Postcard "Hope" A6

In Cambodia, a woman struggling with a cart of refuse caught my eye. It was an instinct, a pull I couldn’t ignore. I knew I had to draw her.

We turned around, and I sketched her quickly as she sorted through the garbage. When I finished, I chased after her, finding her three blocks away, and handed her the drawing along with some cash.

She was 77, living in a shack, collecting trash for $5 a day. We visited her in her house and her daughter greeted us with hands calloused from years of hard labor.

The next day, I offered Granny Seng to help her with the house or start a small business, but she shook her head, "Every day, I worry about how to make the payments for my debt."

As it turned out they were in a cycle of debts, taking one loan after another, with the interest rates so high that it seemed impossible for them to get even close to paying it off.

With help from my online followers, we cleared her debts. "It’s like I was drowning and then I got saved," Granny Seng said, happy tears in her eyes.

We created a monthly pension for her, so she wouldn't have to collect garbage anymore.

This cycle of debt is a common trap in Cambodia, where micro-loans are readily available but often lead to impossible burdens. People like Granny Seng find themselves working tirelessly, not to improve their lives, but simply to pay interest rates, trapped in a system that keeps them enslaved. With a help of our found Granny Seng became dept-free and started a new life, free of burden.