Revealing Hope, Restoring Life
Ty Pok was a widow by the time she was just 23 years old, living in a rural province in Cambodia. In search of work, she left her hometown for the capital, Phnom Penh. There she was able to earn an income by working as a maid, however this all changed when she was sexually assaulted by a man she trusted and soon discovered that she was pregnant. As her pregnancy progressed, she left her job and decided to return to her hometown despite the shame she felt.
Lockdowns soon began due to COVID-19 and people were afraid to go to the market where they would buy and sell goods. With no income and no job opportunities in sight, Ty Pok was in a desperate situation to provide for her now 5 month old son.
Bread of Life Gift Cards
- by Jody Kubo working with International Students in Power to Change
In April, we heard about a Christian couple who just arrived in Sydney from Nepal. The husband planned to work in order to support his wife as she studied towards a Masters degree in Public Health. They arrived with happy expectations—they didn’t expect a pandemic lockdown.
I called John and Jane (fictitious names). Jane said she had yet to set foot on her campus because of the lockdown and her husband couldn't find work. They were living in a cramped share-house and were still in need of basic items while struggling with cultural adjustment. Our team sent them a Care Pack.
Like other Power to Change ministries in Australia, our Macquarie Uni team began giving away “Care Packs” of basic food stuffs, face masks, sanitiser, and toilet paper. But by May, we were hearing stories about students who lost part-time jobs and were having trouble paying rent, as well as worrying about their families back home. A new believer in our ministry said that her dad lost his job in Sri Lanka because of the virus. Students are very stressed.
