Dyna is the hardest working woman I have ever met.

Dyna has worked to support her family her entire life.

The eldest child, she laboured throughout her childhood to support her family.

She talks of disappearing into the mountains for weeks at a time, as a small girl with her father and her pet buffalo, to illegally log timber.

She would sleep on the ground at night, curled up against her buffalo to keep warm, and to protect her from the tigers that came to attack her in her nightmares.

She would help her father fell a tree, and then in the dark of night to evade the police and park rangers, her buffalo would pull the logs off the mountain, as Dyna walked beside wiping the tears from her buffalo’s face.

Dyna attributes her exquisite physique to a childhood of hard labour.

In her youth, her parents would frequently disappear, leaving Dyna to care for her younger siblings, including her baby brother.

With no money or food, Dyna would provide for them all by herself, for months at a time.

She would forage for weeds, and catch a frog or a fish, maybe trade a fish for some rice with the neighbours. She would feed her newborn baby brother the water that the rice was cooked in, in the absence of milk.

As a teenager she worked in garment factories, the few dollars every month going to her family.

Her parents had no enthusiasm for school, and placed no value on education. Neither of them went to school, and neither of them can read or write. School was a waste of time, when their children should be working instead.

Dyna, however, has always been desperate to learn, and has tirelessly strived to educate herself.

She would take herself to school at every opportunity, and she was 21 when she finally passed her year twelve exams.

She taught herself English, initially by watching YouTube videos with subtitles, and then going to night school.

She then would go to university at night to learn Mandarin.

By constantly educating herself, she progressed through her career, promoted through hard work and tenacity.

From a simple farm girl, sewing garments, to the Quality Control Manager of the factories that make your active wear, such as Reebok, ADIDAS, Nike, North Face and Timberland.

She then taught herself accounting and administration by watching YouTube tutorials, and practicing until she mastered the software.

With no formal education, and without qualification, she then secured roles in administration, financial control and accounting.

Dyna would routinely work seven days a week, and two to three jobs at a time.

Every dollar she has ever earned has been sent to her family.

Dyna’s family lived in a tiny broken timber shack, one room with three generations sleeping side by side on the floor... until Dyna built them a home.

Dyna took out a mortgage in her name and built her family a beautiful house. A house that Dyna has never lived in herself.

Dyna lived in a small room in Phnom Penh with five other girls, and every month would pay the mortgage for her family.

Dyna has never spent money on herself.

She has no possessions. No jewellery. No furniture.

Her clothes are hand me downs from aunts and bosses, or factory seconds from the garment factories.

No plates, no cutlery, no cups or glasses.

We would sit on the floor and eat with our fingers off Styrofoam trays. We would roll out a bamboo sleeping mat on the tiled floor.

I once bought her a full set of everything... plates, bowls, glasses, cups, knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, cooking utensils, a single burner gas stove, pots and pans, and plastic stools. The next time I visited, they were all gone... all sent home to her family.

Dyna’s only possession of value is her bright orange Honda Scoopy moped, which I gave to her in 2020 so that she can travel to and from work across the city of Phnom Penh.

She is under strict instruction not to send this home.

Dyna adores her little Scoopy, and calls it her Baby Girl. She talks to it every day, with a gentle caress good morning, and thanks it after every trip.

When Dyna eventually moved to Kampot to live with me, our home became the first house that she has ever lived in.

And she is so immensely proud. So happy. So content.

She flits around her house like a queen.

Salaries in Kampot are not the same as in Phnom Penh, and jobs are harder to come by.

When Dyna first arrived in Kampot, I helped her write a résumé. On Monday she went to the print shop and had twenty copies printed, and started walking the streets. By Tuesday she had eight job interviews. By Wednesday she had six job offers. She started work on Thursday.

Every month, every dollar goes to the bank to pay the mortgage on her family’s home.

And I make up the difference.

And now Dyna is gone.

Now the family has lost their only source of income.

Now the family risks losing their home.

The family was horrified when I showed them the loan schedule, and helped them understand what Dyna paid every month for their home, and what was left to pay.

The family is terrified.

I have sold Dyna’s beloved Baby Girl, and this has covered the mortgage repayments for February and March.

And so with nausea, shaking hands, and tears stinging my eyes, I am asking for your help.

Please help me care for this grieving family.