Our Latest Newsletters
Here are some excerpts from our recent newsletters. To see the full newsletter, please click on the picture or the title of the newsletter.
- What your support means for vulnerable children in Cambodia
What your support means for vulnerable children in Cambodia An update on Children In Families ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ View this email in your browserWatch for this amazing one-day giving opportunity starting next month on July 15! Matching funds from GlobalGiving will make your qualifying gift go even further! What Your Support Means for Vulnerable ChildrenDear Friend, We’re so grateful for all of you who are praying for and supporting our work to keep vulnerable children in families….where they belong! We want you to see the impact you are having, so here’s a snapshot of some of what has been happening at CIF in 2026. Family-Based CareFamily-based care is still CIF's "bread & butter." It's what we started out doing 20 years ago and continues to be our foundation. We have had to scale back a bit due to financial constraints, but we are still supporting 107 children in safe, loving families in local communities. Of these, 59 had been referred to CIF due to being at risk of family separation. These children are being supported within their own nuclear or extended families (through family preservation or kinship care). CIF provides short term financial support along with training, case management, and, in some cases, income generation investment to help these families gain long term stability. Another 42 children are being supported through foster care. These families receive a monthly stipend to help cover child care costs along with training and ongoing case management. Additionally, we are following up with 6 children who have been adopted by their foster families. Sophat's mother reviews his homework with him.One of these children is Sophat (name changed for confidentiality). If you have donated to CIF's "Helping Children Grow Up In Loving Families" project through GlobalGiving, you may have already read Sophat's story from our report a couple of months ago. When Children In Families first began placing children in foster care there was no clearcut path to domestic adoption. In recent years that has changed and there are now national policies and procedures in place. We are proud to say that CIF's consistent advocacy has had a role in making this happen.While we try to reunite children with their families of origin whenever possible, a domestic adoption legal framework achieves permanency for children who cannot be reunited with their biological families. The importance of this for children like Sophat cannot be overstated. There are significant ramifications in terms of their legal standing and place in the community. Even more significant, though, is the emotional security that comes with that legal transfer.Sophat's case is especially noteworthy as he lives with mild cerebral palsy. Children with disabilities are among those most at risk of facing family separation and it takes a special family to be willing to foster them. Though Sophat's family admits that there were challenges related to his diagnosis, it did not deter them from making him a permanent part of their family. Sophat's adoptive mother reports, “We were so happy when we first heard that we could adopt our little (Sophat). We really love him with all our hearts and we want him to be with us forever and legally. Now, he is our son legally. We have already used the verdict to process a birth certificate for (Sophat) and register him in our family book (the family book is an important legal document in Cambodia).Enhancing Service Provision (ESP) ProgramESP began as a pilot project from 2021 to 2023 focused on extending CIF's reach beyond our own beneficiaries. The intent was to build community capacity for support and inclusion of children with disabilities. One of the reasons children with disabilities are at greater risk of family separation is the lack of support services available to them in their communities. ESP was developed to help in addressing this need.We were very fortunate to be supported by Amyas Valora Foundation with a short term grant to reboot the program beginning in late 2025. We targeted Svay Rieng, the province where CIF first started placing children into care. ABLE, CIF's in-house support services for children with disabilities and their families, was started because of the lack of services available in this province. As this endeavor was launched, a government official confirmed that this is still the case. Despite more than 20,000 residents having some form of disability, there are virtually no support services available. Even wheelchairs are in short supply. While this seems like an almost insurmountable challenge, we've been encouraged by all we have been able to accomplish in the eight months since we started:A baseline survey helping to identify needs, attitudes, and current capacity throughout the provinceAwareness raising and community dialogues to engage community members in thinking about how to address needs for support and inclusionTraining for over 50 government, health, and education staff on topics to help build their capacity to support children and familiesCapacity-building support for CIF's existing respite care and the launch of a new community-based respite care service for children with disabilities at a local churchSite visits to respite services to increase awareness among local government officials and build their commitment to supporting the expansion of similar servicesLaunching five peer support groups for families of children with disabilitiesCommunity mobilization activities to encourage community participation in addressing needs of children with disabilities and their familiesDirect follow up to assist families and local government staff in accessing specialized services available outside of their communityThis list is not exhaustive and does not fully capture the impact that this project has had, but it gives you a glimpse. One of the most encouraging things has been to see how actively engaged these community members have been. They recognize