From a Childhood of Separation to a Life of Purpose

Growing up in poverty often means learning resilience far earlier than childhood should require. For many children, it also means learning to dream quietly. Pakpoom Kanomwan was one of those children, raised not by his parents, but by his grandparents, while his mother and father worked in distant provinces in search of income. Though separated by circumstance, his family’s sacrifices became the foundation of his determination to build a better future.

From a young age, Pakpoom dreamed of becoming a Thai language teacher. Words mattered to him. Language, he believed, had the power to shape understanding, strengthen identity, and open doors to opportunity. Yet in a household where daily needs came first, the path toward education was fragile and uncertain.

World Vision Thailand’s Child Sponsorship programme became a quiet but steady presence in Pakpoom’s life. Through sponsorship, he received essential school supplies, small items that carried enormous meaning. With each year of support, the burden on his grandparents eased, and Pakpoom was able to remain in school, focused not on what he lacked, but on what he could become.

When Pakpoom completed secondary school, another challenge awaited him. University education felt like a distant hope, financially daunting and difficult to sustain. Once again, support arrived at a critical moment. Through the Bachelor’s Degree Programme, Pakpoom received the assistance he needed to continue his studies, allowing him to pursue higher education with confidence and purpose.

University was not only a place of academic growth, but a space where Pakpoom’s sense of responsibility deepened. He understood that the opportunity he had been given was not meant to end with him. It was meant to ripple outward to his students, his community, and the country he hoped to serve.

Today, Pakpoom stands in a public high school classroom in Uttraradit Province as a Thai language teacher. He teaches not only grammar and literature, but values—discipline, integrity, and a sense of civic duty. As a government official and educator, he is committed to shaping his students into thoughtful, capable citizens who will contribute to Thailand’s development in the years to come.

Pakpoom’s journey is a powerful reminder that sponsorship does more than support a child’s education—it protects dreams during their most fragile stages. It bridges the distance between hardship and possibility, and transforms childhood resilience into lifelong purpose.

Through Pakpoom, the impact of sponsorship continues, one lesson, one student, and one future at a time.