This article was written while I was working for World Vision Cambodia.
Title: Gnul, There is No More
Livelihood Threatened
It took around 30 minutes
from Battambang town on the small gravel road along the side of the rice
fields; there is a big old wooden house surrounded by vegetable garden and a
big fence made with chicken cage materials. It’s the house of Gnul No who is 64
year-old. She has suffered many years from domestic violence and
discrimination from her neighbors because of her poverty. Her family was not
only poor, but they suffered from violence caused by her husband. She now
smiles with hope because she no longer has to face domestic violence in her
family. She is happy to live in peace and recounts how the positive
changes have come about. She is also active in helping other family
to overcome domestic violence.
Gnul held back the tear and said, “I never expected I would have today. Without World Vision, I would not improve my family’s life. World Vision helps me to see the possibilities of a brighter life, with hope.”
She added, “It seems hard for me to hold back the tears when talking about the past situation of my family. My husband was a violent guy. He never drink, but he was hard-hearted, easily angered, and sometimes he beat the children and me for no reason. Nobody came to intervene and help us because the neighbors looked down on our extreme poverty.”
Gnul’s husband died from sickness a few years ago and Gnul had to provide for the family. So Gnul alone plays an important role as a breadwinner to raise all her seven children. She works very hard to have a better living condition for her children, without assistance. With little support from neighbors, Gnul was committed to work very hard as laborer in other villagers’ rice field and get small amount of money in return for her work. She turned her face sadly and shared, “I sometimes asked other villagers for food to fulfill my children’s hunger because money that I earned, it was not enough to buy food. Only few neighbors who were kind and helped my family.”
All of Gnul’s children had to go to the rice field to seek for food such as putting trap for fish or frog. And sometimes they went to pick tamarind leaves to make watery soup to eat with rice. Not having enough food to eat, all of Gnul’s children looked skinny and unhealthy. They also didn’t know much about hygiene. Gnul said, “We all lived in a very small cottage which leaked anywhere; everything in the hut got wet whenever it rained. We didn’t know about hygiene and there was no toilet too. We went to the rice field or the bush for toilet.”
World Vision came into Gnul’s life in 1993. She was invited to attend the meetings and trainings in the village, which were conducted by World Vision. She and her family members always meet and share with World Vision staffs in terms of improving livelihood. She became a committee member of the Savings group and a member of the cow management committee in the village. Many trainings that she has learned with World Vision, the sessions that really inspired her includes: Agriculture, how to grow mushroom, and how to make compost; she then was selected as an agriculture attention worker who is responsible to promote to other villagers in terms of improving agriculture. She is well known by other villagers in her community; this really encourages her to keep learning more to strengthen her knowledge. She started to plant vegetables; surrounding her house full of vegetable garden. She also built a chicken cage in front of her house. Further, she grows mushroom, and earns more income from doing so. She smiled, “I never throw away all lessons that I have learned with World Vision, and I keep practice in reality with good advice and support from World Vision staffs.”
She points to her big new chicken cage, and added, “I have a chicken cage, and hope those chicken will produce more chicks. Of course, I can earn by selling the chicken.” I have a cow that is supported by cow bank of World Vision. World Vision has supported me a lot to improve my living conditions.
Gnul has received seeds and she plants them in her house’s area and her garden looks really green with clean environment surrounding her house. She said, “I have lots of good neighbors and everyone respects and values me. Other villagers in my community sometimes visit me and ask me how to have a better living condition. I always share with them and I love to see everyone live in good condition because I already experienced how hard it is to be poor with no food to eat.”
Gnul and all her children now live in peace and they very much thank World Vision that has saved their family from poverty. Hygiene and earning income to support the family are very crucial for the entire family. She concluded, “Goodbye the poor conditions, and I will never forget the life I had to struggle. Now, things really make me happy with the changes. We have good food to eat and good clothes to wear, a nice house to live like everyone and especially I have gained lots of knowledge about methods of earning income. Our lives are no longer in poverty like before.”
Gnul held back the tear and said, “I never expected I would have today. Without World Vision, I would not improve my family’s life. World Vision helps me to see the possibilities of a brighter life, with hope.”
She added, “It seems hard for me to hold back the tears when talking about the past situation of my family. My husband was a violent guy. He never drink, but he was hard-hearted, easily angered, and sometimes he beat the children and me for no reason. Nobody came to intervene and help us because the neighbors looked down on our extreme poverty.”
Gnul’s husband died from sickness a few years ago and Gnul had to provide for the family. So Gnul alone plays an important role as a breadwinner to raise all her seven children. She works very hard to have a better living condition for her children, without assistance. With little support from neighbors, Gnul was committed to work very hard as laborer in other villagers’ rice field and get small amount of money in return for her work. She turned her face sadly and shared, “I sometimes asked other villagers for food to fulfill my children’s hunger because money that I earned, it was not enough to buy food. Only few neighbors who were kind and helped my family.”
All of Gnul’s children had to go to the rice field to seek for food such as putting trap for fish or frog. And sometimes they went to pick tamarind leaves to make watery soup to eat with rice. Not having enough food to eat, all of Gnul’s children looked skinny and unhealthy. They also didn’t know much about hygiene. Gnul said, “We all lived in a very small cottage which leaked anywhere; everything in the hut got wet whenever it rained. We didn’t know about hygiene and there was no toilet too. We went to the rice field or the bush for toilet.”
World Vision came into Gnul’s life in 1993. She was invited to attend the meetings and trainings in the village, which were conducted by World Vision. She and her family members always meet and share with World Vision staffs in terms of improving livelihood. She became a committee member of the Savings group and a member of the cow management committee in the village. Many trainings that she has learned with World Vision, the sessions that really inspired her includes: Agriculture, how to grow mushroom, and how to make compost; she then was selected as an agriculture attention worker who is responsible to promote to other villagers in terms of improving agriculture. She is well known by other villagers in her community; this really encourages her to keep learning more to strengthen her knowledge. She started to plant vegetables; surrounding her house full of vegetable garden. She also built a chicken cage in front of her house. Further, she grows mushroom, and earns more income from doing so. She smiled, “I never throw away all lessons that I have learned with World Vision, and I keep practice in reality with good advice and support from World Vision staffs.”
She points to her big new chicken cage, and added, “I have a chicken cage, and hope those chicken will produce more chicks. Of course, I can earn by selling the chicken.” I have a cow that is supported by cow bank of World Vision. World Vision has supported me a lot to improve my living conditions.
Gnul has received seeds and she plants them in her house’s area and her garden looks really green with clean environment surrounding her house. She said, “I have lots of good neighbors and everyone respects and values me. Other villagers in my community sometimes visit me and ask me how to have a better living condition. I always share with them and I love to see everyone live in good condition because I already experienced how hard it is to be poor with no food to eat.”
Gnul and all her children now live in peace and they very much thank World Vision that has saved their family from poverty. Hygiene and earning income to support the family are very crucial for the entire family. She concluded, “Goodbye the poor conditions, and I will never forget the life I had to struggle. Now, things really make me happy with the changes. We have good food to eat and good clothes to wear, a nice house to live like everyone and especially I have gained lots of knowledge about methods of earning income. Our lives are no longer in poverty like before.”
-Ends-
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