By Zarah Rushworth | Project Leader
On behalf of every woman and child walking through our doors, thank you. Because of you, vulnerable women and girls in Cambodia are moving from isolation into a supportive community. You are the reason a terrified girl can find safety and a grieving mother can find a future.
Here is a snapshot of the lives you changed.
For the Mothers:
This past year, we served a total of 154 women and girls. Of this total, 42% (65 girls) were under the age of 18, children raising children. Yet, amidst these challenges, we witnessed significant transformation. By December, 23 mothers had made such incredible progress that they "graduated" to independence.
In 2026, we continue to walk alongside 131 women, including 33 new arrivals who joined us in 2025. The Mother's Heart family is still growing. We are currently caring for four (4) pregnant mothers who are preparing to give birth very soon.
For the Children:
We are currently caring for 128 children. We welcomed 33 healthy babies into the world in 2025, and thanks to your support, there were zero cases of malnutrition among them. To give them the best start possible, we also distributed 37 baby baskets filled with every essential a new mother and her baby needed.
Thai-Cambodia Border Crisis:
While daily life in Phnom Penh and Battambang City remains calm, December brought a sudden and frightening change for the families along the border. Battambang is one of the provinces caught in the escalating tensions, directly impacting families we serve in the districts of Samlout, Kamrieng, and Sampov Loun.
As tensions escalated, families were forced to evacuate immediately, many fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Even in neighbouring Phnum Proek district, residents, including mothers in our program, moved to displacement sites as a precaution.
Because of your consistent support, we did not have to wait to act. Your support enabled us to be on the ground the moment the crisis hit. Our team in Battambang, alongside local partners, immediately reached the displacement sites to deliver food, infant formula, hygiene kits, and sleep kits containing mosquito nets and blankets.
Beyond supplies, our team provided emotional support to traumatised mothers and distributed toys to over 200 children to restore a sense of normalcy. We helped not just our own beneficiaries, but every pregnant woman and new mother we found in the shelters.
Before the year ended, we breathed a sigh of relief as a ceasefire was called. Despite the fragile nature of the situation between two countries, many in the displacement sites, including our own beneficiaries, have now returned home. However, returning home means facing lost income from the weeks spent unable to work, and the lingering anxiety that conflict could return. Your support is still at work right now, helping these families stabilise and find their footing again after a terrifying month.
Your Impact Up Close
We want to share two stories that illustrate how your support is about much more than just a handout. It allows us to work alongside these women every step of their journey, ensuring they never have to face their challenges alone.
Soriya: Building Trust
At just 17 years old, Soriya*, had already lived a lifetime of struggle. Coming from a broken family, she had been working to survive since she was 11. By the time she reached us, she was facing a crisis pregnancy while battling deep emotional wounds and relying on substances just to cope. When she first arrived in our program, she was terrified and had built walls to protect herself. But your support gave us the resources and time to be patient and persistent. Her case worker called her every single day, not just to check in, but to prove to her that she wasn't alone.
Because of this, Soriya's world began to change. We helped her treat her infections, ensuring her baby was safe. We helped put food on her table so she didn't have to panic about survival, and we also provided counseling she needed to process her trauma. Slowly, those walls came down. Today, Soriya is healthy, stable, and preparing to be a mother. Your support helped build a bridge of trust that pulled a vulnerable young woman back from the edge, showing her that she is worthy of care.
Kounila: The Bicycle
For 43-year-old Kounila*, life had been a series of devastating blows. Left a widow and grieving the death of a young son, she found herself seven months pregnant, grieving, and solely responsible for her remaining children and elderly parents. The struggle was crushing, but the isolation was worse. In her community, becoming pregnant at 43 often carries a stigma. Facing sharp judgement from her neighbours for expecting a child as a widow, Kounila felt an immense weight of shame.
When she was referred to Mother's Heart, we intervened immediately. We were able to lift the heavy pressure of survival off her shoulders by providng monthly food packages and financial aid, alongside the prenatal care she needed. But the most beautiful part of Kounila's story is how she took charge of her future. After giving birth, she enrolled in a vocational skills training course for fruit and vegetable processing. But the long commute on foot made it nearly impossible to balance class with caring for her family. Identifying this barrier, her case worker coordinated with a partner organisation to provide a simple solution: a bicycle. This one tool cut her travel time drastically, sparing her the exhaustion of long walks and allowing her to return home quickly to her children and parents. It seems like a small thing, but that bicycle was her ticket to freedom, giving her the independence to build a sustainable future.
*Names changed for privacy.
Walking Forward Together
It has been a challenging year, and honestly, we could not do this work without you. Your consistent and continuing support is the lifelife that turns crisis into hope.
We are currently finalising our 2025 Annual Report, where we will share a wider view of the year's success and challenges. But for now, please know how grateful we are. Thank you for refusing to let these women and children walk alone.
With deepest gratitude and our best wishes for 2026,
Zarah Rushworth and Team Mother's Heart
By Zarah Almeida Rushworth | Project Leader
By Zarah Rushworth | Project Leader
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