the need and are eager to know how they can be more responsive to the needs of children with disabilities and their families. There is a lot of work left to do, but there is a lot to celebrate and a lot of hope for what can be accomplished. Peer Support Group MeetingAn Open WindowYou know the saying, "When God closes a door, He opens a window." The leadership at CIF knew that we needed to make some tough decisions to be sustainable. We have been so proud of OSCaR, our online case management system, but we had to prioritize the families being supported by direct services. So, when an opportunity came up to have someone else take the IT management on, it seemed the wise thing to do.We originally developed OSCaR to support best practices by our own social work staff. We scaled it up to make it available to dozens of other organizations in Cambodia and a few outside of Cambodia. It has been a great tool for many working with vulnerable children.Our Executive Director, Sam Ol, had met some of the team from Both Ends Believing (BEB) at a World Without Orphans conference a few years ago. BEB developed Children First Software (CFS), which is used by organizations in various parts of the world to assist residential care facilities in transitioning children out of orphanage care and into family-based care.BEB became our open window as they agreed to take on our whole OSCaR team to introduce CFS into Asia, beginning with Cambodia. They liked some of OSCaR's features so they are working to integrate some of the best features into CFS and also assist OSCaR users in transitioning to use CFS. Please pray for this ongoing process. You're an Important Part of This!Children In Families has weathered many challenges in our 20 years and God has always been faithful. We are facing a pretty significant financial shortage right now and are asking the Lord for wisdom in how to navigate it. We have implemented cost-saving measures, and are actively seeking new funding opportunities from a wide range of sources. Thank you for your prayers - please keep them coming! We know that the Lord listens to His people and that there is power in lifting one another up to the Lord. Please ask the Lord to provide His wisdom and the resources to do what He is calling CIF to do. We want to be responsive to His leading as we look for opportunities to work more effectively and to partner with like-minded people to accomplish our mission. If you are not already, would you prayerfully consider becoming a financial partner to CIF? Any amount would be a huge blessing and a lifeline for vulnerable children and families. You can help with a one time donation or a regular monthly commitment. Support through institutional grants can be helpful and we will continue to seek them, but grants alone do not provide the financial stability that this work requires. Support from friends like you helps sustain critical services, prevent family separation, support children with disabilities, and prepare youth for independent living.We are fully vetted by GlobalGiving so you can give with confidence. Your donations on their platform are tax deductible in the U.S. A reminder, though - next month there will be an opportunity to make your gift go even further! Donations between $100 and $1500 given on 15th July will be eligible for the matching funds from GlobalGiving.Australian donors can give tax deductible donations through ACCI. Donate Thanks so much for your support!"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13Lisa and the CIF team Copyright © 2026 Children In Families, All rights reserved.Want to change how you receive these emails?You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- Giving Thanks!
Giving Thanks! Thankful for you and for God's sustaining grace! View this email in your browser Giving Thanks! Dear Friend, For our American friends out there, we hope you enjoyed a wonderful time with family and/or friends, giving thanks to the Lord for all that He has done and continues to do. Here in Cambodia, as well as for many of you in other parts of the world, Thursday, 28th November was just an ordinary day. But, whether you just celebrated an official holiday or not, it's a great opportunity and reminder for us at CIF to express our thanks to all of you and to praise God for sustaining us throughout this past year. That was, after all, what the first Thanksgiving was about. So, THANK YOU! Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your giving. Thank you for helping us to ensure that children are being cared for in strong, healthy, loving families. Our Mission If you look at our website, you will see that our mission is: "Supporting children to be raised in families through the provision of family-based care and community-based services and advocating for the importance of families for children’s development and wellbeing." Despite being a relatively small local NGO, CIF continues to lead the way here in Cambodia to support national and international policies promoting family-based care as the healthiest way for children to grow up. Despite all of the advocacy that CIF and others have done about the huge difference between family-based care and residential (orphanage) care, we continually encounter people who contact us about wanting to support an orphanage. It provides another great opportunity to educate people, but it also points out that many people are still unclear about how important this issue is. If you would like resources to help increase awareness about this, the Faith to Action Initiative is a great place to start. This video is nine years old, but the message is the same (click photo to see the video on YouTube): "Chetra" (name changed to protect his privacy) is one of the many children CIF has helped to be legally adopted by his foster parents. Out of the mouths of babes I was talking recently with Chanthida, our Family-Based Care manager, about some of the children in CIF's foster care who had been demonstrating some challenging behaviors. What turned out to be the root was their desire to be adopted. They loved their foster parents and they had gotten old enough to recognize that adoption was what would secure them permanently