Discrimination against single, pregnant women is very common in Cambodia. They are considered “disgraced, bad luck, used and unworthy.”  This stigma compels many girls and women – many of whom are survivors of sexual violence – to keep their pregnancy secret and refrain from seeking health services for fear of being shamed in public.  Without access to health care, infant and maternal mortality rates soar.  Social isolation also leaves girls vulnerable to dropping out of school, abandoning their children, and being preyed on by traffickers.

One Day’s Wages partnered with Mother’s Heart Organization to support women and girls experiencing a crisis pregnancy. Clients received counseling to heal from past trauma, build healthy and supportive relational networks, and when appropriate, reunite with their families. Our partnership supported the cost of prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care, and women received additional support as needed for newborn clothing, food stipends, rental assistance, and hygiene kits. For those seeking to build livelihoods skills to provide for their newborns, social workers matched clients with a vocational training course of their choosing, or with support to start a small business. As a result, 0% of babies born during the program period were underweight or malnourished, and 94% are being cared for within their immediate or extended families, while 6% are cared for by foster families.