Emergency Response in Asia and Western Asia

Anny, 15, lives in a single-parent household. Her parents divorced when she was little. Since then, Anny's father brought up her on his own and had to choose jobs that worked with Anny's schedule. Having his bank accounts frozen due to debt, Anny's father could only hold odd jobs to provide for his family.

Temporary workers had already been facing few job opportunities, and, in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many factories no longer hired temps. Anny's father was one of those temps who suddenly lost his livelihood. Even worse, Anny' father, likely due to chronic fatigue and undernutrition, fell ill and had trouble speaking and walking. Facing with one adversity after another, Ann's father felt discouraged and helpless. For him, the future looked grim.

Through phone call, social workers of the Mustard Seed Mission (MSM) gained information about the physical and mental health issues of families they serve. They learned that Anny's father lost his job during the pandemic, which had caused harm to his livelihood. The social worker assessed family needs and helped Anny's father applying for emergency relief fund to get the support they need to survive this crisis.

Having been affected by the pandemic, many breadwinners were all experiencing similar situation like Anny' father - taking wage cuts, experiencing reduced work hours, being asked to take unpaid leave, or getting laid off. In order for families to overcome obstacles created by the pandemic, MSM provided each family with resources they need, such as suspended meals for children, disease prevention kits and emergency relief fund.

Thank you for taking the step of joining us to provide companionship for needy families as they journeyed through low points in their life. 

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The mother of Jax, the sponsored child, is originally from Vietnam and now a new resident of Taiwan. Jax's father died of illness when he was very young, leaving the mother and son by themselves. His mother remarried when Jax was in the third grade of elementary school, three of whom were starting a new family.

Although Jax lives with his mother and stepfather, Jax's stepfather refused to recognize Jax as part of the family member, and is not even willing to pay for Jax's living expenses. His mother has no choice but to rely on the income from selling traditional Vietnamese food to support the two of them.  

Life was tough but appeared to be still manageable under financial constraint situation.  However, this did not last too long before life was getting tougher and went off control. Jax's mother was diagnosed with cancer when Jax started middle school. The treatment process was undoubtedly difficult. The non-stop in and out of the hospital for treat resulted with the heavy medical expenses. Ultimately, his stepfather was unwilling to pay for Jax's mother’s medical expenses, the mother’s physical condition did not improve, on the contrary, was becoming weaker and weaker every day. She gradually was unable to work.  Witnessing the vulnerable mother and son, the school helped them reach out to Mustard Seed Community Network.  With the help from MSM fellow worker who helped Jax apply for a sponsorship service to help him financially, as well as offer continuous care and support to Jax and his mother. 

In April of this year, Jax's mother was still unable to survive the torture of illness and passed away.  Faced with the death of both parents, Jax became an orphan with no direct blood relatives left around him, while the relationship between himself and his stepfather is not harmonious. How could he carry on to continue for the rest of his life?  Such hardship is not supposed to be something that a high school students should worry about, but it happened to Jax.  Fortunately, the big uncle who lives in Penghu heard about Jax's misfortune and expressed his willingness to take care of Jax until he graduates from high school and becomes independent.  Another issue that Jax has to face alone is his mother's unpaid health insurance premiums as well as funeral expenses. 

As soon as the Mustard Seed Mission (MSM) learned the situation, it offered funeral condolence and the legal advice, so that Jax has a direction to lean to as well as receiving consultation service.  In addition, MSM helps connect other resources to take care of Jax's future challenges facing new chapter in life. We hope that with everyone's care and company, Jax will not feel alone embracing growing up and become independent.  

For families suffering with hardship long term, any additionally unexpected incidents are putting family members into further vulnerable situation. Under such circumstances, external support can effectively alleviate the burden on these families. The Mustard Seed Community Network is established mainly to take care of the needy families in the community nearby. Whenever someone in the community encounters an emergency at their home, MSM working partners often play the role of whistleblower.  Immediately, they conduct on-site visit for the needy family to learn more about the situation and extent of the emergency.  This will allow MSM working partners provide the precise assistant that suits families' needs care in a timely manner.