in the family. Chanthida told me that as CIF has helped to secure more and more adoptions, the children themselves are asking their foster families to adopt them. If children who have been in loving, committed foster families for years still long for this kind of security, imagine what it feels like for children growing up in an orphanage. So, once more, THANKS for your commitment to walking alongside us! "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17 Lisa and the CIF team Having stable funds to operate really impacts our ability to support stable families for children. Please prayerfully consider a one-time gift or, even better, a monthly commitment to keep the work of CIF going strong! Giving Tuesday is the perfect time to do it because GlobalGiving's $500,000 in available matching funds means that every gift has the potential to go that much further! Donate Copyright © 2025 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- A Difficult Year, A Hopeful Future
A Difficult Year, A Hopeful Future Celebrate God's sustaining grace with us! View this email in your browser A Difficult Year, A Hopeful Future Dear Friend, We are excited to share our 2024 Annual Impact Report with you. It wasn't easy, but we held on to hope and stayed true to our mission through a rough and tumble year. I don't think I could have said it any better than our Executive Director, Sam Ol, so here is his opening summary from the report: "Reflecting on the year 2024, we at CIF faced one of the most challenging seasons in our history. As the world continued to recover from the effects of COVID-19, we were also confronted by a cascade of global crises—wars between nations, natural disasters, and ongoing economic instability. The ripple effects were deeply felt, especially in the funding landscape. Several of our long-standing donors, impacted by these global shifts, were no longer able to continue their support—forcing us to make some of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to face. "As Executive Director, I carry the responsibility of safeguarding the well-being of our staff, the children, and the families we serve. This responsibility took on a new level of gravity this year. Despite our relentless efforts to secure new resources, the financial shortfall left us with no choice but to restructure. Saying goodbye to devoted colleagues—people who have walked faithfully with us and poured their hearts into this mission—was deeply painful. It marked one of the most sorrowful chapters in our journey. "And yet, through the hardship, we grew. These trials pushed us to think more strategically and act with greater intention. One of the most important lessons from this season has been the need to prioritize long-term sustainability. We have strengthened our collaboration with government officials—both nationally and locally—through increased engagement and co-case management. These partnerships are helping to ensure that family-based care is no longer just our mission, but a shared priority for the wider system. "In the midst of adversity, we have been deeply encouraged by the unwavering generosity and commitment of our faithful donors. Your financial support, prayers, and belief in our vision have carried us through. Your presence reminded us that we are not alone—and for that, we are truly grateful. "Even in uncertainty, our mission remained strong. Children with disabilities continued to live safely in families. Adoptions progressed. Our digital case management system, OSCaR, expanded to support more organizations. And our team, though reduced in number, showed extraordinary commitment and resilience. "As we step into a new year, we do so with humility, courage, and a renewed sense of purpose. We are reimagining how to build more sustainable systems, foster deeper partnerships, and strengthen the safety nets that protect children and families. Thank you for standing with us." Please click the photo or link above to read the full report. Adversity as a Catalyst for Change In our last newsletter I shared that challenges can be opportunities. We have seen that play out in a number of ways. For one thing, many of you rose to the challenge of helping us to bridge the gap for 2024. THANK YOU!! While the funding CIF receives from individual donors is still a relatively small part of our overall budget, there was a 250% increase in giving on our GlobalGiving platform from 2023 to 2024. Wow! We can't tell you how much that means to us! As Sam Ol stated in his summary, and as described in more detail throughout the report, we have also worked hard to streamline our operations and build greater collaboration in order to operate as sustainably as possible. While the financial crisis has taken a toll on many organizations, its high visibility has seemed to foster more opportunities for multiple stakeholders to work together to ensure that critical needs of children and families are met. Stories of Change Our Annual Impact Report is more than facts and figures. We also share stories which highlight the impact your support of CIF has on the lives of individual children. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13 Lisa and the CIF team Donate Copyright © 2025 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- Loaves and Fish
