{"id":49232,"date":"2026-05-10T18:20:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adra.org\/?p=49232"},"modified":"2026-05-10T18:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:22:20","slug":"a-mothers-hope-for-her-children-clean-water-in-cambodia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/a-mothers-hope-for-her-children-clean-water-in-cambodia","title":{"rendered":"A Mother\u2019s Hope for Her Children: Clean Water in Cambodia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In this article:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A mother\u2019s struggle to care for her children in rural Cambodia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The dangers of unsafe water and poor sanitation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How new opportunities brought hope to one family<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The life-changing impact of clean water and hygiene<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Celebrating the strength and care of mothers this Mother\u2019s Day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSeeing my children face these problems, I felt helpless. Even as their mother, what could I do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-7-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-7-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-7-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-7-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-7-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-7-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">[Photo Courtesy of ADRA Australia]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This Mother\u2019s Day, we celebrate the quiet strength of mothers like Theakong\u2014women who do everything they can to protect, nurture, and provide for their children, even in the most difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Theakong\u2019s home in north-west Cambodia is surrounded by tall green grass, puddles of water marking the end of the rainy season, and a dozen cows, their tails flicking to keep the flies at bay. Four children chase each other around the yard, their laughter&nbsp;infectious. But life hasn\u2019t always been this way for Theakong and her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was living in poor conditions,\u201d Theakong says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have enough money for food or clothes for the kids to wear.\u201d Like many mothers, she carried the weight of ensuring her children were fed, clothed, and safe. \u201cBecause we were facing difficulties we decided to migrate for work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But work prospects in Thailand were not much brighter. Theakong and her husband were only just earning enough as construction workers to survive day-to-day. After three years, they made the difficult decision to return home, hoping for a better future for their children. Instead, they faced the same hardships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I came back I was still facing the same problem,\u201d says Theakong. She returned to selling cakes, doing everything she could as a mother to support her family, but the income was never enough. Meanwhile, unsafe living conditions put her children\u2019s health at constant risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t have a toilet; we used the bush around our home,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have a water filter or clean water to drink. So we would drink any water that we could find.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a mother, watching her children fall sick again and again was heartbreaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSometimes we would see water worms swimming around,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWe got sick\u2014vomiting, diarrhea, coughing.\u201d Without money for medical care, she relied on traditional remedies, doing her best to comfort and care for her children through illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite everything, Theakong never stopped looking for ways to improve her family\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So when an ADRA project, supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), began in her village, she didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cADRA talked with me about raising chickens, growing vegetables, having good sanitation, and building a latrine,\u201d Theakong recalls. \u201cThis made me feel hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-12-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Fresh water access improves health and well-being for mothers and children in Cambodia.\" class=\"wp-image-49234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-12-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-12-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-12-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-12-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-12.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">[Photo Courtesy of ADRA Australia]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>She faithfully attended workshops, learning new skills in animal raising, gardening, and hygiene\u2014practical ways she could better care for her children and create a stable future for them at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, Theakong is raising and selling chickens, growing vegetables in her garden using seeds provided by ADRA, and has even built a small business raising cows. Other families now board their cows with her for a small fee, creating an additional source of&nbsp;income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for Theakong, the most meaningful change has been her children\u2019s health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cADRA helped me get a latrine,\u201d she says with a smile. \u201cNo more bad smell!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her family also received a water filter, ensuring they no longer drink contaminated water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-9-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Access to clean water improves health and well-being for families in Cambodia.\" class=\"wp-image-49235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-9-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-9-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-9-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-9-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/adra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Theakong-9.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">[Photo Courtesy of ADRA Australia] <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSince we received a latrine and a water filter, our family is better,\u201d Theakong says. \u201cADRA brought change to my family. Our kids have good health and they are able to go to school. It\u2019s better than before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Mother\u2019s Day, Theakong\u2019s story is a reminder of the powerful role mothers play in shaping their children\u2019s futures\u2014and how access to basic essentials like clean water can transform not just a household, but generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/GgmwETtMDkM?si=zDY8mAP-nGqkyOJ3\"><u>You can watch Theakong\u2019s full story here.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Best CHOICES project in Cambodia is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This Mother\u2019s Day, we celebrate the quiet strength of mothers like Theakong\u2014women who do everything they can to protect, nurture, and provide for their children, even in the most difficult circumstances.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":49236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42,780,615,803,766,336],"tags":[1217,1175,1214,1184,1216],"class_list":["post-49232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-asia","category-blog","category-cambodia","category-featured-homepage","category-wash","tag-adra-australia","tag-clean-water","tag-mothers","tag-mothers-day","tag-wash"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49232"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49238,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49232\/revisions\/49238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adra.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}