Christmas Pigs, a House and a Moto

Teaching our boys the meaning of Christmas and to be givers has been a priority for Tricia and I as parents. We’ve also wanted to teach our boys to be wise in their giving and look for ways to invest in people that have a long-term effect.

One of the great tools we used was a Christmas gift catalog serving people in need, like the one Samaritan's Purse sends out every year before Christmas. The idea of the catalog is that you can purchase a gift for someone in need. But these aren’t ordinary gifts, they are gifts that are really an investment in people’s future.

Of course our boys, being animal lovers, would always choose to give the gift of chickens or pigs to a family in a developing country. We would always decide what gift to give as a family and talk about how the chickens or pigs weren’t a one-time gift, but a gift that would continue to give if the person who received it learned how to turn it into a small business.

We’ve done things like this before, but we were never able to see firsthand what the real outcome was in people’s lives. This week I had the opportunity to visit a family in Kampong Chhnang province in Cambodia who received one of these gifts in 2012.  I was completely shocked by what I saw.

This family was a recipient of a pig project through the Seeds of Hope project with Samaritan's Purse. Working with Samaritan's Purse I’ve learned families receive much more than can be explained in the Christmas catalog. They receive training in animal husbandry, assistance with constructing a proper pig pen and even training on marketing their pigs once the pigs are ready to sell, increasing the price they receive.

Mrs. Khiem Moeun's family of eight were living in this one room thatch home!

 Mrs. Khiem Moeun and her family were living with a number of challenges. She had eight family members living in a one room thatch and bamboo home. Her three teenage children not only had to live in this cramped one room house with five other family members, but also had a difficult time with obtaining an education and staying healthy.

Mrs. Moeun and her family received help with starting a vegetable garden, raising chickens and raising pigs.  Mrs. Moeun soon became very successful at raising and marketing her pigs. She was an entrepreneur who simply needed a little help getting started. Soon after starting to raise pigs she began to realize she was a natural.

Mrs. Moeun currently has 4 pigs ready to sell and 4 new piglets

Mrs. Moeun started out raising four pigs. She then sold those four, saved the profits and raised four more. Four pigs turned to eight and eight pigs turned to sixteen. Soon she had sold sixteen pigs and decided it was time to recognize a dream she had for her family. The original small investment in four little piglets had quickly turned into enough savings to build a new home for her and her family. They went from a small thatched home to a large wooden home that is big enough for the whole family and is much more secure.

The family in front of their beautiful new home purchased
with the proceeds from their new pig farm.

She didn’t stop there however. She continued to increase the number of pigs she was raising and saved the profits to purchase a motorbike for the family. Now her teenagers can travel to school. With the combined income and fresh food from her chickens, vegetables and pigs, the family’s life has been completely changed. What was once a desperate situation is now a healthy, happy home where everyone has big dreams for the future!

A beautiful home!

While I was in the village her teenage children helped lead the young people in a song and dance performance at a small village church. As we talked with members of the village the village chief told us this family was not the only success story. He said that as a result of the Seeds of Hope project in his village many families have now seen increased Income, domestic violence cases have dropped significantly and mothers and fathers have stopped having to migrate to other provinces or countries to work for income. This has led to healthier stable families throughout the village.

We’ve shared this story with our boys and thought those of you who do something similar might find it helpful to share with your family as well!