For years, Samorn’s life was defined by a desperate search for safety. Trapped in a violent marriage in rural Cambodia, she lived in constant fear. Even while four months pregnant with her fourth child, the abuse continued. With no parents to turn to and a husband who drank daily, she often had to flee to a neighbouring house with the children just to find a safe place to hide until morning.
“My life was very miserable,” Samorn recalls. “I was an orphan and had no parents. I had no one to tell.”
I needed to give my children a chance to go to school; that was my commitment
When the violence followed her even after her youngest son was born, Samorn made a brave choice: she fled to Phnom Penh. Her first night was spent in an unsafe house; her second was spent in a small rental room, wondering how she would feed five hungry mouths, including twin girls.
Samorn became a scavenger, roaming the streets of Steung Meanchey to collect plastic and cans. It was backbreaking work, often done with her youngest children perched on her cart. It was during this time that she heard of "Pa Scott" and Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF).
Determined to change her children’s fate, she waited outside the CCF dental clinic every day for Scott Neeson, CCF's founder, to return from a trip abroad. When she finally saw him, she didn't just ask for help—she took his hand and led him to see her reality.
“I needed to give my children a chance to go to school; that was my commitment,” she says.
CCF saved my life
The transformation was immediate.
CCF took her children in the education program, and Samorn was hired as a nanny at the CCF nursery. The woman who had struggled to protect her own children was now being paid to care for a whole generation of them.
“CCF saved my life,” she says. “I was very happy and very lucky to get some support... it reduced my burden a lot.”
The family moved from their dilapidated wooden shack into a home in a CCF World Housing community
where they felt secure and safe for the first time
The children, including her three daughters, pictured below, did well at school, making up for the lost years and making their mum proud.
“The proudest [thing] is to see my children graduate and have jobs
Today, at 57, the "miserable" years for Samorn are a distant memory.
When she was a girl, Samorn was to drop out of school in Grade 4 so her brother could study. As an adult, she fought so that her own daughters would not miss out on an education. Raising them alone, Samorn got her three daughters all the way to university.
Her twin daughters, Vanny and Vanna, 29, now work in professional HR recruitment and live with their sister, Channa, 26.
Seeing them graduate (pictured below) made up for all the years struggling and trying to survive, says Samorn.
Her children now support her, contributing each month from their salaries. They have even bought a home in a borey (gated community), paying by installments.
“The proudest [thing] is to see my children graduate and have jobs,” Samorn says, her face now lit with a constant smile. “They give back to me.”
Her two youngest sons, Ratana and Ratha, are still at home and excelling in Grades 11 and 9 at CCF’s Neeson Cripps Academy
Samorn’s story is no longer one of survival—it is one of triumph. By escaping the shadows of the past and giving her children the chance of an education she was denied, she hasn’t just changed her life; she has ensured her children will never have to hide from the world again.