Loaves and Fish God does amazing things when we bring what we have. View this email in your browser Could you spare some loaves of bread and a couple of fish? Dear Friend, In our December 12 newsletter, we announced a goal of raising $10,000 over a three-month period to help cover our projected $60,000 budget deficit for 2025. We are currently halfway through our challenge and, thanks to you, we have reached $5432.92 of that target! Thank you for your generosity! Little did we know what was just around the corner. You've most likely heard about the sudden stop order for USAID funding. About 28% of CIF's current funding comes from USAID. And you know that we don't have a cushion for that, as we were already facing a deficit for 2025. CIF runs lean as an organization, but we are suddenly faced with having to figure out where to cut costs if we don't receive some emergency funding. As we communicated before, we had to make the painful decision to lay off five staff the end of last year. We really cannot afford to keep cutting staff and be able to accomplish our mission. The familiar Biblical account of Jesus feeding the 5000 begins with the disciples asking Jesus to send the crowds away after a long day of teaching and healing. They know the people are going to need something to eat, and there are way more people there than they can possibly feed. Jesus responds by saying, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They respond, “We only have five loaves here and two fish.” But Jesus multiplies that tiny offering into an abundant feast with plenty left over. Did Jesus need the five loaves and two fish? Couldn’t He have just created a meal out of nothing? Of course He could. But He worked with what the disciples brought. Jesus still works that way. He asks us to show up with what we can bring. What we bring is never sufficient for the enormity of need that we see, but something wonderful happens when we put it in Jesus’ hands. Your gifts are helping to achieve enormous things in the lives of children at CIF. Children are being healed from trauma through love. They are receiving medical care to live healthier, longer lives. Those once marginalized are seen as valued members in their communities. Families are strengthened to provide what their children need and have hope for a brighter future. Challenges can be opportunities Recent events have reinforced how extremely important individual donors are. CIF is one of many organizations currently facing the risk of disruption of some of our vital services. We are grateful to have received grants from some large donors, including USAID. However, we are even more grateful for the partnership of individuals like you who are committed to join in this mission alongside us. Not only do you play a pivotal role in our sustainability, you lift us up in prayer and encourage us. You may not feel that you can do much toward an our budget deficit, but your gift of any size, put into the hands of Jesus, becomes life-giving support to children and families. Would you prayerfully consider helping CIF to meet this challenge? If you had considered partnering with us to meet our funding goal, your support could not come at a better time. As always, your tax-deductible gift will be handled with complete integrity through Global Giving. for our friends in the U.S. or through ACCI for our friends in Australia. Let us know if you would like to give within Cambodia and we can provide you with an ABA QR code. A gift of any size will be greatly appreciated. It's loaves and fishes time! Can't give right now? Please join in praying for us - your prayers are a valuable offering too. Recently, I [Erin] had the privilege to sit down with Brandon and Phil at the “Think Global, Do Justice” Podcast, formerly known as the “Think Orphan” Podcast. We talked through CIF’s story in Where They Belong, as well as addressed complexities in the NGO world, including anti-trafficking and caring for vulnerable children. You can listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. We are incredibly grateful for you! Sincerely, Erin, Lisa, & The CIF Team Donate Copyright © 2025 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- Happy, Merry Christmas!
Happy, Merry Christmas! From all of us at Children In Families! View this email in your browser Merry Christmas from all of us! Thank you for your continued support of the work of CIF. We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating! Sincerely, Erin, Lisa, & The CIF Team Donate Copyright © 2024 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- You Can Make An Impact to Keep Families Together
You Can Make An Impact to Keep Families Together What it will take to keep CIF serving vulnerable children & families in 2025. View this email in your browser A Look Back at 2024 Dear Friend, With support from generous donors like you, Children In Families has been supporting 92 families in caring for 132 children who are a part of our FOR-1 (Family Preservation and Kinship Care), Foster, and ABLE programs. We’ve also spent the last year building on ABLE’s vision to give biological and foster parents of children with disabilities and chronic illnesses a regular break through our Respite Care program. Caring for children with disabilities is a 24/7 job without caretaker breaks while at school, so our staff and volunteers welcome their children to come play and learn life skills at our office on a regular basis. Our FOR-1 program has helped to keep at-risk families together and our Emergency Response program has reintegrated 35 children from an orphanage - that suddenly shut down - back into their families. Our continued support to foster families has included assisting some of them with domestic adoption. Unfortunately, however, due to significant financial constraints, we have not been able to take on any new foster children, nor vet any new potential foster families. In fact, the numbers of families we have been able to support has shrunk, rather than grown, over the past couple of years due to our funding deficits. This saddens us since we know there are so many vulnerable children in our communities who need loving and supportive families About Cambodia. Did you know that Cambodia is only about 2% Christian? As a Christian organization in a majority Buddhist setting, Children In Families depends heavily on outside funding. We consider this a great opportunity, though, for believers to have a role in sharing God’s heart by strengthening families. God designed family as the best way to care for children and one of the most loving things we can do for children is ensure that they are in loving families. Would you partner financially to support our programs? While CIF has secured finances to maintain our programs for the first 6 months of 2025, we are currently sitting at a $60,000 deficit for the remainder of the year. If you missed the newsletter about our budget and where your donations go, please feel free to read the last newsletter. Our goal is to raise at least $10,000 over the next three months through individuals and small