A Young Widow's Financial Burden

Imagine being the mother of a three-year-old and seven months pregnant with your second child when your husband dies. Grieving alone is debilitating, but Hnin Nwe Soe has a heavy burden to carry along with her grief. She worries about her finances. Debt is a way of life for her.   

It costs 700 baht to give birth in Thailand, and this newly single mother never had enough. She borrows 2,500 baht monthly to pay for her rent and household bills and buy the pork and white boiled peas she sells twice daily as a mobile food vendor. She pays 125 baht back daily on her loan, about 3,750 baht monthly, with a 15% interest charge.

Before giving birth, Hnin Nwe Soe had two jobs, but her second job evaporated when the factory she worked for, wrapping copper wire, no longer needed her.  Even when she did have that second job it wasn’t enough. But now she has even less. After giving birth, Hnin Nwe Soe wasn’t able to work for two months while she recuperated and took care of her newborn son. Now, while her daughter is in kindergarten, her neighbor watches her son in the morning so she can buy and sell food. But money is extremely tight.

Hnin Nwe Soe hopes someday to start a business selling Burmese goods in Thailand with some help from her uncle. In the meantime, she is thankful for Family Rescue. She has many worries, but at least she doesn’t have to worry about what she and her children will eat.

Helping young mothers like Hnin Nwe Soe get ahead of their finances and learn to budget is one of the things the Family Enterprise program at the Charis Foundation does. Hnin Nwe Soe is enrolled in the Village Savings and Loan Association savings group and also attends Family Education classes that help her learn to be a better parent. 

Every donation you give to The Charis Project helps someone like Hnin Nwe Soe.

Hnin Nwe Soe is only thirty-one years old. She lives in a wooden row house with her two children. Without the food support from Family Rescue, she and her children would have gone hungry. Knowing she has food to eat and that someone who cares makes a huge difference in her life.

When you support a mother you give her children a better life. Hnin Nwe Soe has the support she needs to feed her children, and to manage her finances and get out of debt.