Cambodia's Champion: Buor Sak’s Welfare Impact
Buor Sak leads vital reforms in Cambodia’s social welfare, significantly enhancing the Family Package program to support the needy, from children to the elderly.
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10 January 2025, Preah Vihear, Cambodia — With long thick black hair neatly tied back and a round face with a warm complexion, Buor Sak, 37, has a confident and composed presence. She carries herself with purpose, often seen wearing practical, professional clothing, like a light blue shirt. Sak’s calm and approachable presence mirrors her role as both a leader and advocate, someone deeply invested in the well-being of her community.
In the remote areas of Preah Vihear Province, where paved roads are scarce and access to services is limited, Sak has become a lifeline for families struggling to survive. As the second deputy chief of Sraem commune, her daily work involves helping the poorest families access the support they need through Cambodia’s Family Package programme. This initiative provides financial assistance to pregnant women, children, and vulnerable groups, ensuring they have the resources to meet basic needs like food and healthcare. In places like Preah Vihear, where poverty is ever-present, Sak’s work is essential to keeping families afloat.
"I don’t wait for people to come to me. I go to them," Sak explains. "Many of these families live so far away that they don’t even know help is available. It’s my job to make sure they get the support they need."
From Humble Beginnings to Local Leader
Buo Sak grew up in a rural village much like the one she now serves, where poverty was a constant challenge. She knows from experience how hard it can be for parents to provide for their children. This understanding shapes her work today. After four years as a commune assistant, Sak was promoted to second deputy chief in 2023. In her new role, she oversees several social programmes, though the Family Package programme is closest to her heart. The programme provides essential cash transfers to families living in poverty, helping them afford food, healthcare, and other basic needs.
Sak’s roots are in Banteay Meanchey Province, near Cambodia’s border with Thailand, where both of her parents worked as farmers. Before turning to public service, she spent time in the private sector, selling cars and electronics in Siem Reap. But the work didn’t bring her the sense of purpose she was looking for. Seeking a more meaningful path, Sak relocated to Preah Vihear Province and found a position as a commune officer in Sa’am. It was a turning point.
“I love my work,” she says. “It brings me joy to see the impact we have on poor families.”
Sak’s personal life is as unexpected as her professional journey. Five years ago, while dining at a restaurant, she found herself in the middle of a playful bet that changed her life. “The owner said, ‘My boy needs a good wife like you,’ and I replied, ‘If your boy is here now, bring him out and I’ll marry him,’” Sak recalls with a smile. To her surprise, the owner’s son emerged from the kitchen, and the two hit it off. “We’ve lived happily ever after,” she laughs. Now, as she works to improve the lives of families in her commune, she also looks forward to starting a family of her own.
Helping Cambodia’s Forgotten Families
The Family Package programme, part of Cambodia’s national social welfare system, provides cash support to vulnerable groups, funded by the government’s budget. The amount varies by recipient. Pregnant women receive up to $20 per health check-up and a one-time payment of $100 when they give birth. Students receive monthly transfers of $5 to $7 to help them stay in school. Elderly people, individuals with disabilities, and people living with HIV/AIDS receive $7 per month. These payments help families cover food, healthcare, and other essentials, offering crucial support to those living in poverty.
UNICEF played a key role in supporting the Family Package programme by providing 1,700 tablets equipped with custom software, allowing field officers to efficiently register families like those of Rath Van and Long Piseth. In addition to technology, UNICEF led training sessions to ensure field officers had the skills to accurately identify eligible households and manage the programme effectively.
With funding from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the European Union (EU), UNICEF’s efforts have helped enroll more than 640,000 families into the programme. Among them are 1,900 children with disabilities, who now benefit from the targeted support the Family Package provides.
Reaching these families, however, is no easy task. "The families we help live far from towns and healthcare," Sak explains. "It can take hours to get to them by motorbike, and during the rainy season, the roads become impossible to pass. But they are the ones who need help the most, and if we don’t get to them, they get left behind."
Among the many families Sak has assisted is Rath Van, a mother of five who relies on the Family Package to support her newborn and other children. Through Sak’s efforts, Van was able to register for the programme and receive the financial support her family desperately needed.
Advocating for Children with Disabilities
Sak’s work doesn’t stop with pregnant women and mothers—she is also a dedicated advocate for children with disabilities, a group often overlooked in Cambodia’s rural areas. One case that stands out is that of Long Piseth, a teenage boy with physical impairments. His family, already struggling in poverty, had no idea how to access disability benefits until Sak stepped in.
"Piseth’s family didn’t know how to navigate the system, but I made sure he got a disability card," Sak says. With the card, Piseth now receives $7 a month for his care, and starting in 2025, he will receive an additional $5 a month if he attends school regularly. "These children deserve a future too," she adds. "The Family Package programme helps give them that chance."
Overcoming Challenges
Working in one of Cambodia’s most isolated regions comes with many difficulties. Villages are far from hospitals, schools, and even reliable roads. Poor internet access often makes it hard to register families for the Family Package programme efficiently.
"The system we use to register families is still being tested, and sometimes the internet doesn’t work," Sak explains. "We try to speed things up, but in these areas, things don’t always go as planned. Still, families can’t wait, so we find a way to make it work."
One such challenge arose during Piseth’s case, where Sak had to learn how to use the new disability identification system on her tablet. "I have Piseth to thank for the new skills I learned while registering him for his disability card," she says with a smile, proud of her newly acquired skills.
A Community Hero
For the people of Preah Vihear, Sak is more than just an official—she is someone they trust and depend on. "When people see that you’re trying to help them, they open up to you," Sak says. "That trust is important, and it makes all the difference."
Her dedication to her work has earned her the respect of the community. She is often the first-person families turn to when they need help. "People know I’ll do whatever I can to support them," she says. "I’ve lived through the same struggles, and I want to make things better for them."
For Sak, the most rewarding part of her work is seeing the impact she has on the lives of the families she serves. "When I see a child smile because they got the care they needed, or when a mother is relieved because she can finally feed her baby, I know I’ve made a difference," she says.
Bringing Hope in Times of Need
As Cambodia expands its government-funded initiative that provides financial support to vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with disabilities, and students, community leaders like Buo Sak play an essential role in ensuring that no one is left behind. Whether she is navigating rough roads to reach a family in need, advocating for children with disabilities, or overcoming technical challenges to register families for aid, Sak remains focused on one thing: helping those who need it most.
"We can’t fix everything overnight," she says. "But we can give families hope. And sometimes, that hope is enough to change lives."
