The Poor Family

I went out to a village in remote Takeo and met a family who is known as The Poor Family. When asked if they had names, we were answered 'No, we don't think so, everyone just calls them The Poor Family'.

The Poor Family have touched our hearts.

The Poor Family were not always poor. The husband used to work, but hurt his back at work. He had a motorbike accident and needed an operation. To pay for this they sold their rice field. After the operation, he became an alcoholic. So, they began the downward spiral into poverty.

They have quite a few children, at least 5. Their fifth baby was born with a harelip so of course there was difficulty in feeding. In Cambodia, if you have a harelip, you don't have the operation until the baby is at least 6 month old. Until then, you need to somehow work out how to feed a baby that has deformities around the mouth. The midwives involved with LifeOptions went to visit them every week to see how they could help. Unfortunately, the baby had a bout of diarrheoa and died, returning to Mother Spirit.

From this babies death, LifeOptions have decided to continue to help this family. They have help rebuilt their small 1 room shack, which was once falling down on one side, and also plant a small vegie garden. Whenever one of the midwives goes out to near that particular village, they stop at the market and get some rice and some bananas for them.

I talked to them while I was there - I don't speak Khmer and they dont speak English, but it doesnt seem to matter - communication is communication, and I felt we had some sort of understanding. We smiled at each other, our babies played  whilst in our arms, and we got to paint a picture in each others minds about who we are and what we are doing.

It's such a different world over here, one that you can see images of and read about, but can't really understand unless your feet are on the same soil and you look in each others eyes.