4 years old, on her own, scavenging through garbage
Meet Sophea
Six years ago, on a November evening, I was walking around the Steung Meanchey community as I normally do. It was later than usual and I was wandering through the dark alleyways to catch up with some of the families.
I remember that I was in a particularly poor area when I saw a very small child going through some garbage.I did not recognize her as one of the local kids. Even though I have witnessed such scenes before, it was surprising that such a young girl was on her own so late at night.
The young girl, obviously, was initially very wary of my presence. I told her to return home, and following at a safe distance so she wasn’t scared, I found where she was staying. What I discovered was shocking, even though by this time I had been here for 10 years helping children in the greatest of need.
The young girl, Sophea, was only four years old and was living with six other children all under the age of 10, along with her aunt and her grandmother. The family was homeless and had recently arrived in the Steung Meanchey community.
All they had was what they could carry and were sleeping out in the open on a large daybed.
When I arrived, Sophea’s older brother, 10-year-old Dara, was not around, nor was their 63-year-old grandmother. They were both out on the streets of Phnom Penh scavenging to earn money to feed the family. Sophea’s aunt, Dany, 32 was pregnant; her husband had run off when she became pregnant, leaving her with three children and one on the way. Dany was also caring for her sister’s four children - Sophea, Dara and their two siblings. Their father had died when all the kids were young and Dany’s sister had just left them all on their own.
We continue to find at-risk children, those who have slipped through every social safety net and would remain out of sight except for our presence here. These are the children we help and that helps requires long-term tenacity and compassion.
Please consider making a Tax Deductible Contribution to Cambodian Children’s Fund before the end of financial year. Thank you.
A huge burden for a 10 year old
Dara, now the man of the household, bore the responsibility to provide for the family, the sole source of income coming via his garbage scavenging - such a huge burden for a 10-year-old.
In an effort to stop people migrating to the slums of Steung Meanchey for support, CCF’s criteria for helping people locally is that they need to have been living in the area for over 12 months. But on occasions where there is an immediate risk to children, we respond swiftly.
That night after speaking with Dany, I gave the family a mosquito net and some money to get food - they had obviously not eaten in a while. Plus, I arranged for our community outreach team to visit the family the following day.
The first issue was health. Sophea and her sister, Nika, were significantly underweight, but their younger brother, Ratha, needed to be hospitalized immediately. He was severely malnourished. The long-term effects of malnutrition at a young age can persist a lifetime but Ratha has recently started to really improve and grow.
Dany was also underweight and enrolled into our Maternal Care Program, successfully delivering her fourth child in early 2017.
The family was immediately given a World Housing house and Dany looked after all the younger children at home while the older children were enrolled in kindergarten or school. Getting Dara to school was the most problematic. He still felt he needed to be out working and providing for the family. He had been working most of his young life and just couldn’t let go of the fear of being let down.
It took some time for him to trust that CCF would be there for the long term to help provide for his family.
Dara is now excelling in his studies, initially enrolling in our Operation Rescue Program - an education accelerator program condensing six years of primary school education into three years, for children who have started school late.
Dara is now in secondary school and recently received a book with letters of support encouraging and congratulating him. His sponsor wrote an inspiring foreword to keep him focused and motivated on his studies. It was a very emotional experience for the vulnerable teenager, knowing that people like you, from all over the world, are there to help him.
But she still goes out scavenging - we haven’t been able to get her fully relaxed yet. It can be hard when they have spent so long in survival mode. At 67, she’s too old to be out on the streets and she is unwell.
Sophea herself is doing really well. She was first enrolled with her sister in CCF’s Kindergarten Program, given a safe place off the streets for her to learn and grow. Now she is in primary school, she is becoming a confident young girl. And while still walking down the same streets where I found her, she is no longer lost and barely surviving, but growing up to be a healthy and happy youngster, living in a stable and loving family.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the education of Sophea and her siblings was disrupted this year. Her grandmother is looking after them while they wait for the schools to get back to their normal schedules. As much as possible Sophea continues her learning in our community pop-up classes.
Your gift will ensure we can help more children like Sophea and her family, especially in these hard times.
We continue to find at-risk children, those who have slipped through every social safety net and would remain out of sight except for our presence here. These are the children we help and that helps requires long-term tenacity and compassion.
Please consider making a Tax Deductible Contribution to Cambodian Children’s Fund before the end of financial year. Thank you.
