Feed our children, give them Wings to fly!

A young woman turned up at our office last month, swollen in her left eye and bleeding as a result of getting beaten by her husband because an ex-client of hers came to her house.

The man went to her house because he had wanted to pass her some rental money and check if everything was fine after hearing that the husband had not been supporting the family and had flung the daughter to the wall when she was caught in mischief with a group of boys in the slum.

Kunthea is a sex worker, pregnant and the mother of her nine-year old daughter. She works hard to make ends meet, but was often blamed for many carelessness at home. Despite being beaten by her husband a few times, she did not wish to bring a charge against him, but is fine with our suggestion to introduce a counsellor to help.

The aid that you provided assisted the girls to get their wounds treated. It settled the outstanding rent incurred when Kunthea was unable to work due to her injuries and pregnancy. She also got her pre-natal checkups done at the hospital, thanks to you, both the mother and daughter have recovered and are safe.

There are numerous pockets of such families that Riverkids work with. One afternoon meal for a child means a safe day in school, learning instead of picking up trash on the streets to help with income. Health checks for a pregnant mother means increasing the chance of a safe delivery and a healthy mother. Abuse is rampant, but our social workers are able to intervene before a crisis happens because you decided that the children and families we serve deserve to have a better future.

The worst could have happened if we didn’t have your help. In no time, the family could have spiralled into debt snowballed by exorbitant interest rates, Kunthea could have had a miscarriage or thought about giving up her baby in the future to settle the debts, but you changed all that. Thank you for believing in Riverkids and our families in Cambodia.