Mang Phal’s Story: A Young Life Forever Changed

Dearest Family and Friends,

My name is Zoe Leong. I am a sophomore at Portola High School in Irvine, California. On February 7th, 2025, I started my journey to Kratie, Cambodia, as a volunteer on a medical mission with the Cambodian Health Professional Association of America, also known as CHPAA. CHPAA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the less fortunate areas of Cambodia by providing health care and life-saving surgeries to remote villages.

As the medical mission came to an end, I was given the opportunity to meet one of CHPAA's emergency patients. His name is Mang Phal. He is a 14-year-old teenage boy who suffered a traumatic injury while working in the fields in Kratie. On Saturday, February 8th, 2025, Mang was working with two of his cousins in the field. His cousins took a restroom break. Mang decided to continue working by himself. Suddenly, his right arm was sliced by the hay baler. Mang suffered a large wound on his right forearm. He was bleeding profusely. The cut was so deep that his bare muscles and bones were visible.

Thankfully, our CHPAA Mission 13 surgeons operated on him immediately. His mom shared that Mang recently dropped out of school to support his family. On our last day of the mission, Mang was transported to Siem Reap Hospital for rehab and care. He still has a long, long road to a full recovery. He will need to learn how to use his right arm again once he regains his strength. Seeing Mang, who is just a teenager and close to my age, and his compelling story inspired me to want to do more for him even though our mission at Kratie has been completed. Therefore, I started this GoFundMe to help pay for his medical bills and rehabilitation.

Please join me in helping Mang Phal’s GoFundMe to raise money for his medical bills. Any donation will be greatly appreciated. I thank you ahead for your generosity.

Learn more about Mang Phal's journey to recovery

With gratitude,

Zoe Leong