Children bear the brunt of any crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone was affected in different aspects of life such as livelihoods, economic opportunities, health and education. Unicef Thailand’s report on the COVID-19’s impacts on children and youth in Thailand found that “60 per cent of low-income households and families with children and women faced food shortages during the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak” and “the number of Thai people whose incomes are under the poverty line increased by approximately 400,000”.
“During the pandemic, our family faced great difficulties. Income from my hired-hand jobs decreased. The hardship we already endured became worse. All we could do was to bear with it and give emotional support to each other,” says Chatcanok, mother of 5-year-old Snow. The family hails from Mae Hong Son. “Although I knew there was a slim chance that anyone would want a hired hand because everyone was afraid of the pandemic, I went out to look for jobs, wondering if I could find any. Without any job, I didn’t know how to get some food back home to feed my child.”
On the days that their hope and smiles were taken away, “a sponsor stepped in to help Snow”. The mother of the little girl shares about the gifts they received two years ago – the wonderful gifts from their sponsor on the days they barely saw any glimpse of hope.
And since then, Snow and her mother’s joyful smiles have returned as more gifts arrived, including food and supplies, learning materials and toys that promote child development, storybooks and tuition fees for Snow to grow educational readiness at a child development centre.
The wonderful gifts that truly reignited their hope was family livelihood: “I was a hired hand. Every time I went out to find a job, I worried if I would ever be hired. Without any job, I didn’t know how to feed my child. Thankfully, because we received oyster mushroom culture packs, vegetable seeds and local breed chickens, we have food for family consumption and for selling to generate income. We plan to save some money earned from selling vegetables, mushrooms and chickens to invest in growing more vegetables and breeding more chickens and building sustainable family livelihoods.”
Thanks to these wonderful gifts, Snow and her mother gradually regain their happiness and smiles, “Our family has a steady income now. My daughter has three meals to eat every day. She used to be underweight but now she is well nourished and healthy. We thank World Vision Thailand for supporting our family’s improved well-being. Thank you so much,” said Snow’s mother followed by the little voice of the girl who says shyly: “Thank you.”
