From Captivity to Care: Supporting Cambodian Women in Crisis

Each year, dozens of Cambodian women are trafficked to China and sold as brides. Vorleak*, from a poor farming family in rural Cambodia, was one of them. Hoping to help her widowed mother support their family of ten, she accepted a job offer in China, where she was promised $1,000 a month as domestic help. Instead, she was sold as a wife to a Chinese man and forced into domestic servitude. Under constant surveillance, she had no control over her finances, movements, or contact with her family. When she discovered she was pregnant, she knew she had to escape. Seizing a rare opportunity, she fled to an embassy and was assisted in returning to Cambodia.

Ashamed to return to her village, Vorleak was referred to MHO by the Provincial Office of Social Affairs, Youth, and Veterans Affairs. She received immediate medical and social support, including counseling, maternity check-ups, and maternal education classes. Over time, she began to heal from her ordeal, finding comfort in the support network around her. Our midwife was delighted to report a healthy mother and baby.

Today, Vorleak is back in her village, continuing her journey of recovery with ongoing support from MHO.

One Day’s Wages partnered with Mother’s Heart Organization to support women experiencing crisis pregnancies in Cambodia’s Battambang province. As the country’s first and only crisis pregnancy center, MHO provides holistic services, including prenatal care, counseling, baby supplies, and home visits from a midwife. Additionally, women receive education on maternal and newborn health, legal assistance, and rental support. With these resources, new mothers gain the confidence and stability to provide for their children and rebuild their lives.

*Pseudonym used to protect identity.