Chhun Chhoeurt’s Story

AUGUST 2009 — Hateful words were directed at 12-year-old Chhun Chhoeurt by her schoolmates, who refused to share their food with her when she was poor and hungry and didn't have money to buy school materials or snacks. Why were they so cruel? It's because after Chhun's father died of AIDS, relatives and neighbors soon found out that her mother was HIV-positive, too.

"They hated and discriminated against my family," says Chhun, who is the youngest of five siblings living with her mother in a rural village in Battambang Province, Cambodia. "My mother used to sell cakes and food, but after [people found out her status], no one would talk to her or buy food from her." With no customers, Chhun's mother was forced to stop selling food and find new work. Chhun's older brother and sister left school and took up farming to support the family.

"I felt very lonely at that time because I lost my father and also lost many friends," she says. "My friend's parents didn't allow them to play with me, fearing that they would get HIV from my family. They sometimes cursed me and my family when they saw us."

In 2005, her village leader told her mother about an organization called Homeland, a local NGO supported by Family Health International with funding from USAID, that helps families like Chhun's. Soon, Homeland staff and community volunteers began visiting the Chhoeurts. They encouraged Chhun and her siblings to join in the playgroup and youth club activities they organized. They also supported the family with food and school materials, and provided transportation money for Chhun's mother to access health services. She now goes for monthly checkups and takes medicine every day. Currently Chhun's mother works as a cleaner at a radio station in Battambang, and her two older children are back in school.

"Seeing the support we were getting from Homeland, slowly our neighbors and relatives began visiting and talking to us again," Chhun says. "They are no longer afraid of us and don't seem to hate us anymore." Other children have become more accepting of Chhun, and she is delighted to have playmates again.

"I am very happy with my family," Chhun says. "I love my mother and I'll study hard so I can help her as much as possible."

PHOTO: Chhun Chhoeurt poses for a photographer in front of her home. (Heang Chantha)