The smiling faces of a few of the CEF children in the face of adversity

Children seem to retain a sense of humor and are able to smile in the face of adversity; not something their parents can so easily do. 

We met her at her grandmother's home, below is her home. The roof is collapsing and it is dangerous to live in. But this little angel danced and sang for us and made funny faces from when we arrived until we left although her mother has poor health and her father a brain tumor.

Her father died about three years ago from a heart attach in the night. Then her eldest brother was killed when hit by a drunk driver about 6 months ago. She and her family have had so much tragedy is such a short time, yet smile most of the time we are visiting. 

 She rarely sees her mother and is under the care of granny, who is old and unhealthy, but is very caring. She helps her grandmother with many chores as well as studying hard at school. We are very proud of this CEF student and her wonderful attitude.

 

Her single mother collects garbage to support her and her sister and grandmother. Some years ago mum's income was no longer enough to cover her daughters education, so CEF started to cover those costs then. She is a delightful young woman who we are supporting to train as a teacher.

  

Her single mother sells betel nuts to bring in a little money to support the two of them; usually between 10-20 cents a day. Their hut of bamboo and matting was unstable, so the the local government helped, along with a loan from the local Women's Union that mum had to take out. They now have a small, but solid home, but still struggle to meet even the most basic of daily needs. We started helping with her education four years ago.

Her home was in an area with bad annual flooding and most years they had to move out. Recently her aunt died leaving her land to the family. With help from the government, and a loan from the bank, and all the building done by family members, they now are seeing a strong home being built. Dad has poor health and can't work, so mum is the one in full time employment, so the family rarely see her. She is a hardworking and conscientious CEF student. (Picture of the their home half built below her picture).