Help Vireak live -support the future of Cambodia

Hi, my name is Laure, I am 25 years old and come from Switzerland, where I graduated from a hospitality business school last summer. I recently returned from 6 months in Cambodia, volunteering at Sala Baï Hotel School, providing free hospitality training for young Cambodians from underprivileged families.

Thanks to this enriching human experience, I had the chance to meet Vireak, who graduated from Sala Baï in 2019.

Vireak’s story is simply heartbreaking. Vireak is 23 years old, he has a smile that lights up a room, he likes to read and among all, he loves his family. He was a top-notch student at Sala Baï and excelled in his studies and the many extracurricular activities the school offers. After Sala Baï, he was keen to continue with his studies. He enrolled at PEPY, a local non-profit NGO providing personal and professional development training to rural youth in Siem Reap. Once again, he excelled at his studies and with his teachers and classmates.

Then tragedy struck at the tender age of 20 when he was diagnosed with aggressive lymphatic cancer. He has received treatment in Cambodia and Thailand, funded by Sala Baï. Vireak had to go through a second round of 4 chemotherapy sessions at Vejthani expertLife Cancer Center in Bangkok. The hospital agreed to proceed with the treatment with only a first down payment. However, we still have 10'000$ to pay to settle the bill. The treatment seems to have worked but Vireak now needs a PET scan to check how the cancer has evolved and make sure he does not need more chemotherapy sessions. This would cost 2000$ more.

Vireak has made such a success of his life so far, and we are desperate for that to continue. He still has that beautiful smile even though his future looks so bleak and is full of projects for his future. Not only is he ambitious, but he also thrives to motivate other young Cambodians like him to read and learn as much as possible.

As a Swiss 25-year-old coming from a privileged environment with access to medical care and education, I am deeply moved by Vireak's story, who took every opportunity to learn and encouraged others to do the same. I and all the people who have supported him since the beginning of his illness cannot accept the idea that he cannot pursue his dreams because he does not have the necessary funds to benefit from quality treatment.