Children and their families in catastrophic situations
The children cared for by Pour un Sourire d'Enfant (PSE) belong to very poor families who live in areas of great poverty or "communities", pushed further and further to the outskirts of the big cities (Phnom Penh, Siem Reap). They live in small shacks made of corrugated iron, rags and wood, most of the time without electricity or running water, in very degraded and polluted environments. When they can, the parents try to survive on small-scale activities with very low and uncertain incomes: day labourers on construction sites, street vendors, and some scavengers. This does not allow them to cope with the rising cost of living in the long term.
Although the rate of primary school enrolment has increased in Cambodia, many children drop out of secondary school. The need to provide an income for the family, but also the attraction of easy money from drugs or prostitution, distracts young people from continuing their education. In state schools, classes are held in half days, often with 50 to 60 students in each class.
Most of our families live below the poverty line - on less than $1.90 per person per day - while others are just above it, but in a very precarious economic situation, at the mercy of the first accident (illness, debt, drought or flooding for farmers...) that would push them into extreme poverty.
Many families, faced with catastrophic situations, get into debt, to pay the rent or simply to eat. But interest rates are very high, sometimes up to 20% per month. Very quickly, families find themselves in even more difficult situations than before they borrowed money and fall back into extreme poverty.
A family of 10 with parents who do housework and an 86-year-old grandmother who stays at home. The eldest boy dropped out of school in 4eme (8th grade), 3 years ago, and got into drugs. The 3 girls in the house, two 16 year olds and one 15 year old, in 2nd, 3eme and 4eme, have to work part time in addition to their classes. And there is another 12 year old girl in CM2, a 6 year old boy in CP and a 2 year old girl at home. Despite the difficulties, this is a family that tries to send their children to school, but the parents, who have not had a chance to study, are unable to support the family with the small-scale jobs they have. So the three older girls are forced to work in addition to school, at the risk of hindering their studies or even having to stop them.
When the social team heard about this family, they immediately decided to finance the school fees of the five children and to help with the meals. From destitution ... to a decent job starts with school!
And it is thanks to your sponsorships that we can support this family, in the long term, so that all the children can finish their schooling calmly, without going back to work, and train for a trade that will allow them to escape poverty for good!
The mother of this family is alone, she ended up divorcing her husband because of his drinking and drug abuse. She has 3 children to support: 2 boys aged 12 and 5 and a 3 year old girl. They live in a small shack in an overcrowded area where drugs, school dropouts, gambling, petty crime, etc. are rife. The mother is a scavenger and her eldest son left school three years ago to help her. The two youngest accompanied them or stayed at home alone. Their income is quite insufficient as the family has only $0.83 per person per day ... The emergency solution Pour un Sourire d'Enfant put in place was to welcome the eldest who is 4 years behind into our remedial education programme and to put the other 2 into our daycare / kindergarten, and provide them with 10.5 kilos of rice per week.
This aid is only possible thanks to your support! By sponsoring one or more children, you are giving families living in extreme poverty the hope of a better future. The three children will be supported over the long term, so that they can all be trained in a trade that will enable them to break the cycle of poverty.
Sponsorship, a tool to help children escape poverty
Sponsoring a child means contributing to all their needs and enabling them to be supported over the long term, so they can escape poverty. The tool is practical - you don't need to think about making your donations - and flexible - you can adjust the amount or stop whenever you want. A beautiful gesture of love for the poor children of Cambodia!