Help Destitute Moms with AIDS Care for Their Kids

“Lest we forget” is a formal and literary  phrase that is often used  to remember the service and sacrifice of people who have served in wars and conflicts. It is a formal and literary phrase  that means "it should not be forgotten".  You may wonder how this ties in with a project report.

Our report today is in memory of Madam LP who recently passed away. She had been  a participant in our program for more than 15 years. She leaves two children, K a girl age 15 and S a boy age 11.

Before her death and despite her poor health,  Madam LP had  worked, when she was able,  as a collector of roadside recyclables for which she could earn a few dollars per day to help to support her children. The additional support that she received from our program was a lifeline that enabled her to provide a modest home for her two children.

Now, the two children, K and S have been sent to the country side to live with her mother’s second cousin Madam MP, age 44  and her blind husband Mr. C , age 53 in Kampong Chnang. Both are HIV positive.  Madam MP’s mother , A 72 lives with the couple. The couple make clay pots for a living. The region is known for its clay, so there are many others who also make pots, which means the sale price for the pots is very low, about 20 cents. The couple can make about 200 pots per month giving them an income of about $40. 

K, Madam LP’s daughter,  age 15, dropped out of school in grade 7 .Even before her mother died, K struggled with and continues to struggle with depression. Because the family lived in  Phnom Penh, she had been receiving some counseling and prescription medication.  Her brother, S at age 11 struggles with school, and will likely need to repeat grade 2.

Now the children have been relocated to the countryside to live with Madam MP. We are currently providing food support of $50 per month plus $10 per month for school fees for S.

A member of our team recently visited the family. It is a 2 ½ hour ride on motorcycle  or tuk-tuk taxi. However, the taxi costs $50 one way , so a motorcycle was used and the round trip took about 5 hours.

We have serious concerns about K. We do not yet know if there are any medical resources to help with K’s depression. We are working to determine how to best support her. We would like to see her go back to school but we do not yet have enough information.

Madam LP struggled for years to care for her two children and in the face of great difficulty, and with our program support , she had  managed to provide a modest home. Unlike the movies where there is often an inspiring ending to a story like this, in real life these children are confronted  with the tragedy of losing their mom, and moving far away to the only relatives they have and who have kindly taken them in despite the family’s own poverty. Their future is uncertain.

“Lest we forget” ….  It is important to pay our respects to Madam LP and the many mothers like her who  sacrifice and  toil endlessly under a crushing burden of illness and poverty. For 25 years our program has provided modest assistance  to fragile families like these, enabling them to live a very modest life and care for their children.

Tuesday, December 3 is Giving Tuesday at GlobalGiving where matching funds can power up your donation. More details will be coming as we get closer to the date.

Your help and generous donations truly make a difference and we are deeply grateful to you all for your kind support.

Barbara  & Mark