Our Family Stories

Meata Torn / James and Linda Pierce

Meata Torn's Story (in her own words)

I am Meata Torn, 21 years old. I grew up at Future Light Orphanage (FLO). Why? Here it is... My parents got divorced when I was four years old so I lived with my dad from then, and I don't even know what my mother looked like. Then my dad died in 2002, so my aunt was very poor then she sent three of us to the orphanage (I had one younger sister and one younger brother with me).

My life changed when I came to FLO!! It's where I learned what my life is all about!! FLO provided me (and my siblings) more than I can describe. Such as food, shelter, and sending us to public school for Khmer studies, English and computer class and traditional dancing at FLO. The best things were providing me love, happiness, and teaching me to become independent.

Since I first went to FLO on September 2003, I got my foster parents James and Linda Pierce. We exchanged emails and share love and life experiences. They always sent me gifts and treats for every special occasion and encouraged me, and I felt the love from them. They provided financial and emotional support for my living and studies since I came to FLO through today! FLO and my parents never forget about me even after I started to live outside FLO. He paid my university tuition fee and FLO provides me consultation when I am in trouble and health check up too!

Foster parents are very important to FLO and the children. We constantly need new foster parents as new orphans are coming to FLO more and more. I have been with FLO and my foster parents for over ten years - keeping in touch with my Pierce family, I learned a lot from them and also I feel that I have the best family ever! They visited me in April 2005 and took me and my siblings to Angkor Wat to see the incredible temples there. Another best experience I got from FLO is I won a scholarship to attend a summer school program at Punahou school on Hawaii which was my first traveling experience out of Cambodia. I would like to give a BIG thanks to eGlobal Family for working hard in fundraising and get more foster parents for the program and all the staff at FLO and daddy SOEUN and mum PHALY, which is the hero which we always never forget her. Now I am all grown up and I have an independent life.

One of my best experiences is my college life, it's very challenging. I met my best friend, Chanthy Pon who was also my best friend from FLO and now she's still going to school with me, same class. I am in Marketing so I also got my job in this field too. The university is much different from high school. I can't play a lot and need to take it very seriously. I've met many smart people there. I learned how to network with them as most of them have a lot of life and work experience. I can't believe my four years of college went by very fast and now I am finishing up my thesis and I will work very hard on it especially the presentation. I am graduating from business university this year and I am very excited!! At the moment, I am working at a medical equipment company.

I really appreciate what my foster parents, FLO, and eGlobal Family has done for me so I hope you will consider becoming a foster parent!

The Foster Parent experience (as written by Meata's eFoster Father)

My name is James, and my wife and I became involved in eGlobalFamily over a decade ago. Our first foster parent experience involved a young boy at Future Light Orphanage. After about a year of sponsorship, he left the orphanage to work at a nearby factory for a few dollars a month. Obviously, my wife and I were devastated. However, during our discussions with Rob and Madam Phaly, we realized the real-world challenges faced by these impoverished children and the critical mission of the orphanage.

eGlobal Family provided another list of eligible children and we picked a young girl by the name of Meata. What an amazing child! A couple years later, we decided to visit the orphanage to see the operation in person. This was an amazing and life-changing experience.

Madam Phaly met us at the airport with young Meata in tow. I'm not sure who was more excited - us or precious Meata. We drove through Phnom Penh and I remember thinking to myself- "Wow! Do we have it made in the United States."

Once we made it through the orphanage gates, we got out at the office to walk to the guest quarters. As we exited the van, there were hundreds of children lined up on the path to the guest quarters and they were all clapping and smiling and welcoming us. Needless to say, this was a welcome neither my wife nor I were expecting. From that day forward I knew we had made the right decision to support this incredible facility.

We took Meata and her siblings - Maleea and Odom, and their teacher at FLO, Porleang, to Siem Riep to see Angkor Wat. It was the children's first time on a plane, on a boat, on an escalator, in a hotel, at a restaurant, etc. What a great trip! It was incredibly fun.

Now Meata is an incredible young woman beginning her life as an adult. An educated, healthy, and loved adult. When I think about our first child toiling away in a factory, it reaffirms my dedication to Meata and all the other children that will make their way through FLO that will have an opportunity at a fulfilling life.

All this for a few hundred dollars a year and a few emails. OK, well maybe more than a few emails ;-)

We are so proud of Meata and all she has accomplished. She exemplifies what FLO and eGlobalFamily are all about.

If you have taken the time to read this testimonial, please consider taking the time to make a real difference in a young child's life. I can tell you from first-hand experience, being a foster parent is an incredible life-changing and personally rewarding experience.