businesses. Here is what your giving to Children In Families can do: $250 – provides 1 weekly respite care for 10 ABLE families. This includes paying staff, location, utilities, meals and creative/learning supplies for children. $40-$150 – covers one month of Foster Care for 1 child. The cost per child is dependent on a child’s age or needs due to health or disability. $300 - Domestic adoption. This price covers all of the paperwork and support for a foster family to adopt their child. $130-$250 – covers a FOR-1 Income Capacity Building project. These 1-time projects help our FOR-1 families have more margin with income. We look at the assets, strengths, and interests the family already has and find a small business that they can build on. (Ex: $130 provided a well for clean water and the ability to water a veggie garden used to earn extra income. Another family received help to purchase chickens to raise and sell eggs.) Individual one-time donations. This is an individual breakdown of what we would need to reach our financial goal. Would you take one of these slots? · 2 people at $1000.00 · 6 people at $500.00 · 12 people at $250.00 · 20 people at $100.00 If you prefer to give in smaller portions, you can also set up monthly giving for 2025. Monthly gifts, even in small amounts, help so much in our having steady reliable income which is crucial to our mission! Your tax-deductible gift will be handled with complete integrity through Global Giving. In closing… Our goal is not just a one-time event or a blip on the screen. We’ve diligently served vulnerable children and families of Cambodia since 2006 and have no intention of stopping anytime soon. We are incredible grateful for you! Sincerely, Erin, Lisa, & The CIF Team Donate Copyright © 2024 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- Financial Transparency
Financial Transparency Wondering where your donations go? View this email in your browser 2024 Finances When you give to CIF, your money goes a long way toward supporting children in healthy and loving families. For the sake of transparency, we wanted to give you a picture of how our budget breaks down. We'll include details about what each category means, below. Did you know that it costs 85% less to support a child in a kinship or foster family than in a children's home? MONTHLY Program Costs: $10,844 Staff Salaries & Benefits: $20,964 Organization Development: $3,277 Administration: $2,159 Maintenance (Vehicle/Property): $140 Promotion: $132 Purchase Assets: $119 TOTAL: $37,635 Defining Categories... Program Costs: family recruitment/assessment, placement, allowance for care, medical and therapy, family development, adoption support, respite care, etc. Staff Salaries & Benefits: everyone on staff from Managing Director to Program Managers, Social Workers, ABLE staff, Admin, & housekeepers Administration: office rental, utilities, supplies, government fees, etc. Maintenance: vehicle and property Promotion: marketing, video production, website development Purchase Assets: computers, printers, equipment Thank you for your continued support of CIF! What happens when orphanages and children's homes suddenly close? Our emergency response category tackles just that problem. An orphanage in Cambodia suddenly shut down leaving children without food, shelter, or caretakers. The Cambodian government called upon CIF and several partner organizations to step in and help these children transition back into family and community. It's not an easy task since children have trauma and fear around abadonment, as well as our role to ensure they transition into safe and healthy homes. Thanks to your support, 35 children are back in loving families. If you want to learn more about our work, we have a book, "Where They Belong," that details our history and the reason for our passion to keep kids in loving families. Sincerely, Erin, Lisa, & The CIF Team Donate Copyright © 2024 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- We Are Thankful
We Are Thankful Our staff share what they are grateful for this year! View this email in your browser Thankful This month, I asked around the office, "What are you thankful for?" A few of our staff wanted to share their thoughts with you. We are thankful for your incredible continued support over the years and desire to learn more about family-based care. Through your generosity, Cambodian families are strengthened and held together, in spite of obstacles. Sincerely, Erin, Lisa, & the CIF staff Sorn Srey Ny "I am proud that I work with CIF, and I am so thankful that CIF works hard to protect and keep children in safety and loving families, especially children with disabilities." Chhoun Leak "My name is Chhuon Leak and I am in charge of the family and child care program. I am so grateful for CIF's allowing me to work to support vulnerable children, giving them family care in the community." Hin Chan My name is Hin Chan and I am a Senior FBC Case Worker in Kampong Chhnang Province. I really enjoy working at CIF because I can reach out to families and support vulnerable children to have the love, warmth, care and attention of family and caregivers. God bless CIF, and thank you. Yem Veasna "Greetings to all. I am very happy that I can have the opportunity to share my experience working in CIF throughout 2024. "For the past year, I have gained new experiences and lessons through daily work. Sometimes there are problems and some obstacles, but I can help children who are struggling to prevent the separation of children from the family. I enjoy helping some children get legally adopted, while supporting some families to have a better life through small business. "I can do all this because I have a team that is supportive, loving, friendly, able to join me in times of trouble. In addition to daily work, all of our teams set aside time to worship." Thanks for reading! We hope you are finding plenty to be thankful for this season. Thank you for your continued support of the work of CIF. And, in case you missed it, our work was featured by Christianity Today recently. Sincerely, Erin & Lisa Donate Copyright © 2024 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- We Want To Hear From You!
