is by no means the only village sending small children into Vietnam but with currency devaluation of 12%, ActionAid is facing a £345,000 shortfall for its work in Cambodia.  If we cannot find the extra money, thousands of children will continue to face the dangers that Saman endured.

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