Christmas testimonies: Lakkhana
If I didn’t have The Salvation Army I don’t know what would have happened.
- Lakkhana
When Lakkhana Ingram finally managed to escape an unhealthy marriage, she found herself alone with three kids, no income and no child support. She had migrated to Australia from Thailand 15 years earlier and had no family nearby to call on for help.
“I had so many problems and so many things going on it was like I was going crazy,” she says. “I wanted to kill myself.”
Her son, Billy, who had recently attended a Salvation Army children’s camp, told Lakkhana about The Salvation Army and encouraged her to contact them.
She began attending a Salvation Army-run computer course to upgrade her skills. After the course, she would talk to her teacher, Brett Smythe, a Salvo, about her problems.
“I talked with Brett every day,” says Lakkhana. “I cried sometimes. He was like my counsellor.”
The Salvation Army helped Lakkhana pay her bills and taught her budgeting skills to get her finances back on track. Her Salvation Army caseworker also liaised with various agencies to help with her family problems.
Lakkhana and her children began attending a Salvation Army church and, she says, the change in her life has been dramatic.
“Before I came to The Salvation Army I would cry,” she says. “I didn’t look good; I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep - and everybody noticed.”
Now, thanks to a supportive Salvation Army family, Lakkhana is rested, healthy and glowing, and is thrilled to be involved in the filming of The Salvation Army’s Christmas commercial. “I met so many new friends and had so much fun!”
Things are still tough, but, says Lakkhana, with The Salvation Army’s help she now has hope for the future.
To meet more of the cast and read their real stories, visit the Christmas website salvos.org.au/christmas/
Comments
No comments yet - be the first.