Stories

Taslima’s family couldn’t make ends meet in Bangladesh. Constant arguing between her and husband made their homelife toxic. Couples counseling, literacy classes, and savings opportunities turned their lives around!

It’s no surprise that Mandela and his peers felt like second-class citizens in their homeland. As members of the Indigenous Batwa Peoples in Burundi, they had faced discrimination from before they were even born.

Celebrating Resilience: A Decade of Transformation

While the past two decades of economic development have resulted in a significant reduction in poverty, there is still much to be healed, especially in rural areas. FH Canada partners with FH Cambodia in 35 communities in the northern provinces of Siem Reap and Oddar Meanchey. Together, they cast an ambitious vision for their future.

This year, FH Rwanda and FH Canada began a new 10-year partnership with five communities in Bwira, Rwanda.

Conflict in marriages and families can be scary, but change and reconciliation are possible! It takes courage, humility, and grace.

In North America, the phrase ‘business woman’ might trigger the image of power suits, striking presentations, and hurried cups of coffee while taking yet another conference call. But one group of women in Guatemala is proving to be so much more.

Chun Ul was a newcomer to Ta Siem only a few years ago. Now, she's a key leader in her community, setting an example for others to follow!

Poverty isn't just a lack of material goods. It’s a mindset, an emotional state, a social position, a self-perception. When Annonciate in Burundi was equipped with skills to care for her family, she gained the confidence to participate in community and leave behind her shame.

In that moment I realized “the poor” can outdo us “wealthy ones” any day of the week when it comes to sacrificially sharing food. While they lack material resources, they are profoundly rich in hospitality.

I feel it is necessary to contribute for the development of my community. In the past there was no opportunity [for women] to participate in leadership due to cultural issues, but thanks to FH training there has been a great change in the community and in the integration of leadership.

Child sponsorship comes full circle in this mother's amazing testimony.

Tucked away in the remote valleys of north western Guatemala lies San Juan Cotzal. Its mountainous region and foggy, pine-forested slopes are home to a cluster of nine communities: Los Angeles, Tixelap, Quisis, Chichel Chisis, Santa Avelina, Ojo de Agua, Vichibala, and San Felipe Chenla.

Child Sponsorship doesn’t just transform the life of a single child— it changes the whole community. By developing leaders, training teachers, and equipping farmers, the resources from your sponsorship have a wide-reaching impact.

From grassroots to glass ceilings, Afrose Akter is shattering stereotypes of female leadership in Bangladesh.

Mao Kreng is a survivor. He was just 21 years old when the Khmer Rouge—a homegrown political movement—seized control of Cambodia. Over the next four years, he watched as a quarter of his countrymen—his friends, neighbours, and family members—died from disease, starvation, exhaustion, or execution. It is estimated that between 1.7 and 3 million people lost their lives under the Khmer Rouge between 1975-1979.

It’s easy to jump to conclusions. We do it all the time. About the driver who doesn’t use their turn signal, the mom who lets her kids eat cookies for snack, the woman standing barefoot by the side of the road holding a cardboard sign.

Real change for communities does not happen overnight. Each of us plays an important role—from supporter to office staff to community leader. It takes years of relationship building, planning, education, and persistence. But the conduits that make this happen? FH staff who live and work in the community, who truly walk alongside leaders, churches, and families.