Dec 01,2009
By World Vision staff
(Posted by CAAI News Media)
Since November 19, World Vision and thousands of people around the world have been traveling the globe in search of the Christmas spirit as part of the Christian humanitarian agency's "Spirit of Christmas" tour.
The month-long tour features interviews and stories with children and families in the United States, Ecuador, Cambodia, Zambia and Ethiopia. World Vision's team will be highlighting both the heartbreaking circumstances of the poor and the inspiring impact even small donations of a few dollars through World Vision's Gift Catalog can make in helping families around the world care for their children.
Here is more from the team's third stop in Cambodia.
Tot Pok, 16, is tough. He has to be. Both of his parents died by the time he was 13, leaving him, barely a teenager, to be the sole breadwinner, protector and provider for his younger sister and brother; Tot Kum and Tot Tin.
He's small for his age, now 16, and quite skinny-probably a result of working so hard and not having enough to eat during his youth. When we first met him, he talked matter-of-factly about his parents and his past.
"When I [lived] with my parents, I feel warm. I am so happy," he said. "My parent's job [was] farming. We grew rice to live," he told us. Their life revolved around rice. "We had around 11 rice fields. I still remember I used to go with my mom overnight to stay at the rice field. Now, when my mom is not around, when I think about the rice field, I miss her," he told us, tears beginning to creep out of the corners of his eyes.
It was notably difficult as Tot Pok told us about the time when his whole live began to crumble out from under him. "My father went to the Thai border to find a job," he said. It is quite common for Cambodians to try to find work in Thailand, especially when they have a bad rice harvest or they just need to earn some additional money. Tot Pok's father, however, came back with something unexpected. "He came back with a high fever and then he got serious diarrhea until he died," he said.
Tot Pok, 16, walks with his younger sister and brother, Tot Kum and Tot Tin.
They didn't know it at the time, but his father died as a result of AIDS.
His father's death not only left a hole in the family structure, it also left debt. "When he died, our family didn't have enough money for the funeral ceremony, so we sold some of our land," he said.
With his father gone, Tot Pok's family shifted into survival mode. "After my father died, I live with my mom and she got to work so hard to support us. Later [she realized she was] infected with HIV and AIDS," he shared. Shortly afterwards, she also died.
With the death of his mother, the responsibility shifted to Tot Pok's 13-year-old shoulders. "When my parents got ill, I was the one who handled the living costs. I dropped out of school to find a job and buy some rice," he told us.
With growing medical and funeral bills and the need to buy instead of grow food there was no other option for Tot Pok's mother but to use their "savings" - in other words, their possessions - to survive day-to-day. "Before my mom died, she sold all of the rice fields and even my house and the land. There was nothing left for me and my brother and sister," he told us.
Tot Pok and his siblings have to act like adults, raising chickens, cooking for themselves and growing some of their own vegetables if they are going to survive.
With no where to live and no way to grow food, Tot Pok and his siblings went to live with a some of their extended family members, but they were not treated well. "I really feel awful because when I was living with them they ask me and my siblings to work so hard in the fields," he said.
Life couldn't have gotten much worse for Tot Pok and his siblings-young, alone, and struggling to survive. They didn't have any hope for the future. Now, they do.
Today, Dec. 1, we celebrate World AIDS Day - a day to remember those whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS; whether they are suffering from the disease or the effects. Come back later today to see a video about what World Vision is doing to help children like Tot Pok, the 136 other like him in his community and the millions like him around the world and learn how you too can help them have the live they deserve as God's children.
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