Teacher and Mother’s Love

I met local teacher Socheata from Phum Ou Primary school in 2017 where we worked together to deliver our first ever project – Bike for Life.  It was a happy and fulfilling day when we gave out the 94 bikes to the children in need.  A year later, we also built a football ground at her school and hosted an inter-school football tournament.  Socheata witnessed the growth of PeopleStories and we have been close friends ever since.   ​

COVID19 has restricted my presence at a couple of her life milestones including her wedding and the birth of Kanika who is now 14 months old.  I so wish I was there to support her and share these important life achievements with her. 
 
On Mother’s Day this year, I felt an urge to reconnect with Socheata and we started talking about motherhood.  She said, “I decided to be a mother at the age of 26 because I wanted to build a cool family for my life.  I hope this family can make me a stronger person and be more responsible.  More importantly, to understand the love between a mother and her child.” 
 

I often wonder how first-time mothers feel and she shared, “When I realise that I have become a mother, I feel very happy and in love with my child.  I realise that in the future we (me and my husband) have a heavier burden, that is, we have to raise the children and become even better people.”
 
Having babies in rural villages is tough enough as there is only limited access to heathcare and COVID19 must have made the situation even more challenging for young mothers like Socheata.  She recalled, “The biggest difficulty for parents in the villages is raising children to be good people in the society.   As a new mother, I have learnt to become more responsible, enduring, loving, compassionate, honest. There are plenty of worries too.”

 Socheata has been a teacher all her young life in the past 6 years.  She shared, “I want to teach children how to be a good person, and recognize the benefits of learning for them to give them a better future.”  When I heard her motivation for a teaching career, I couldn’t help but see the connection between being a mother and a teacher. 
 
She agreed, “Yes!  The role of a mother is similar to a teacher.  Our job is to help students (or children) graduate and have good manners, virtues and become good people in the society.” 
 
Socheata looks at Kanika with so much love in her eyes and she said, “If I can give 1 magic to you, my daughter Kanika, that will be a prosperous life and a good education.”  That sums up what unconditional love is… to give it all that we have as parents to the next generations. 
 
Wishing Socheata very well as she is approaching the final term for her second baby and it’s a BOY!