Chantrea* is the sole provider of Bora*, her five-year old daughter. She works in the red-light districts of Cambodia that are overrun with violence, drugs and abuse where neither mother nor daughter are ever safe.  

“I could not bring my daughter to work at night, but I needed to work for the beer garden owner and entertain the customers. I could not take her along with me anymore.” 

Trapped in the prostitution industry, Chantrea feared Bora would be abused, kidnapped or trafficked when she was younger because she had no safe or consistent care for her daughter when she worked at night.  

To survive and provide, mums like Chantrea make heartbreaking choices every night. They either take their child with them (hiding them in cupboards, tying them to beds or drugging them so they stay quiet), leave them alone all night to wander the streets risking being stolen, abused or hurt, or burden family or neighbours, who are often reticent to care for the children of sex workers, to look after their child.  

“While I was working at night, I hired a nanny to look after my daughter before. Sometimes the nanny beat her and refused to change her nappy.”

Then a friend introduced Chantrea to NightCare, but she was sceptical. “I could not take her because I was afraid that they would beat my daughter. How could a free service be better than the nanny I paid for?  

“But I thought, if I stay home with my daughter, I will have no money. I thought to myself, ‘If I keep my daughter like this, it cannot be good for her future.’ So, I decided to bring her to NightCare.”

After just a week, Chantrea noticed that Bora became happier and soon after, healthier too.  

Mums like Chantrea, Rifah* who ended up in a brothel despite being promised a job in a garment factory, Anita* whose abusive husband sold her to a brother, or Napti*, who began trading her body to survive when she found herself on her own as a ten-year-old, have survived unthinkable pain. Now, they just want a better life for their children—and to break the cycle of trauma and heartbreak.

And with your help, they can.

NightCare provides a safe shelter and loving care for their babies and toddlers, helping them escape horrors no child should ever experience thanks to you.

* Real stories, but not their real names.