Somaly with mother and newborn

In June, Somaly Mam and her staff paid a visit to an entertainment worker in Phnom Penh who had recently given birth to a baby girl. The new mother, along with the other twenty or so women that joined her are well acquainted with Somaly and AFESIP’s social workers. The social workers with AFESIP’s outreach teamregularly visit this particular group of entertainment workers to distribute condoms and other hygiene and sanitary items, as well as raise awareness on HIV/AIDS, STDs, drug abuse, personal hygiene, human rights and self protection.

 The new mother had a particularly harrowing tale. Just two days following her delivery, she left the maternity ward alone. She explained that her husband, a known drunkard who squandered his garbage collecting salary on alcohol, was nowhere to be found for the birth of his daughter. As a result, the woman plans to return to her clients in order to provide for her children. Somaly felt compelled to assist the new mother with a personal donation and after chatting with the women, distributed dozens of boxes of food. Somaly’s gesture did not go unappreciated—the immense gratitude of the women was evident with their expressions of thanks and warm, smiling faces.