Category: Featured Stories

Can you imagine the destruction of your reality in a number of days?

Women like Awetash don’t have to imagine. 

In Kafta Humera in Western Tigray, Awetash ran a successful restaurant and enjoyed raising her three children. Life was stable and she felt pride in building a future for her family. Then, when violence erupted, everything changed.

Shelling, looting, and devastating war crimes against women forced Awetash and her children to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs. 

“I was horrified and forced to leave everything behind,” Awetash recalls. “I had no way to feed or shelter my children. We walked for days. I was haunted by [the violence I saw].”

Along the way, Awetash endured deep physical and emotional trauma. Fear, exhaustion, and uncertainty became part of daily life.

This burden is something no mother should ever have to carry. Yet, two million people like Awetash and her family have been forced to flee their homes in Northern Ethiopia since 2020. After a fallout between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the federal government over political reforms, devastation spread throughout Tigray. Schools, businesses, factories, and 79 per cent of health facilities were shelled, destroyed, and looted. The conflict left at least 2.3 million in need of assistance. 

For the women and girls in Tigray, the impact was especially devastating. An estimated 43 per cent of women in Tigray experienced at least one form of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Many were forced to make impossible choices to survive, leading to risks of sexual exploitation, infectious diseases, and SGBV. The upheaval also shattered the childhoods of many children. With deepening poverty and constant danger, some families turned towards child marriage and labour out of desperation. 

When Patty-Leigh Thielmann, FH Canada’s VP of International Programs, spoke with women affected by the conflict, their stories echoed one another.

“They talked about how they have experienced difficult things,” Patty-Leigh recalls, “Like having to flee their homes in the middle of the night. Many women’s husbands were killed or simply disappeared. It was a traumatic time, and they are still not able to return to their original homes.”

Additionally, mothers also bear the disproportionate burden of walking long distances to collect contaminated water from damaged water systems. This has led to cholera outbreaks throughout many communities, adding extra devastation to already tragic circumstances.

But this is not the end of the story.

Alongside Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and FH Ethiopia, Food for the Hungry Canada is restoring hope for women and girls in Northern Ethiopia. Together, we have implemented the Ethiopia Humanitarian Response project to provide healing, resources, and a brighter path forward.

We began by listening. Women and girls shared what they needed most to feel safe, healthy, and hopeful again, and were invited to fill leadership roles. The project restored access to clean water, built safe sanitation facilities, and created friendly spaces where women could gather without fear.

For women like Sielay, this support was life-changing.

As a single mother with a visual impairment, Sielay faced overwhelming challenges. Before connecting with FH Ethiopia, she and her daughters drank contaminated water shared with animals, which left them constantly sick.

Then Sielay found an unexpected opportunity: a job managing a newly built well installed by The Ethiopia Humanitarian Response project. With access to clean water and a steady income, she felt hopeful again!

“Now I can send my daughters to school, and I can pay my rent,” Sielay says. “Having this job has given me the opportunity to interact with people, especially other women, and to share my feelings with them. For the first time in many years, I feel at ease in my mind. I feel happy. Thanks to God and FH Ethiopia, I finally feel at peace.”

For both Sielay and Awetash, healing required something just as essential: an opportunity to begin again. After arriving at an internally displaced persons camp in Hitsats, FH Ethiopia staff secured Awetash a spot at a safe shelter near a Women and Girls Friendly Space, which changed everything. 

Awetash received counselling, attended psychosocial support sessions, and received life skills training, which helped her regain strength and resilience. Through these programs, she realised she didn’t have to embark on her healing journey alone. The support she received helped her take the next steps toward a new, restored life. The Women and Girls Friendly Spaces have provided a place of hope and renewal for more than 7,700 women and girls like Awetash to find safety, healing, and freedom.  

Awetash receiving support at a Women and Girls’ Friendly Space.

Thanks to these spaces, Awetash can live with the power of knowing that the trauma of her past does not dictate her future.

“The relaxation sessions taught me to calm my anxiety. I learned to manage the pain of my past and the challenges I face now. It gave me tools to live again,” Awetash says.

She now has hope for herself and her family, and even dreams of a better future!

From clean water to trauma support, Awetash and Sielay’s stories highlight how these resources don’t just meet immediate needs, but they also bring healing to communities as they rebuild a life after the devastation of war. Alongside the Government of Canada and FH Ethiopia, women and girls can restore bright futures in the midst of recovering warzones. 

