Like so many people, Tieng and Saroeurn felt their world shake as COVID-19 spread. The young Cambodian couple are migrant workers who left home in search of jobs in Thailand. The work they found was hard and the wages low, but it let them survive and care for their baby girl.
But then COVID-19 came, and Tieng and Saroeurn’s jobs disappeared with it. When they didn’t receive
their last payment before being let go, their situation became serious. They had no income or food and faced the terrifying thought of not being able to feed their daughter.
So, they headed for home. “We hired a taxi to take us to the border, but could not pay the full amount. We then had to walk,” they shared. That’s when God led them to a Samaritan’s Purse Migrant Access Center.
This center serves as a refuge for migrants. It has kept thousands safe from human traffickers who exploit their desperation and lead people into modern-day slavery.
It is now also on the frontline of this global crisis. In an average year, tens of thousands of people pass through this center and another like it. Since COVID-19 became a pandemic, tens of thousands have come for help in March and April alone. They arrive tired, hungry, and needing hope.
Tieng and Saroeurn found rest at the center. They had access to medical care and received desperately needed emergency food, including milk for their daughter. Staff were also there to pray with them and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Before they continued their journey with help from our team, the couple took a Bible.
In places like Cambodia, we are seeing a massive demand for critical supplies, like emergency food. Your continued prayers and support will bring this life-saving help to the vulnerable, and a message of hope in Jesus, who “when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them” (Matthew 9:36).
More than a billion people worldwide are suffering from chronic malnutrition. Through your gifts, Samaritan’s Purse is providing lasting solutions through hands-on farming training, home garden projects, and practical education about nutrition, as well as desperately-needed food staples for hungry families in emergency situations.