Restoring Health and Hope Among Mothers Worldwide

Many mothers in poverty around the world have trouble finding enough food, water, and hours in the day to care for their children's needs.

Scarce resources can often lead to sparse diets that make young children vulnerable to illnesses.

Samaritan's Purse is working to alleviate these problems by training and educating mothers on basic nutrition, hygiene, and infant care.

Soeung, a mother of four living in rural Cambodia, is just one of many women we are helping across the globe. She remembers how her children frequently fell ill in their early months. Bouts of vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms frequently landed them in the local clinic where treatments only masked the real problems.

“The young mothers are unable to give their children nutrition to grow successfully, then this leads to poor nutrition and stunting,” said Barry Jessen, Samaritan's Purse Cambodia country director.

Now Soeung understands why gastrointestinal conditions seemed to plague her family and the families around her. At our maternal child health care group, Soeung learned from Samaritan's Purse teams about the connection between food and health.

Through groups like Soeung's, mothers around the world learn about nutrition and how to care for themselves during pregnancy. Then they return to their villages to teach others about prenatal care, infant care, nursing, and safe food preparation.

Our training program in communities focuses on educating local mothers who are respected in their communities and are eager to help others improve their family's health. As we instruct mothers on nutrition, we also provide training and resources for clean hygiene to guard against spread of diseases. Samaritan's Purse programs teach mothers about healthy diets with good variety. They, in turn, teach others in their community.

Women learn more than just how to provide their family's daily bread. They also learn about the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.

It was during her training sessions that Soeung heard the Gospel and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It has transformed her life, she said.

“I feel that the Lord has saved me and saved my soul, my spirit, and filled my family with happiness.”

“I feel that the Lord has saved me and saved my soul, my spirit, and filled my family with happiness,” she said.

We praise God that He is using Samaritan's Purse to strengthen communities physically and spiritually through prenatal and maternal care programs around the world. Please join us in praying that more women and their children would be changed by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.