Drug addicted Father, Elder Brother in Jail and Mother being pregnant for the ninth child

The ten-year-old boy KM is the second child among other eight children (six brothers and 2 sisters), living with his 38-year-old widowed mother. This family is so poor that KM has decided to be a rubbish scavenger and live at Sleng village, Sangkat Chbar Ampeou II,Khan Meanchey, Phnom Penh.

When KM walks to pick the garbage and sees other boys and girls going to school, he himself also wishes to do so. Unfortunately, he was born in a family which is too poor to afford to send him to school. The boy has a father named …, 35 years old, who is a drug addict. His father abandoned the family, leaving behind eight children with the mother who is being pregnant for nine months. Soon after his father had abandoned his father, KM’s elder brother, 15 years old, was also arrested by police and sent to prison for murder.
Because of poverty, no father, and pregnant mother, this boy became a prisoner without clear incriminating evidence and reason. After the Protection of Juvenile Justice had obtained the boy’s complaint, the lawyer tried to find out evidence to help the boy in the case. When his elder was arrested, KM became a responsible person instead of his elder; he had to go out with mother to pick up garbage in order to make some income to support the family.

When his elder brother was not yet arrested, KM was not so tired because his elder brother took all this responsibility in the family. His duty was to look after his young brothers and sisters at home only. However, he now has to make money and take care of them including mother who has just given birth. Every day the boy has to get up about 4: 00 or 5: 00 am in early morning to pick up garbage until 10: 00 pm at night and returns home.

He can make money about 5000 Riel a day but he has to spend 2000 Riel on renting land, 1500 Riel on water and the remainder on food. His family sometimes does not have enough food to eat or there are only salt or fish soup to take with rice and occasionally the neighbors give them some soup. Every Holy Day, the boy always asks his brothers and sisters to go to the temple and asks for food from the monks. Whereas his elder who just said, “You!” in a strong voice to his friend has been in jail with no justice as the court accused him of committing murder.