In this project we visit an old lady and her granddaughter with mental handicap.

In Cambodia, many old people live in poverty. Unless their children can support them, they have a hard ticket. Throughout Cambodia, there are only two NGOs dealing with elderly people’s concerns.

According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Cambodia is home to one in six people with a disability.

Prejudices against people with disabilities sit deep in Cambodia. Theravada Buddhists believe in reincarnation. Many of these believers see disability as a punishment for past misconduct that could lead to bad karma and disability. People with disabilities often don’t go to school and are kept away from the public, avoided or excluded by the village community.

The old lady (77 years old) and her daughter, whom we support this time, live in a small house. The lady has a total of four children. Her husband is deceased. The mentioned daughter lives with the lady, because she has a mental handicap and is not able to live independently. The lady and her daughter cannot work and receive support in the form of food from the pagoda from the nearby area. The other four children work further away from the lady in other regions of Cambodia or Thailand, they do not earn enough money to support their mother and sister.

Since the lady’s house is in good condition and is equipped with a toilet and five rainwater collection bins in different sizes, no construction measures are necessary.  The two victims receive 100 kg of rice and a package of cooking ingredients (sauces, spices) once.

Date: November 27, 2018