Sorphea

We met Sorphea at the height of the global pandemic. She lives in a small house with her mother, father and brother. Each day her mum works hard in a small shop for about $2.50 and her dad fishes in the local river for dinner. Sorphea and her brother are both excelling in their studies, which makes her parents very proud.

But the challenges are stacked against Sorphea. The pandemic closed her school, which means she now has to study online with limited internet access, and her mum is now out of work. Sorphea’s house is near a river that floods often and she has had several infections from the dirty water. Her dad borrowed $200 to repair their house and protect it from the floods, but now faces enormous pressure to repay the debt on their limited income.

In Cambodia, a steady income provides safety for children and relieves the pressure on kids to find illegal work, which can easily lead to exploitation. We work hard to prevent that exploitation.

Sophea’s family received an emergency relief package full of food supplies and a phone card so our social workers could make regular contact to ensure she was safe. We worked with her parents to come up with a strategy to get out of debt, provided training on the importance of avoiding debt, and contributed to the house repairs so Sorphea had a safe place to live.

We are committed to long term girl-centred impact, so thank you for taking these journeys alongside girls to prevent trafficking before it begins.