In just 60 seconds, you can help protect a vital space for women and girls. Complete the quiz and a generous donor will give $5 to FH Canada’s work with women and girls in Northern Ethiopia. Be part of restoring safety and rebuilding lives today.

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I began the day excited to travel through Kabarore, Burundi, especially anticipating the first stop of the trip. The FH Burundi team had kindly arranged for me to meet Hadjala, the twelve-year-old girl that I had been sponsoring since I joined FH Canada in 2023.  

As we drove up to the house, neighbours stopped what they were doing to see what was happening. In the rural community where Hadjala and her family live, visitors don’t come through very often. Our arrival caused a bit of a stir.

Finally, we came to a stop at the house where the family was waiting at the door near a sewing machine. Hadjala’s dad, Manariyo, stepped forward to introduce himself and the family. Hadjala saw me before I saw her and ran towards me to give me a big hug. In that moment, any nerves I felt leading up to this visit vanished. Hadjala’s mother, Harerimana, beamed at me and, with a wave of her arm, invited me into their home, balancing her baby girl, Izere, on her hip.  

As we stepped into the living room, furnished with a couple of chairs and a table, her younger brother, Abdul, stared with innocent curiosity. Through translators, we talked slowly and learned more about each other.

Hadjala sat close as her parents explained how being part of FH initiatives had helped their family. After a reminder from mom, Hadjala went into another room and came out with a gift. It was her carefully written letter, telling me how well she’s doing in school! Instead of sending the letter through FH as usual, she held on to it until she could give it to me in person. Reading the letter in her home gave me a fuller picture of who Hadjala is: a confident, respectful young girl who takes pride in her school work, with loving parents supporting her success and working hard to give their children the best possible life.

I spent the rest of the day visiting some of the community projects in Kabarore supported through FH Canada. One of the highlights was a youth co-operative business created for and by youth in Kabarore called Terimbere Rwaruka, which means “Youth Advancement”. The young women and men started a sewing co-op, selling made-to-measure clothes to people in their community and a neighbouring town on market days. There was an air of excitement and pride as we stepped into the co-op building to hear the young people’s stories.  

As I entered the co-op building, I looked up, and there was Hadjala’s mom, Harerimana. That’s why there was a sewing machine set up outside her house this morning! Recognizing each other, we embraced, and I couldn’t have been happier to see how my monthly donation had supported this mom in providing for her children. We sat down together and listened to young people tell their stories. 

We listened as Evelyn, a 27-year-old woman, shared that she had dropped out of school because her family couldn’t afford the fees and had been working as a day labourer, barely making enough to survive. She was integrated into the youth program in Kabarore and given a sewing machine from the FH Canada Gift Guide. Eventually, she used the money she earned from sewing to buy two rabbits and rent an avocado tree from a friend. She took on the risk of farming in uncertain weather conditions and doubled the money she invested. Today she owns a pig, two goats, and ten rabbits, and is actively helping other youth in Kabarore!

Evelyn in Green, 22 year old Belyse Mahoro in the orange jacket.

As we drove away, I couldn’t help but wonder about other children in the community. My mind went to children who are registered in our program, but not sponsored. In each of FH Canada partner communities, we have more children registered for sponsorship than we have Canadian sponsors. Every registered child participates in programs that strengthen their families, school, and communities through clean water projects, nutrition programs, and healthcare. But not all children have the opportunity to connect with the supporters in Canada who are supporting their journey.

What I understood more clearly from my visit that day was that my sponsorship supported programs that strengthen Hadjala’s family, school, and community. FH Canada has completed our ten-year partnership with Kabarore, and I am confident that Hadjala will not only have the support of her parents, but also mentors like Evelyn. At FH Canada, we have always worked to ensure communities are not dependent on us, so that they can continue the work with children and families after we exit. My role in Hadjala’s life was to help strengthen her home, school, and community so that she lives in an environment where she can thrive!

In 2026, FH Canada will start our own journey to the next 100 community partnerships. We are moving forward with the learnings from the last thirty years of emboldening 100 communities, like Kabarore, on their pathways to more hope-filled futures.

Instead of child sponsorship, we are inviting you to be part of transforming communities as a Journey Partner. We will be investing even more deeply into local leaders and communities through new partners embedded in communities who may not have the resources to support child sponsorship. The reality is, there is a cost to running child sponsorship. That cost will now be invested directly into community transformation.

I am making the same monthly donations as always, but now as a Journey Partner. I invite you to join me.

