Clean Water Changed Everything for This Young Girl

From Scavenging to Success: How a Small Grocery Shop Transformed a Cambodian Family

Chhaly is a 40-year-old widow from Cambodia. She’s been raising three children and providing for her elderly mother alone. Some days she works as a farm hand. Other days she collects recyclables with her teenage son. Every night she falls into bed exhausted. 

"I don't have a bicycle or anything, so I wait for rides just to get to work," Chhaly shared, reflecting on her daily struggles. "I scavenge but some days I come home with $2." 

When rice runs low, she heads to the fields to dig for wild potatoes, just to give her kids something to eat with their porridge. The heartbreaking reality of their poverty was felt deeply by the entire household. 

"The work is so hard for her," Chhaly’s daughter explained. "And the farms are far away. I hear my mom cry at night from exhaustion. But I could do nothing to help her." 

Then she heard about Operation Blessing. Thanks to YOU we provided Chhaly with a way forward.  We gave her what she needed to open her own little grocery shop right at home. 
The immediate impact of this new business was beyond anything the family could have imagined. 

"My very first day I made $22.50 in profits," Chhaly recalled happily. "I almost couldn’t believe it! I could finally feed my family, and even save for my children’s school fees and for emergencies." 

Today, Chhaly’s has been reinvesting her profits and her business is growing. She’s earning a steady income of about $450 a month—enough to provide for her mom and children. 
The gratitude for this life-changing intervention is shared by the entire family. 

"Thank you to the people who support Operation Blessing!" her daughter expressed. "You didn’t just help us survive. You gave me hope."