Mother Gives Birth

On Friday night of the 27th of February one of the mothers from the Riverkids Community gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Only one day before giving birth to a baby, the mother went to Riverkids Office to get the food box and met with Sophon, the Program director of the organization and he told her “to inform me or Soklee when you are going to give birth to the baby”. He also gave his phone number to the mother. The foundation also booked and paid for the hospital where the baby was to be born. The woman attended a clinic for checkups before the birth which in addition was paid for by Riverkids. The baby came so quick that the woman did not have time to get to the hospital and the baby was born at home instead. The mother and the baby were both fine after the birth with no complications. The lady commented after that it was the easiest of all her births and that she “hardly felt a thing”.

The woman already has 4 children ranging in age from 1 to 14 years old. The 3 youngest children are supported by Riverkids. The older 2 of these children study English and other subjects at the Riverkids. The baby is cared for by a minder at the centre. The lady’s husband is not working at the moment. It is unlikely he will get work in the foreseeable future as he has a drug problem. The woman earns money to support her family through collecting and selling cans and rubbish. She was however unable to do this in the last few months of her pregnancy and came to Riverkids seeking help.

There is however a challenging period ahead for both mother and baby. The mother still has no income as she is not yet well enough to work and has to take care of the baby. The husband is still addicted to drugs and will not consider seeking treatment for his problems. Furthermore the woman’s eldest son who is only 14 has started abusing solvents. He has become very troublesome at home. Sophon met with the boy and convinced him to attend a centre run by the Friends-NGO to try to get some help with his addiction. The boy however only stayed at the centre for a few days and then ran away. He is still using solvents and his mother is very worried about him. Riverkids is looking for a generous donor to sponsor this family.
The following is a breakdown of the weekly donation needed:
$
Electricity 02.5.00
Water Supply 02.5.00
Food 08.00
Rice 05.00
Soap & other toiletries 02.00
Total 20.00

The condition for the family receiving this donation would be that the 3 children remain studying at the Riverkids Foundation. In the past the children have been allowed by their mother to beg foreigners for money outside the Riverside restaurants instead of going to school. This will not be tolerated. If it does the aid will be stopped to the family immediately.

Riverkids has set up the project to fill the void left by the community and the Government. A lot of the families do not receive financial support from either. The Foundation is committed to providing a better future for the children of the community. This can only be achieved through the continued support of both existing and also hopefully some new donors.