By Amy Wei | Project Planning Specialist
Whoosh—whoosh—
The wind howled outside, battering the flimsy walls, making the tiny room tremble—as if even the floor was quaking in fear. After several powerful typhoons, dark water stains began to spread across the ceiling—like shadows that refused to leave. As the typhoon raged on, four little children, curled up in their mother’s arms, asked in shaky voices:
“Mom… is the monster back again?”
At the top of an old, crumbling apartment building, Lena’s family of six squeezes into a tiny, weather-beaten room. Their father, with only cardboard and tape in hand, patches up the ceiling and walls to keep the rain at bay. To one-year-old Lena, the “sky” inside their home has never been clear or blue. Instead, it’s a “sky” full of odd shapes and colorful patches—fragile attempts to keep the wind, rain, and hardship from pouring in.
But no matter how hard they try,sheets of paper and strips of tape can’t mend the cracks in the walls or keep the mold from spreading when the plum rain season arrives. Drops of water fall relentlessly into the room, plop, plop, soaking in the only bed where the entire family sleeps. The mattress is ruined, and the wooden bedboard is soft, swollen, and damp. The exposed springs of the mattress have even scratched Lena, leaving the parents heartbroken. They are doing everything they can to make sure their children’s upbringings are rooted in safety and comfort—but they are unable to afford it.
To improve their situation, Lena’s father often pleads with his supervisor for extra shifts, but his work schedule is unstable. Among their four children, only the eldest is currently in elementary school; the remaining three are of preschool age, with the second child experiencing developmental delays. Given the situation, how could their mother possibly leave for work with peace of mind, knowing her little ones depend on constant attention?
To keep the children safe from exposed springs and give them a dry, safe place to sleep, CWLF stepped in just in time—delivering a brand-new mattress and bed frame. The moment the family lay down together, it felt as if the softest clouds in the world had gently caught them. The children fell asleep almost instantly, their tiny heads resting peacefully on the pillows.
But a new bed was only the beginning.
CWLF also stepped in with daily essentials, helping the family cover the cost of necessities like infant formula and diapers. Our social worker meets with the mother regularly, offering parenting advice tailored to each child’s routine and developmental needs—support that lightens the burden she carries each and every day.
The moldy and water-damaged bed is gone.
But the patched-up paper ceiling still hangs overhead, and the cracks in the walls still let in the cold wind and rain.
Today, what Lena’s parents long for most—what they dream about every night as they lie on their new bed—is a real home where their four daughters can grow up safely, unafraid, and surrounded by warmth and possibility.
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By Amy Wei | Project Planning Specialist
By Amy Wei | Project Planning Specialist
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