Therapy Services for 80 Cambodian Families

When eight-year-old Visot was referred to CIF, his family was facing overwhelming challenges. He was experiencing frequent seizures, unable to feed himself, rarely engaged with others, and often became irritable. Although he had been diagnosed with epilepsy as a young child, his family could not afford ongoing hospital visits or treatment, and they felt powerless to help him.

At the same time, the family was struggling financially. Caring for Visot required so much of their time that they were unable to earn enough income to meet their basic needs.

When CIF stepped in, our team began by assessing both Visot’s health and his home environment. It soon became clear that, in addition to epilepsy, he was also on the autism spectrum. Our ABLE staff met with his family to understand their priorities, and the parents shared that what they wanted most was for Visot to be able to eat independently and to have better control over his seizures.

CIF supported the family in accessing medical care, enabling Visot to begin taking anti-seizure medication regularly. At the same time, ABLE staff coached his family on how to help him work toward eating on his own and developing other self-help skills.

With consistent follow-up and regular medication, Visot’s seizures stopped. He reached the goal of feeding himself, and his family learned new strategies to help him connect more with those around him.

But CIF’s support goes beyond a child’s individual needs. We take a holistic approach, recognizing that a child’s well-being depends on having a stable and resilient family. Our team worked with Visot’s parents to identify their strengths and explore ways to improve their livelihood. By growing vegetables and raising chickens, they began producing food for their household while also earning extra income from selling what they did not need.

It has now been three years since Visot’s family began receiving support from CIF. During that time, they have grown in confidence and resilience. Our hope for Visot’s family—and for every family in the ABLE program—is that they feel equipped to support their children in reaching their full potential, and that they know their future holds reason for hope. It takes time, but watching hope take root is deeply rewarding.

Since this project began receiving support through the GlobalGiving platform, 95 children and their families have benefitted from CIF’s ABLE services. Currently, 38 children are enrolled. Thanks to your generosity, we are able to continue supporting family-based care that is inclusive of children with disabilities and chronic health conditions.

Thank you for the vital role you play in making this possible!

Links:

• Watch this video on YouTube to see Visot's story.

Back in 2012 before our ABLE Therapy Services had been officially launched, CIF enrolled a 25-day-old baby with a congenital heart defect and severe health complications. 

Months later, we learned her health complications included having hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus often requires surgical shunt placement to allow excess cerebrospinal fluid to drain. Without this procedure, the child's head can become severely enlarged and their brain become damaged due to pressure from the fluid.

Unfortunately, some children in Cambodia do not have opportunity to have this surgery performed in time, resulting in their becoming severely impaired for life, unable to bear the weight of their own head without support.

Fortunately for Sonin* there has been a much happier outcome. Sonin was referred to us after having been abandoned at a well-known pediatric hospital. We collaborated with the local authorities to ensure that she received the lifesaving care that she needed. One of our emergency carers tended to her needs throughout her long hospital stay. After months of treatment and care, Sonin's health began to improve. Since she had no biological family available to care for her, she moved from our emergency care into a long-term foster family. 

Despite her fragile health, her foster parents embraced Sonin wholeheartedly, providing love, care, and medical support with CIF’s guidance. They were distressed to learn of her hydrocephalus diagnosis, but remained committed to her, seeing her through her first shunt placement procedure and subsequent surgeries. By this time ABLE was newly launched. She began to receive early intervention therapy from our physiotherapist to address her developmental delays.

Through consistent care, home visits, and coaching, Sonin thrived—learning to walk, speak, and develop like other children her age. Incredibly, Sonin is now 13 years old and studying in grade 7. While she will always require monitoring from a medical perspective to ensure that her shunt is working well, Sonin is continuing to perform appropriately for her age and doing well in school. Her favorite subjects are mathematics and English. 

In December of last year, Sonin was adopted by her foster parents. CIF walked them through the process, beginning with the initial application to the provincial court in August, and following up with continued monitoring until the investigation phase was complete and the court issued their final approval. 

Sonin beams with pride as she shares, “I love my parents and am grateful for their care. I will study hard to become an English teacher and make them proud.”

As per our protocol, and in compliance with government guidelines, CIF continued to provide post-adoption monitoring for several months before her case was finally closed. Sonin's case is a shining example of our mission: ensuring that every child grows up in a safe, loving, permanent family whenever possible. Without the partnership between Sonin's foster family and CIF, how different her life would have been! And, without your partnership, we would not be able to see outcomes like this. Thanks so much for helping Sonin to flourish!

* Child's name has been changed for confidentiality.