We Want To Hear From You! We'd love to get to know our subscribers better. 😀 View this email in your browser Friends at our book launch. How Are You? We love featuring our families, staff, and CIF's work, but we also want to stay connected to you. Our supporters and followers come from all across the globe, and we want to show our appreciation. We would love to hear from you! Where are you from? How did you learn about CIF? How long have you been following and partnering with our work? What's your favorite thing about keeping children in loving families? Why do you have a heart for Cambodia? If you have a minute, write Lisa and me at childreninfamiliesmedia@gmail.com. Tell us about yourself and let us know if you would be okay with being featured on our social media. (If not, no worries, we'd still love to hear from you.) You can even send us a fun photo of yourself or your family! Sincerely, Erin Your Beautiful Face Here! In Case You Missed It! We launched our book Where They Belong in July and our work was recently featured in Christianity Today. Thank you for your continued support of CIF. Sincerely, Erin, Lisa, & The CIF Team Donate Copyright © 2024 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
- Featured In Christianity Today
Featured In Christianity Today The Rural Cambodian Community that Fostered 76 Children View this email in your browser Where They Belong I sent a copy of Where They Belong to Christianity Today's Asia Editor before the book launched July 9, 2024. After reading it, she asked me if I'd write an article on CIF's work, especially Ming Anny's (Keo Ravy) home village. It's an honor for the global Christian community to hear our story. *Before you read, there was an editing misprint in the article. In the early years, CIF's foster care program had a majority of children with disabilities, but that has since changed. We still support a large number of children with disabilities, however, most remain in their biological families. Erin Foley In 2008, Keo Ravy and Amy Sullivan of Children in Families (CIF) drove to an orphanage outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to pick up two toddlers with severe developmental delays. They then brought the children to a rural village where they would meet their new foster families. In the car, four-year-old Sam Ang, who was blind and could not yet eat solids, suddenly started violently banging his head against the car floor. Startled, Sullivan tried to stop him, unaware that due to neglect, this was his way of communicating hunger. As Sullivan pulled him into her lap, he began to calm down as he felt her face with his hands. Sullivan, a CIF volunteer, recalled feeling worried about whether his foster mother would be able to care for him. Yet that anxiety dissipated as they pulled up to the village in Svey Rieng province three hours later. A group of villagers stood by a house, waiting for their arrival. Ravy parked, opened the car door, and gently lifted the boy from Sullivan’s lap. Quickly, a woman ran up and whisked Sam Ang out of Ravy’s arms, hugging and kissing him repeatedly. She was his new foster mother, Pang Sokha. Smiles erupted on everyone’s faces, and several villagers clapped with delight. This is the vision of the Christian nonprofit CIF: to provide resources for impoverished families to raise their own children or take in abandoned children instead of sending them to orphanages. Sam Ang became the first of 76 children, most of whom have disabilities, to be fostered in the village and its surrounding communities. (Click to keep reading...) What Readers Are Saying You Matter! Thank you for sticking with us over the years. 2024 has been challenging for several reasons and yet exciting to see all that will happen as we spread the word about family-based care in Cambodia, and globally. Thank you for your continued support of the work of CIF. Sincerely, Erin, Lisa, & The CIF Team Donate Copyright © 2024 Children In Families, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
