Before I post anything else, I want to share a story with you. This is the story of one of the girls we worked with in Cambodia. You can find the original article here: (here).
Srey Gohn is only 19 years old. She comes from the northwest of Cambodia. Before she was even born her parents separated and divorced. Both of them later took new spouses and abandoned her at an orphanage where she lived until she was 5 years old when another Cambodian family adopted her into their home. While the home was better than an orphanage, most adopted children in Cambodia are never treated with same love and status as children born into the family. At the age of 12 the family no longer wanted Srey Gohn in their home and kicked her out to the streets.
Over the next several years Srey Gohn went to find her biological parents. First she found her mother, but she rejected Srey Gohn. Later Srey Gohn found her father and her step-mother invited her to stay with them. However, shortly after moving into their home, Srey Gohn’s step-mother made arrangements for a man from the neighborhood to rape and sleep with Srey Gohn. The step-mother did not love Srey Gohn as a daughter, but saw Srey Gohn as nothing more than an opportunity to make extra money. Soon after it was found that Srey Gohn was pregnant and again the people she called family rejected her and cast her out from their home.
Throughout her pregnancy Srey Gohn was homeless. Just to get by she would wash dishes and clean laundry by hand in exchange for food. However, sometimes she could only get enough food for a few meager meals only 4 or 5 days a week. Soon after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl in the local hospital, Srey Gohn, was shocked when she was able meet with her grandmother. Her grandmother invited her into her home, but again it was not out of love for her granddaughter, but she saw opportunity to make money. After Srey Gohn moved into her grandmother’s home, her own grandmother took the newborn baby girl and sold her to another family.
With great passion and love for her child, Srey Gohn went to the home of this family where she stole back her own child and fled to another city to hide from her own family and those who had tried to purchase her baby. Here she endured for 8 more months, being homeless and washing dishes and doing laundry by hand for other families in exchange for food. In early December, Srey Gohn decided that she needed to find a better job to support herself and her baby. She decided she would try to go to Phnom Penh, the capital city, where she hoped she would find work. By chance she met a family who were driving an empty vehicle down to Phnom Penh, however, the family only took her as far as Kampong Chhnang and the family just left her on the street with her baby.
In all this tragedy and suffering in Srey Gohn’s some might wonder where is God’s grace in all this? However, in Kampong Chhnang a good Samaritan picked her up. A friendly motorcycle taxi driver found her and brought her to the staff of TransformAsia’s New Developments Center who immediately brought her in to the center. The staffquickly called Randa Lee to ask what to do and she told them to keep her there and take care of her. For the first time in her life, Srey Gohn now lives somewhere that she and her baby are both safe. She doesn’t need to fear someone abusing her, and she doesn’t need to fear someone stealing her baby.
We had the privilege of spending our time in Cambodia with girls like Srey Gohn. More to come soon.
