Mama’s Threads is a program designed to aid mothers in achieving their dreams of empowerment, one stitch at a time. This program will run under Anjali House, a school in Siem Reap, Cambodia that supports over 80 street children by providing them with free
education, healthcare, food and support for both children and their families. But while the children are off getting an education, it is the mothers who are left behind. Most of them struggle with issues such as illiteracy, domestic violence and poverty and
dream of having the skills to be successful and become someone their children can look up to.
THE PROBLEM
Women in Cambodia have a literacy rate of 70.9% in urban areas, over 14% less than males. UNESCO has found that in rural areas adult literacy rates sit at 45.9%. Improvement in literacy rates has been slowing down. More and more children are being pulled
out of school by their families in order to work. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty and the belief that education costs more than it is worth.
It is this belief that has led to the gap in literacy, and a rising street kid population in Siem Reap. This is why so many of the mothers from Anjali House are grateful for the free education service provided for their children, and wish it was something
that could have been offered to them.
This is where Mama’s Threads comes in.
“I want an education but I feel like I’m too old to make a change to my situation. Any program with Anjali would be better than my two jobs now, I am always running between the two and barely have time for my children.” – Thorn
WHO WE ARE HELPING?
Mothers are the key group forgotten and left behind when it comes to education. The mothers of Anjali House are trying to change the generational perceptions of education and help their children to receive the education that they never had access to. These
mothers have grown up in poor families, where education was not prioritised, especially for females. Many of them are victims of domestic abuse. Many are left starving with their children as their husbands spend their income on alcohol, gambling and prostitutes.
Many husbands work in construction and are often out of work, leaving the mothers to feed their families on little to no money. Others husbands have passed away and the mothers work multiple jobs to try and support their families. The one thing that all of
these mothers share is a drive to become role models for their children; showing them that they can get an education no matter how old they are, or how little other people think they deserve it.
WHAT WILL WE DO ABOUT IT?
- Mama’s Threads will provide mothers of Anjali House with:
- A source of income independent of their husbands earnings
- Skills in sewing and tailoring of clothes
- A support network of other mothers
- Parenting skills and new strategies for teaching their children in the home
- Budgeting skills to aid them in managing their new source of income
- An education and literacy skills
- Extra support from the Social Worker if needed
One mother who has been a driving force behind this program says she owes her current livelihood to Anjali House. Her name is Sophy Horn. The school has not only been a source of education for her children, but has been a great support to lean on through
her husband’s illness. Sophy would receive regular visits from the social worker, financial support to help pay off her husband’s medical bills after he passed away, and eventually money for a new house that she is able to bring her children up in. Sophy
is the person who came to Project Everest with the idea for a sewing program. She told us her story and her dream to help the school and other mothers who need support like she did a few years ago.
“I don’t want to be paid much, just enough to support my family. Whatever other money that was supposed to be part of my wages, I want to go to Anjali. I want to repay them for the kindness they showed me.”
Mama’s Threads will empower many of Anjali House’s mothers to become who and what they want to be.
“I want to run away sometimes but I can’t leave my four daughters behind. I could only come to talk to you today because my husband is asleep, he doesn’t let me visit our neighbours but I want to get out, I want to be able to help my children.
I want enough money to support them on my own.” – Ann
With a 14% difference in literacy rates between males and females, programs like
Mama’s Threads aim to reward women’s drive and desire to learn new skills and gain an education. By supporting this program, you can assist these mothers to become happier people, people able to support their dreams of becoming role models whilst
supporting their children.
Just $35 buys a bicycle for a mother who lives too far away from the program to ride to
Mama’s Threads and gain an education.
$200 will buy a sewing machine for the mothers make hundreds of uniforms for children in the local community to get out of work and into school, and bring income into the homes of the women.
$250 will build four walls of a sewing centre to keep the mothers out of the heat during Cambodian summers, and to create a safe space for the women to have the freedom to work in the conditions they desire.
$1200 pays Sophy’s salary for one year (the head sewing teacher).
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
You can share this page on Twitter, Facebook, blogs or just email it to your friends. Every dollar supports these mothers, and brings them a step closer to a new life.
Each time you share this page, you’re supporting them.
For more information about Anjali House and the work we are doing, head to our website, Facebook or Twitter listed below;