Thorng Ma was nine years old when Alex and Darren Guy first met him.
Small for his age, polite, and well-behaved, Thorng Ma had a challenging childhood. After losing contact with his parents following their separation, he was living with his grandmother and doing well at school with the support of Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF).
The missing element was a sponsor. Someone who could provide a constant and positive influence in his life.
Thorng Ma was fortunate enough to secure not one but two sponsors.
Alex and Darren had travelled from the UK to CCF in Phnom Penh in 2014 to visit their sponsored boy Chan when their paths crossed.
“We came to take Chan out for the day, and Thorng Ma was one of the other children on the day out. He was a lovely little boy, and I said, ‘I think I’ll have to sponsor him,’” remembers Darren.
“When we saw him again, we surprised him by telling him that we were going to be his sponsor. He was so happy.”
They show a photo of Thorng Ma when they first met him. “He was just a tiny kid, didn’t speak any English,” recalls Darren, who works for BP, a British oil and gas company.
We have got an awful lot out of sponsoring, as much as the children
Thorng Ma is now 19 and in his final year at CCF’s Neeson Cripps Academy high school. Later this year, he will sit the crucial Grade 12 National Exam, the gateway to a place at university to pursue his ambition of becoming a graphic designer.
Chan, aged 16, is in Grade 9.
“We feel really proud of them,” says Alex. “We have got an awful lot out of sponsoring, as much as the children, and CCF has enabled us to do that. I think if we were just donating money to a random organisation, you would not have that.”
The relationship has been just as meaningful to Thorng Ma.
“Alex and Darren are really important to me. They are parts of my family and my biggest supporter. They help me in hard times and give me a lot of support and good advice," he says.
“They live very far from me, but I feel close and happy that they always send an email to me and cheer me up. They help me get a good education. I can enjoy my life at school because of them. I know that they are very busy with their work, but they still take time to visit Cambodia and come to meet me. I love to spend time and have conversations with them."
Alex and Darren, who reside in Northampton, England, are enthusiastic supporters of CCF's mission - dedicated sponsors and passionate advocates for uplifting the most underprivileged children in Cambodia through education and leadership.
In 2014, they raised £12,000 to buy a school bus for CCF. This included undertaking a gruelling sponsored 29-hour, 100km trek, the Thames Path Challenge.
You see the difference you're making to a child's life
A trip to Cambodia 20 years ago was the catalyst.
“We went to Siem Reap, and one of the tour guides said that many people just come to see the temples [Angkor Wat], take their photographs, and then leave. We just fell in love with Cambodia and thought we wanted to come back, but we want to find some way of being a part of the country,” says Alex, a horticultural manager.
While in the UK, Darren researched and stumbled upon the story of Scott Neeson, the founder of CCF. They watched an emotional video of Scott on the garbage dump with children and were drawn in.
Sponsorship appealed the most.
“We didn’t like the idea of just giving money to an organisation. It wouldn’t have achieved what we wanted to achieve - to be part of a community and country,” says Alex.
Darren adds: “Knowing we were going to be coming back on a regular basis to be able to support a child, to see the difference you’re making to that child’s life.”
They were sponsoring three children with CCF at one point, but now have just Chan and Thorng Ma.
They’ve tried to visit Cambodia and CCF as much as possible. They love to get stuck in, getting hands-on with the Evening Food Program, which serves hot meals to hungry children in the community, and CCF projects such as distributing TOMS shoes to needy children in rural parts of Cambodia.
Alex and Darren have been present for some of CCF’s big milestones.
In 2017, they attended the opening of the Neeson Cripps Academy. They were also at CCF’s recent 20th-anniversary celebrations - the first time in four years after COVID restricted travel - which marked an anniversary of their own: 10 years since they started sponsoring Chan.
Speaking to Alex and Darren, it’s clear how committed they are as sponsors and how emotionally attached they are to the two boys.
Darren says the unique personal connection sponsors can build with children with CCF’s Sponsorship Program through emails, Skype calls, and visits makes all the difference.
“We tell people about it [sponsorship] and our experience. We always try to recommend it to others,” adds Alex.
We want to be part of CCF for the rest of our lives
Friends have been very supportive of their CCF journey.
“To begin with, they were a bit ‘Why Cambodia?” but when we started fundraising for the bus and we told the story [of CCF}, they are very passionate too,” says Darren.
Alex says his mum and dad love that they sponsor.
Cambodia has also become like a second home. They’ve built friendships and bonds, becoming part of a community in a country they love, as they wanted.
The little boy they met 10 years ago, Thorng Ma, is now all grown up, but they hope to be part of his life for many more years to come.
“We will carry on supporting him as long as he needs and wants us,” says Darren.
“We would love to see what he does in the future. If he gets married, we would love to go to his wedding. We want to continue being in contact with him,” agrees Alex.
Thorng Ma feels the same.
“In the future, I hope that Alex and Darren will remain my sponsors. I want to go to university and find a good job to support myself and make them proud of me."
It's really just the beginning of Alex and Darren's CCF journey.
“If it [sponsorship] ends with Thorng Ma, we will sponsor another child because we want to be part of CCF for the rest of our lives," says Alex.
