This 26-year-old Cambodian was just two years old when her father died from malaria. Left with six children and one on the way, Lin’s mother was forced to provide for her family alone.
“I never ate until I was full,” Lin told us.
Malnutrition like what Lin experienced as a child is common to countless impoverished children in Southeast Asia.
Three in every 10 people living in Laos and Cambodia are younger than 15 years old.* Many of these children are from families who live below the poverty line. They not only struggle to get the nutrition they need for their growing bodies, but they are also often forced to work to help their families survive.
When Lin was in grade two, the little girl had to quit school.
Instead, she worked as a house maid for $5 a month. Although it wasn’t much, she was given free room and board, which were two less expenses for her mother to pay for.
We praise God that, unlike many other children, Lin survived her childhood.
Today, she is married and has two children. Her husband is a construction worker who earns $5 a day, which is far more than the 75¢ Lin earns by sorting through garbage to collect discarded food for pigs.
The couple struggle to make ends meet—a reality that is common for families trapped in the poverty cycle.
Like her mother before her, Lin’s little girl is growing up without the basic necessities she critically needs.
We are providing Lin and villagers like her with resources and training to make greeting cards and now sewing. Then, Work of Your Hand purchases bulk orders of their cards and ships them to sell in the Western world.
We are committed to help these villagers receive enough income to provide for their families. We know that, with a regular wage, parents can begin to afford the things their children critically need—like nutritious food.
We’re already seeing the difference in their children and their village.
Thank you for partnering with mothers like Lin. Each greeting card you buy from Work of Your Hand is transforming communities and changing lives, one purchase at a time.
Click here to learn more about how you can partner with people like Lin today!
*The statistics in this story are sourced from the CIA Fact Book.
