An update from TearFund charity

Following Tom and Milo’s trip to Laos a year ago we received some great news from Tearfund, a leading relief and development charity who provide global aid to those in need.

“When her father died three years ago, Ler and her brothers and sisters had to work out how to support their family of eight. Ler’s oldest brother and sister are working on a chicken farm in Thailand so Ler stopped going to school to help her disabled mother look after her two younger siblings. She was considering travelling to Thailand to find work.

When chef Tom Herbert visited Ler’s village to run a baking workshop Ler jumped at the chance to learn new skills. At the workshop she was inspired to start her own business making and selling ‘sticky sticks’. With some savings and a small loan from her sister she was able to buy the simple ingredients she needed costing just K20,000 ($2.5). Selling her sticky sticks at the local primary school, Ler’s first batch all sold within an hour, and with that she made a K20,000 ($2.5) profit. Now Ler has increased her production, selling not just in the school but around the village, and supplying snacks for local events and activities. Ler sells the snacks in the morning and still has time to help her family on the farm.

“Now I have my own small business I am safer not to go to work in Thailand, and I can be of great help to my mother and siblings if I stay here. Now I teach my friends to make these snacks so we can help each other and share the profits.”

To find out more about TearFund visit their website at http://www.tearfund.org/