Kimlang lived in a rural village in Kandal province in Cambodia. Kimlang lost hope and had a broken heart when her father was arrested for drug abuse and her mother went to have a new family. Her mother left her behind with her grandfather. Kimlang’s life became tough and worse because she felt no hope and was broken when her parents left her. After that, all of the responsibilities were on her grandfather, which is why her grandfather needs to take all care of his granddaughter. He really works hard in order to bring his granddaughter up and to study. But it was really hard for him to find a good job and earn enough money to support his granddaughter, as he is an old man.
Her grandfather said “I faced a very huge problem with financial support and I did not have enough money to support my granddaughter to go to school, including buying some school materials and school uniforms. That was why sometimes my children missed a lot of classes. That was a struggling time for me to find help to support my granddaughter. More than this, I also did not have enough money to buy rice, food and food ingredients to support her daily living situation. Being an old man, I felt that I had no hope to help and support my granddaughter.”
By God’s grace in 2014, a caseworker of PF Cambodia who works in Kandal province got the information from a partner and then they went directly to meet Kimlang at her house for an assessment. Finally, she was registered in The Child’s Journey Program of PF Cambodia. So, it made her and her grandfather extremely happy to have new hope after the registration.
When Kimlang registered in the program she received our services with education, health, safety and spiritual engagement. She has received things such as school material and school uniforms. She also has received a battery-electric bike from our service so that it can help her to go to study on time and excel in her studies. Every year our caseworker always brings her to have an annual health check at the hospital. She also received regular food assistance which really helps her and her family’s daily living conditions. PF Cambodia caseworkers regularly visit her and her grandfather to ensure they are staying safe. The PF Cambodia caseworker taught child rights and protection to Kimlang and her grandfather as well. More than this, she received the Bible, and then she started to read and to learn through the Bible every day. Kimlang and her grandfather are very happy and grateful for what they have received from our program.
In addition, recently her father was released from prison, so this is new hope for her and her family. She is extremely excited because her father came back to live with her. Now her father got a job as a construction worker. So he can earn some income to support the whole family and it really makes her family live better with joyful hope.
Kimlang and her grandfather are thankful for PF Cambodia, caseworkers, volunteer partners and mentors for always supporting and taking care of them.
When Mr. Masinga was arrested in 2017 in Ndola, his wife had no knowledge about the arrest. She was just informed that her husband was incarcerated in the police cells after he was found with stolen items.
This sent a huge shock to Mrs. Masinga and her two children because they never expected such a thing from him. This news was very difficult for his wife to comprehend. Mrs. Masinga did not know how to explain the whole situation to her family and friends because she was afraid of the shame this was going to bring to her, having a husband in prison.
As the day for her husband to appear in court came, she was even more worried about how the case was going to end. After a number of court sessions, her husband was sentenced to five years in prison. Having children to take care of was going to be even more challenging if she was running a side business. She thought of how she was going to manage to take the children to school even if they were still in primary school, she wondered how she was going to manage to buy books, uniforms, shoes, and how she would be paying for their school fees.
Mrs. Masinga decided to take her children to her mother because she felt she was more able to take care of them than herself. After her husband was sentenced to five years imprisonment she became a laughing stock in the community.
On a particular day as PF Zambia was recruiting children of prisoners in prisons, they heard about Mr. Masinga’s family. After that recruiting process, the staff from PF Zambia called Mrs. Masinga, who was scared because she thought her husband was in trouble in prison. But PF Zambia staff explained everything to her and told her that they got the contact details from her husband in prison. She was then told to meet with PF Zambia staff together with her two children to enroll her children in the program.
PF Zambia staff explained the program to her and her children. Mrs. Masinga thought this was just a lie. However, good things started happening in her family’s lives as PF Zambia started paying school fees, they brought all school requirements, and this was a very big relief for her. A month later food supplements were brought and things started changing slowly in their lives. Mrs. Masinga was very happy as PF Zambia had a Bible study in her community and she would also attend the Bible study meetings. This encouraged her and changed her behavior.
Mr. Masinga was released from Prison on African freedom day on May 25, 2020. After his release from prison, he found that his children were already in the program. He was so happy that he even gained courage and confidence in doing business. Mr. Masinga came out a changed man because of what he went through in prison.