MMN June Mag 2026 Online - Flipbook - Page 14
already carry higher medical risks,
but for the girls who also survived
abuse or exploita琀椀on, the care
they need goes far beyond standard antenatal support. Our teams
have to earn their trust before they
can help them. That takes 琀椀me,
pa琀椀ence, and crea琀椀vity.
When 昀椀gh琀椀ng erupted along the
Cambodia-Thailand border in December, 22 families in our programme were forced to 昀氀ee almost
overnight. Our Ba琀琀ambang sta昀昀
moved quickly, working alongside
local authori琀椀es and the Provincial Disaster Commi琀琀ee to provide
emergency food, sleeping and sanita琀椀on kits, clean water, and baby
formula. We ended up helping over
100 displaced individuals, not just
our bene昀椀ciaries, and helped organise safe spaces for 630 children
caught in the middle of it all.
Then came the call no midwife
wants to receive.
A 17-year-old, displaced by bombings and experiencing war trauma
for the 昀椀rst 琀椀me, went into premature labour. The con昀氀ict had
made her area a danger zone and
our sta昀昀 could not reach her; but,
our midwife already knew her. She
had been with her, monitoring her
throughout her pregnancy, carrying her health history, knowing her
risks. When the crisis hit, she got
13
on the phone with the local health
centre sta昀昀 and stayed there,
sharing everything she knew, and
working alongside the a琀琀ending
midwife, step by step, through the
delivery and through a life-threatening postpartum haemorrhage.
She could not be in that room, but
she made sure that our bene昀椀ciary
was not alone in it. The mother survived. Her baby did not. We are s琀椀ll
walking with her through her grief.
It takes the 琀椀me it takes.
Samay
For the girl who had decided there
was no future worth staying for.
With the support of our social worker, Samay did something remarkable. She chose to 昀椀ght. She 昀椀led
a legal complaint against the man
who had abused her and he is now
in prison. She advocated for her
right to return to school, and today
she is in Grade 8, ranked 4th in her
class and an ac琀椀ve student leader.
Her child, now nearly two years old,
is in loving foster care with a partner organisa琀椀on. Despite living in
separate safe havens, we facilitate
regular, safe bonding visits, including Samay’s mother and siblings, so
the family stays connected. And,
behind the scenes, Mother’s Heart,
local authori琀椀es, and partner
NGOs are quietly working toward
something permanent. A safe,
