“I have never begged anyone for money. I built my house with my own hands, roofed it myself. I did everything alone. Do you know how hard it is for a woman over 60 to live by herself?”

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Sumalee Sophanumas, a 65-year-old Thai woman, lives alone without any relatives in a small makeshift house built from a few pieces of wood and a zinc roof, located in a narrow area behind Wat Ratchaoros in Chom Thong District. She makes a living by collecting bottles and recyclable waste to sell to a junk shop, earning around 100 baht a day.