Six Months In: The Home We Built Together in Cambodia

Six months ago, a family in Thlok Kambot Village — about 30 kilometers from Siem Reap, Cambodia — moved into a home that didn't exist a year before. We helped fund it and build it. And I've been thinking about them ever since.

I want to tell you about House #587.

Before this home was built, the family lived in a small bamboo shack with a palm-leaf roof and loosely fitted metal sheets on top. It leaked. It flooded. It let in insects, snakes, and vermin. When storms rolled through, they lay awake, anxious, hoping the walls would hold. Three people shared it: Sorn Sorm, the 66-year-old grandfather; his daughter Sam Samoeury, 40, who earns about $100 a month as a cleaner; and Mut Odom Solida, their 13-year-old granddaughter, now in grade 8.

In November 2025, working with Volunteer Building Cambodia, that shack became a real house — safe, dry, and secure.

Six months later, the change is bigger than four walls and a roof.

The family is healthier. They're no longer exposed to the weather or the dangers that came with their old home. The children are sleeping and eating better, playing more peacefully, and doing better in school because they're finally well-rested. There's simply less to worry about. As the grandfather put it, they feel “happy and peaceful” — a family that once felt abandoned now feels cared for.

And they're looking forward. They've started a small vegetable garden, raise chickens, and even have a cow from another organization. They're saving to add a room beneath the house. Most of all, they're determined to keep their granddaughter in school — because they know education changes everything over a lifetime.

In their words: “They wish every donor and volunteer a good and long life, and great success in their countries. They are truly grateful for the kindness and support.”

Honestly, I'm the grateful one. Getting to be part of this — watching a family go from anxious nights in a leaking shack to a stable home where their granddaughter can dream about her future — is one of the most meaningful things I've been able to do.

A house is more than a structure. It's a beacon of hope, and proof of what kindness can build.

Here's to House #587, and to the next chapter. Life is changing. 