The Somaly Mam Foundation

This Wednesday I had the amazing opportunity to visit The Somaly Mam Foundation for a brief presentation about the organization and meet one of the survivors. What an incredible opportunity.

I first learned about Somaly and the work she has done through the book Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity  for Women Worldwide and her book The Road To Lost Innocence (both of which everyone should read). Shocked by the horrible and unfair treatment against women in Cambodia, I was inspired to travel here and spend two months volunteering.

As a sex trafficked victim herself, Somaly Mam has dedicated her life to establishing multiple organizations and sanctuaries for young women all over southeast Asia. SMF was launched in 2007 and was co-founded by Somaly Mam along with two Air Force Academy graduates Nicholas Lumpp and Jared Greenberg. This organization is an international NGO based in based in New York, with an office in Phnom Penh which I was able to visit. SMF aims to provide funding for anti-trafficking organizations and works to give a voice to victims and survivors.

Somaly has also established an organization called AFESIP Cambodia which focuses on the rehabilitation of girls who have been trafficked or abused and tries to reintegrate them into society. Currently there are three AFESIP facilities located in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Kampong Cham. All of which house over 60 girls each. The AFESIP office in Siem Reap is the one shown in the documentary Half The Sky on PBS. Unfortunately visits to the AFESIP facilities are highly irregular and aren't open to the public so it wasn't possible for me to visit one during my time here.

But I was more than thrilled to be able to visit the SMF office. Overall it was even more inspiring and eye opening to be there and to hear the stories in person. I will never forget it. The emotions were so overwhelming. I honestly almost started to cry when one of the girls was telling us her story of being sold to a brothel at the age of 7. My heart was breaking. She was in the brothel for 3 years until she escaped and Somaly's people found her and took her to AFESIP. So so so sad. At the end of the meeting I went up to her and asked her her name and how old she was. She told me she was 21 years old. Only two years older than me!!!! But to see the work of AFESIP and SMF right in front of me was so inspiring. I am happy to report that the girl is doing very well and now works for the SMF doing advocacy work and educating young girls all over Cambodia. Amazing. This young lady has been through hell and back and to see her now dedicating her life to other girls just like her is absolutely incredible. Very inspiring.