On August 16th, I was on the mission in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Me and my son were driving back to the hotel, when I saw a woman struggling to push her cart.

"Do we have battery on the phone?" I asked Leo, but he said no.

I decided to drive on, hoping to see her again, but then I heard:

"Actually the phone is charged, I plugged in a power bank before."

What a stroke of luck! We turned back and I sat on the scooter, sketching her as she sorted through the garbage, pulling out plastic bottles, wires, glass, and other recyclables. When she continued pushing her cart, I stayed on the scooter sketching and it took me another seven minutes to finish the drawing.

I drew a rough sketch, but then chased after her. She was surprisingly fast, and I found her three blocks away.

I gave her the drawing and some cash – I realized it was probably close to her weekly earnings. She smiled at the drawing, and I tried to talk to her, but it was mostly just bowing and smiling.

Even in that brief encounter, I knew she might need help.

I ran down the street, asking everyone if they spoke English. It was mostly young people, but an older man sitting with his friends surprised me by saying, "I speak English."

"Can you please come with me? I'm a charity worker and need your help translating," I asked him. "I'll pay you."

"No need to pay," he replied, "I'll help."

He followed me and my son. Leo had been watching the woman closely, and saw her turn onto another street.

When we caught up with her again, I explained my mission and asked her if she wants me to help her. She was amazed and couldn't stop smiling, saying "yes!".

She's 77 years old and lives in a shack. She's been pushing that cart for years, collecting and sorting garbage, then selling it to the recycling center for $5 a day.

I noticed how she walked, limping on one leg. Her job had taken its toll, and it was getting harder for her each day.

I asked her where she lived and if she would show us her house. She agreed, but first, she had to sell the garbage she had collected.

My son, the translator, and I went back to get our scooters. We found her at the recycling center, where she left her cart and hopped on a scooter with the translator.

Following her home was a long journey.

"So, she pushed that cart all the way here?" my son asked, shocked.

Her home was in a rural area, in very poor conditions. But she was surrounded by good neighbors, who rushed out of their shack when they saw us arrive. The woman brought out chairs and cleaned them with a cloth.

She showed me her house, which was just a wooden floor with piles of things lying around or hanging on the walls.

I asked her if she wanted to improve her living conditions.

She agreed, but then added, "I dream of having a store next to my house, so my neighbors can come and buy from me. Then I wouldn't have to push that cart anymore."

I told her that we could help make her dream come true.

Every step of this story was just a complete accident, for me it was following my heart and for a lady with a cart it was a miracle.

And for all of you it is an inspirational story and an opportunity to help.

Tomorrow I will see her again, give her some cash (so she doesn’t have to push her cart anymore) and we will discuss her house and the shop.

Stay tuned🕊