My giving now matches what child sponsorship has always been about: transformation that benefits many children, youth, and families in FH Canada partner communities. I receive updates on children like Hadjala and from young people like Evelyn. I see the impact of farmers’ co-ops on fathers who can finally provide well for their families. I hear inspiring stories about the nurse who can look after her patients with the proper equipment. I invite you to join me in being part of the powerful journey of community transformation.

Sign up today and learn more about becoming a Journey Partner below.

Become a Journey Partner

Stepping off the plane in Cambodia, the humidity greeted me first. Even the plane windows fogged with condensation. It stayed with me the entire trip, keeping my camera lens damp, my normally straight hair frizzy, and my skin sticky. But somehow, the discomfort felt fitting—a reminder that I wasn’t here to feel comfortable.

It was my first time in Cambodia and my first time visiting FH partner communities. The streets in Siem Reap buzzed with life as Tuk Tuks whirred by past markets bursting with colour, fragrances, and art. The smell of lemongrass, lime leaf, and fish oil wafted from food stalls and open-concept restaurants. I fell in love with the traditional Khmer (pronounced ka-mai) curry, and mustered the courage to try fried grasshoppers and silk moths—my colleague Rachelle ate them with a much braver face than I.

While my senses were full of flavour, heat, and humidity, the most lasting memories went beyond meals and markets. I was left imprinted by the people who welcome strangers like old friends, and who meet harsh realities with resilience.

Meeting Vanthib

My role as the Creative Communications Coordinator at FH Canada is to review impact stories from each of our partner communities, and share them with our donors. My familiarity with these stories, along with a partially photographic memory, led me to this moment in Chong Kal.

We had just arrived at the Chong Kal FH Cambodia office when I noticed a young woman, only a few years younger than me. She felt familiar, but having never been to Cambodia before, I knew we hadn’t met. We took our seats at a table as Vanthib, the young woman, and one of the community leaders showed us a map of their community’s struggles and strengths.

Vanthib explained how immigration was a root cause of poverty in her community. They had identified this major cause through a process called, “Systems Mapping.”

I listened as Vanthib confidently showed us—a group of strangers—her work. She told us that she was one of the few youth who stayed behind in her community, rather than immigrating to Thailand for work. Immigration, she told us, was a root cause of poverty in Chong Kal.

As she spoke, confidently and without hesitation, it hit me. I had seen her before—I had received her impact story just a few weeks ago. 

In an interview, she had shared how she used to be shy and afraid to speak in front of others. She felt like she had no voice. “I have experienced significant personal growth since participating in FH programs, “she shared in the interview I had read just weeks before. 

“I now can improve my knowledge, and good communication with family and with my community. Now I have confidence for preparing and training local leaders and villagers. Right now, I am experiencing an unprecedented level of confidence in my interactions with others… Each day brings me joy and a sense of personal growth as I strive for self-betterment.”

And there Vanthib was in front of me. I could see her confidence before my own eyes. She had the courage to stand side by side with an elder of her community, three times her age. She spoke to us, a group of foreigners, with the authority that she knew her community and was ready to be a leader on the journey out of poverty.

Here I am with Vanthib!

To be honest, I felt a bit star struck! She allowed me to take a selfie with her and it felt like a full circle moment—meeting one of the community members who inspired me every day sitting at my desk back at home.

Books and a smile bridged our worlds

Later that day, we went on to visit the Chong Kal Primary School, walking through classrooms where we heard children sing the ABCs and recite numbers.

We carefully took off our shoes to enter a library, paved with tiles and lined with shelves of books. I was surrounded by sixth grade students sitting crosslegged with books in their hands when I caught the gaze of a young girl eagerly looking at me. Her beaming smile was asking me to come over and say hello.

“Chum reap sua! Kyom chimor, Tatum. Kyom obi Canada!” (Hello! My name is Tatum. I’m from Canada!), I clumsily said, walking over to greet her. 

She smiled, clearly my North American accent was entertaining. Spotting a world map pinned to the wall of the library, I pointed out where I had come from—Vancouver, Canada.

“How long did it take you to get here?” She asked with the help of a translator. 

“Over forty hours!” I replied. Her eyebrows raised, struggling to comprehend the distance. She continued to show me the books in her school library and even let me take a few photos of her displaying the books. 

One of our team members, Jim, using the handwashing station behind the Svay Leu 1 Primary School.

Water was a life line

One of the first things I saw in the communities was a tiled handwashing station at Svay Leu Primary School. A few shy, giggling young girls ran past us to wash their hands. They carefully scrubbed their palms and between their fingers with water from the tap fed by gravity from a bright blue water storage tank perched above that read “FH Cambodia”. With their now clean hands, they could eat their lunch without getting sick from waterborne disease.

