Today’s World’s AIDS Day and in honor of that, I want to shine the biggest spotlight on Somaly Mam, a crusader and heroine who tirelessly fights against child prostitution and slavery; never ceasing despite having her house burned down, her car jacked and her daughter kidnapped and raped.
Somaly Mam was sold into prostitution when she was 12 by her grandfather and she spent her teenage years being raped and locked in a cellar with snakes. She managed to escape to France from Cambodia but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that something had to be done. So she returned to Cambodia in 1996 and started her fight against child prostitution and HIV/AIDS in Cambodia.
Girls as young as 6 are sold as sex slaves in Cambodia; a country where many men believe that the cure for AIDS is sex with a virgin. Somaly Mam leads raids against brothels and she has provided shelter, education and job skills for the 4,000 slaves she saved since she started her crusade.
It doesn’t take much to contribute to this selfless cause and you can donate and find out more about the Somaly Mam Foundation here.
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