A Brother From Across the World

For four brothers from the UK, sponsoring nine-year-old Devan through Cambodian Children’s Fund has become about much more than supporting a child in need from a different country.

It has become a bond of brothers.

Ted, Stanley, Toby and George Hammersley have been corresponding with Devan by email, sharing stories about their lives, school, hobbies and the things they have in common — despite growing up thousands of miles apart.

“We’ve got to know him through the emails,” says Toby, 12. “We’ve been sent a lot of videos of his daily life, so we can kind of know what it’s like to live a different life from ours.”

Devan, who is in Grade 2 at a Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) school, has also shared photographs and videos of his home and daily life with the brothers.

“It’s quite good,” Toby says. “It’s a good feeling to have someone you know in a completely different country; it’s a very different experience to the usual.”

“I feel like I have another brother now,” adds George, aged 11, the youngest of the four brothers.

The brothers have discovered that, despite their different lives, they have plenty in common.

Both Toby and Devan enjoy football, while the older brothers, Ted and Stanley, have found common ground through their shared school experiences.

“We both go to school. Football and stuff; we like a lot of the same things,” says Ted, aged 15.

For Toby, everyday experiences create the connection.

“We both have the same sort of lessons and friends, but also some aspects are completely different.”

George, 11, agrees. “I feel like we’ve got things in common with him, like hobbies. We both like football.”

The brothers also write about the big moments in their lives, from school tests to their hobbies and everyday experiences.

“It’s nice to know that you are supporting someone,” says Ted. “It’s good to have someone away from home that you talk to; it’s like having another brother in some ways.”

The Hammersley family first met Devan during their previous visit to Cambodia last year (2025). Their recent return gave the brothers the chance to spend more time with him and his grandmother.

Toby and George also helped out at CCF's Evening Food Program, which annually serves more than 274,000 meals to hungry children who might not otherwise have a hot meal that day.

For Ted and Stanley, the visit also included a community walk through Steung Meanchey, while Toby and George spent time helping with CCF’s Food Program.

Walking through the community left a strong impression on the older boys.

“It was quite upsetting, especially with the kids, how they live and seeing everything they have to go through every day,” says Ted.

What struck both brothers was not only what people lacked, but their attitude towards what they did have.

“They don’t have a lot, but I think they are more appreciative,” Stanley, also 15, says. “They are all so content with their situation, and they make the most of it.”

“It makes you more grateful and appreciative for our own life,” Ted adds.

For Toby, seeing the community also brought home the role that education can play in changing the future.

“CCF is a great way of ending poverty cycles with education and really helping so many children to get jobs and live a stable future.”

When the brothers first met Devan, a language barrier was inevitable — and he was very shy.

But they have found their own ways to connect.

“I think at the start, there was not really any connection for the first day and a half; obviously there was a language barrier,” Ted says. “The language barrier hasn’t changed, but the way we get around it has; we play games with him that don’t really need speaking.”

Now, the connection feels much stronger.

“We feel more connected than when we first met him.”

The family hopes the relationship will continue for many years, with the brothers continuing to write to Devan and return to Cambodia to see him.

“I hope so,” says Ted, when asked if he thinks they will stay in touch. “I hope we can come back in the following years and keep writing to him for years to come. Maybe 10 more years.”

For the Hammersley brothers, sponsorship has opened a window into another world — but it has also shown them how much young people can have in common, wherever they grow up.

A child in Cambodia has become, in their words, “like having another brother.”