Liv is a mother and savings group leader in the rural community of Troprang Prasat, Cambodia. Looking after her four year old daughter, Khin, hasn’t always been easy. Her community’s partnership with FH these past few years had put Liv’s family on a hopeful path. But then the COVID-19 pandemic began to grip the world.
Following World Health Organization recommendations, the Cambodian government mandated that all households begin following social distancing measures. Khin’s preschool was suspended. Their economy dramatically slowed down, preventing many from working as usual and upsetting an already fragile local market. Food supply lines slowed and the members of Liv’s community, like the rest of the world, were anxious about what the future held.
But Liv clung to her hope, and leaned on changes FH had encouraged to make even before the pandemic hit.
Months before, with the help of her community Savings and Loans group, Liv purchased several laying hens. She was also taught how to plant and nurture a small kitchen garden to grow fresh vegetables. The warm Cambodian climate, paired with seedlings from FH, has done wonders for her little garden over the years.
Now, every day, Liv and Khin collect eggs from the henhouse. Her family also enjoys a fresh supply of mangoes, along with onions, lettuce, and eggplants to eat with their eggs.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the country’s economy, Liv and Kihn will not go hungry. In many FH partnered communities, neighbours are coming together, sharing food, supplies, and money to make it through.
To be a “neighbour” for families fighting hunger and malnutrition due to COVID-19, go to www.fhcanada.org/emergencies