It’s not hard to imagine, standing in the heat, how sick kids can get here when they don’t have water. On the trip, my water bottle became a life line. Growing up in cooler West Coast summers, I couldn’t believe that what felt like 41 Celsius with humidity was their rainy winter season. I was losing fluids and kept my electrolyte tablets close.

Bong Channalen, FH Cambodia staff, made sure we always had water bottles since there was no potable water from taps in the city of Siem Reap. We were even warned against brushing our teeth with the water from the tap.

But it felt like a stark contrast, standing in the communities with freshly cold water bottles. It struck me that I couldn’t see where the women and children around us would get the water they needed in this heat.

A Night Without Water

On Thursday of our trip, Romono, the Tropeang Prasat Area Program Manager with FH Cambodia, told me the story of a pregnant woman who had travelled to the local health centre to give birth in the evening. While in labour, the electricity had cut out. And, there was no clean water for the doctors to wash their hands or safely deliver her child.

With no light, no water, and no safe way to proceed, they had to wait until morning to deliver the child.

After experiencing the sweltering heat and humidity myself, I could only imagine how uncomfortable and afraid the mother must have felt. 

“Clean water saves lives and brings healthy babies,” Romono explained. If the health centre had been equipped with clean water then the doctors could have provided safe care.

WATCH ROMONO

He explained how right now, his team is working to build latrines, water taps, handwashing stations, and hygiene training for families in the community. It will mean kids won’t miss school from waterborne diseases, more mothers will survive childbirth, and the community will access better healthcare.

A Grandmother’s Triumph

Bi, a grandmother from our partner community in Svay Leu, is proof of how clean water transforms the present and future generations. 

Every morning, Bi would scoop water from a nearby pond—brown, stagnant, and the source of recurring sickness in her grandchildren. Her grandchildren constantly missed school due to diarrhea from the pond water. So, Bi and her husband, Yut, woke up at 4:00 AM just to wait hours for a turn at a clean water source.

But Bi decided enough was enough. She attended FH training on handwashing, water filters, and hygiene. Then, in 2024, thanks to Canadian donors, FH Cambodia built a clean water system right near her home.

Today, her grandkids are healthy. They go to school. She and her husband can work. With a proud smile, Bi told us:

“FH has positively impacted my family, especially our health through safe water and education. We now prioritize clean drinking water and handwashing. We are extremely pleased to have a clean water source near our home.”

A water tower supplying clean water to families.

The Health Centres We’re Fighting For

In communities like Tropeang Prasat, health centres are more than buildings. They’re the foundation of a community’s health. 

Health centres are where mothers bring their children when they’re riddled with diarrhea from unsafe water. They’re where husbands bring their pregnant wives, expecting their first—or second, or third—child. Where children receive routine checkups and vaccines. Where the community comes together to learn about how to stay healthy, use safe water, and wash their hands.

Clean water in a health centre is the difference between healthy kids and the risk of disease. It means health workers can wash their hands, sterilize equipment, and teach the next generation how to stay healthy and dignified.

Right now, Romono and his team are working to equip three health centres with clean water resources: water taps, sanitation, toilets, handwashing stations, and training for staff and families.

Why I Believe In This Work

There were signs of transformation in every school and home we visited. Kids at the handwashing station scrubbed their hands with water flowing from a well above. A healthy, young girl showed off her favourite books at the school library. Savings groups shared stories of how they were lifting their community. A farmer proudly walked us through his solar-powered chicken coop, with water tanks providing irrigation to the fields.

The silver thread between it all—clean water.

Clean water is the cornerstone for a thriving community: watering fields, filling cups, washing hands, and flowing with hope.

After meeting Cambodian families and communities, I’m convinced of this. Your support is a catalyst. These families have the strength and motivation to transform their communities. And we have the privilege of emboldening them on their path to a better future. 

We get to be a part of their story of resilience and hope.

This is Soklai, an FH Cambodia staff member, and I. The staff at FH Cambodia took such great care of us and welcomed us to the communities!

Will You Help Bring Clean Water to Cambodia?

Families in Tropeang Prasat are still waiting. Mothers are still giving birth without clean water and children are still missing school from unsafe water.

Let’s change that.

Donate today to help build clean water systems in Cambodia’s health centres. Together, we can turn resilience into hope, and hope into health.

Akun. Thank you.

GIVE CLEAN WATER TODAY