• Society

Nhem Morokat, ‘Mother’ of 700 Disabled People

• By Uth Raksmey
• October 3, 2023 8:48 AM

PHNOM PENH – The Samneang Music Association for the Disabled was established in 2012 and is presided over by Chap To, a visually impaired person while Nhem Morokat, a secretary of state of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, is the honorary president.

To provide disabled people with greater job opportunities, the association offers them skills training in singing, music, and massage.

While it started with only 10 members, over 700 people, most of whom are visually impaired, are now part of the association.

With extensive support from the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Nhem Morokat, it has been growing significantly, ensuring them have comfortable shelters and skills.

“I sacrificed a lot of my family time to get involved in the association and help disabled Cambodians,” Morokat said. “Two of my children are studying overseas, one in Australia and another one in France, so I consider these 700 people as my children.”

“If there was no association, I would have plenty of spare time once my job at the ministry is over. But I chose not to,” she added.

Doing such charity work is not for seeking any attention, she said. “I willingly devote my time, put my heart and soul into people who are invisible to the world.”

Morokat is proud to have the association’s members as her ‘children’. Even though they are not her relatives, she wants to fight for more social justice for disabled people and to tackle the discrimination they have to face in their everyday lives.

She said that although looking after disabled people can be exhausting, she is satisfied to bear the burden.

Chap To, the association’s president, said he’s proud the association has come this far. He recalled they had to move 11 times to keep up with the association’s development, which is no mean feat when all the members are disabled.

“Morokat put all of her efforts into looking after the association’s growth. When some members are sick, or some women have just given birth, she visits them at the hospital regardless of the time of day or night,” Chap To said.  

 

Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this article was translated by Rin Ousa for Cambodianess