Host Mom: Kim Chantrea

Host Mama Kim Chantrea

Why I Love my Host Mom


When I first arrived at my site, I missed my training host family and didn’t want to adjust to another, different family. I got frustrated that my new host mom knocked on my door to offer me things I didn’t need, or to wake me up to ask if I was sleeping. I felt that she didn’t understand me like my last family.

So much time has passed since those first few weeks, and I am embarrassed at my initial feelings towards my host mom. I have come to see that she is the most caring, sweetest person I know, and that in the beginning of my time here, she was trying to make me comfortable even though she had no idea how. Both of us have come so far in our relationship, and we understand each other so much better now. She has done an amazing job at being flexible with me, learning each day a little more about me. We have worked the menu for dinner down to a science, and she only makes me food that I like. She is very perceptive- noticing when I avoid an ingredient in a dish. She will not put it in next time. She is receptive- when I tell her I don’t like something, she just accepts it with no questions. She is my biggest advocate in my community, and since she is a well-respected member of the community, people treat me well also. When I held a Girl’s Health event at the school, she took a whole stack of fliers and handed them out at the market. She occasionally brings me little treats from the market, which shows me she thinks about me even when I'm not with her.

She is the best host mom I could have asked for and definitely makes me feel at home.

Post provided by K6 Margaret Rusch; Community Health Education Volunteer in Kampong Chnang Province