All we need is a triggering question

When COVID-19 struck Cambodia, restrictions confined us to our homes. Like many, I worked online, staying connected through digital platforms. One hot April evening in 2021, in my small apartment in Phnom Penh, I joined a Zoom call with friends. As the call ended, one friend casually asked: “Would you join me in fundraising—to help families in desperate need during the lockdown?” That simple question carried me back to my childhood. In the early 1980s, growing up in a rural Cambodian village torn apart by civil war, hunger was a daily reality. A warm meal shared with my family was a rare joy. So when my friend asked, the answer was obvious. COVID had left me feeling powerless, but here was a chance to make a difference—to bring hope to those most affected. Together with 15 friends, we turned to Facebook for fundraising. Over six months, we raised $10,000 and delivered food packages to more than 2,000 people—women, sex workers, factory workers, garbage truck crews, and families struggling to survive. Looking back at the food distribution during lock-down, one moment imprinted in my memory. A sex worker who is a mother to a newborn, came to collect the food package. Holding her newborn in one arm, she reached for the package with the other. Behind her white mask, tears streamed down her face as she thanked us again and again—for the meal she could now share. In that instant, I realized: each of our individual action can bring positive change to a life. Our efforts may not solve every challenge, but they met the most basic needs at a critical time. And we reminded ourselves, and our supporters, that sharing is caring and we need one question to trigger more action that change.