Srai Sim's Cancer Treatment
Donation protected
My wife's mother, whose name is Srai Sim, has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She lives in Cambodia and does not have access to health care insurance. We need to raise some money to help pay for her cancer treatments and all related expenses. She needs to undergo radiation treatment as well as chemotherapy. We want her to get the best possible care she can get, and to get the treatments underway as soon as possible to prevent the cancer from getting worse.
Please consider donating, and please share this campaign with others.
Let me tell you about the life of Srai Sim....
Srai Sim was born in 1954 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city. She grew up as the only daughter in a family of five children. Her father was a government worker and her mother was a home maker.
At the age of sixteen Srai Sim got married. Her husband, a sergeant in the army, was a good hard working man. Soon after the marriage this young couple had their first daughter, Srai Dtop. A hopeful future lay before them.
It was during this time (1975) that the United States was in its last days of war with Vietnam. In April 1975 the Khmer Rouge (a Cambodian communist party) sent its soldiers into Phnom Penh in order to evacuate the city. The residents of Phnom Penh were told that the evacuation was for their own safety as American planes were going to bomb the city. They were also told they would be able to return in 3 days. But this was a lie.
At that time Srai Sim was 7 months pregnant with their second daughter, while their oldest was now 3 years. Srai Sim’s family was forced out of Phnom Penh, and along with many others, they were driven like cattle to the province of Kampong Speu . They were made to walk the entire distance. In Kampong Speu their second child, Srai Owne, was born and one month after the birth they were relocated to the village of Moung Roussei in the Battambang province. Here the family was given one week to rest. Afterwards they were sent to work in a village called Phnom Thippadei, near Moung Roussei. They were told to cut down some trees and make a home for themselves. Work was difficult. The family had to depend entirely on the Khmer Rouge (KR) soldiers for food. All the people were given such small amounts of food there was not enough to keep their families healthy.
About two months after completing their home, KR soldiers began asking the people who had had a government job in Phnom Penh before the evacuation. Srai Sim’s husband was a soldier for the previous government, so he was included as being a former government worker. All those who had had a government job were being allowed to return to Phnom Penh. Srai Sim was happy that their family would be able to return home, but they were told that for now only the men would be going back. Her husband was taken away.
One month after Srai Sim’s husband went home their oldest daughter became very sick and was unable to recover due to the lack of food and medicine. Srai Dtop died never seeing her fourth birthday. Srai Sim was being given so little food to eat herself that she was no longer able to produce breast milk for baby Srai Owne, and 3 weeks after Srai Dtop died so did little Srai Owne. Soon after Srai Owne’s death one of the KR soldiers came to visit his mother in Moung Roussei. The soldier told his mother that all the men who were taken back to Phnom Penh were actually taken out to the forest and executed. The mother told Srai Sim, and so Srai Sim then knew that her husband was dead also.
Soon the KR soldiers noticed that Srai Sim no longer had any children to care for, so they assigned her to hard labor in the rice fields. Srai Sim would begin work at 6am and work until 10pm each day, with 3 hours’ worth of break time in between. During her breaks she was given only rice soup to eat. She was given a quota of how much work she needed to do each day, and was threatened death if she didn’t meet her quota. The KR followed through on these death threats with workers who could not keep up. Often Srai Sim had difficulty just to keep standing.
As a result of the relentless labor, and the lack of food, Srai Sim began to lose her eye sight. Her friend needed to guide her around as she worked. Srai Sim was afraid that if the soldiers saw how blind she was becoming they would shoot her because she could no longer work.
When the rice season was over she was then assigned to driving a cart pulled by cows to haul wood and other building materials. The people were being forced to build new homes for the KR soldiers. The work was easier for Srai Sim, and she recovered her eye sight. She hauled the wood from the forest to the construction site each day.
One of the home builders was a man named Heang. Heang was a farmer before the KR took control of the country. He too was a forced laborer. The KR foreman of the construction site noticed that Srai Sim and Heang were both single and he decided that the two of them should marry. It was the plan of the KR to force farmers and city dwellers to inter-marry. When Srai Sim was told this, she refused. When asked why she refused she said she had a husband waiting for her in Phnom Penh (she knew he was dead). The soldier told her that her husband would already be remarried himself. She still refused. The soldier said he would kill her if she continued to refuse. She told him to kill her and that she’d rather die than remarry. Thankfully Srai Sim’s friend stepped in and spoke some reason to her by saying that someday the KR would be gone and she would be free to do what she wanted and wouldn’t have to stay married. Srai Sim then agreed to the marriage. So, along with 22 other couples, they were all forced married on the same day.
Although Srai Sim was against the marriage, Heang was very happy to have a wife. He was afraid of Srai Sim leaving her. He would hold onto to her very tightly at night so that she wouldn’t sneak away. Soon Srai Sim was back in the rice field again, and Heang was sent into the forest to cut trees 40 km away. Whenever Heang was given some days off he would walk the 40 km, night and day, to visit his wife, and then walk the 40 km back again.
Towards the end of 1978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia in order to topple the KR government. The fighting made its way to the Moung Roussei area. KR soldiers began killing many Cambodians rather than letting them escape during the chaos of the fighting. The KR soldiers rounded up Srai Sim and all the other workers and took them into the forest where Heang was working. They sent everyone up a small mountain to create a stronghold against the Vietnamese soldiers. It was extremely hot up the mountain, and they began to run out of drinking water.
Some of the Cambodians couldn’t take the heat and thirst anymore and ran down the hill to escape. They were killed in Vietnamese/KR crossfire. If the KR soldiers saw Vietnamese soldiers taking Cambodians to safety they would open fire. Srai Sim and Heang realized that they were going to die on that mountain. They decided to make a run for safety. As they ran the KR soldiers began to fire at them. Thankfully they were not hit. The Vietnamese soldiers saw them and yelled to them to keep running. Srai Sim and Heang made it to the Vietnamese and were taken to safety. The Vietnamese defeated the KR and by early 1979 the Vietnamese took control of the country. The town of Moung Roussei was now relatively safe from the KR so Srai Sim and Heang settled there together.
In 1980 Srai Sim and Heang had their first son, Sarin. Later they had more children: a daughter, Makara; two more sons, Petra and Seyha; and then two more daughters, Gunya and Dtolla. Today she also has several grandchildren. And, she is still married to Heang.
After the violence of war settled down, Srai Sim ran her own business for several years, and later became a full time worker at a local Christian church. Today she works part time for a non-profit Christian school run by my wife and I.
We want to see Srai Sim beat this cancer and live for many more years. She is a strong woman who has survived many terrible things. She is loved much by her family and friends.
Thank you for your support.
~Harley Voogd
Please consider donating, and please share this campaign with others.
Let me tell you about the life of Srai Sim....
Srai Sim was born in 1954 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city. She grew up as the only daughter in a family of five children. Her father was a government worker and her mother was a home maker.
At the age of sixteen Srai Sim got married. Her husband, a sergeant in the army, was a good hard working man. Soon after the marriage this young couple had their first daughter, Srai Dtop. A hopeful future lay before them.
It was during this time (1975) that the United States was in its last days of war with Vietnam. In April 1975 the Khmer Rouge (a Cambodian communist party) sent its soldiers into Phnom Penh in order to evacuate the city. The residents of Phnom Penh were told that the evacuation was for their own safety as American planes were going to bomb the city. They were also told they would be able to return in 3 days. But this was a lie.
At that time Srai Sim was 7 months pregnant with their second daughter, while their oldest was now 3 years. Srai Sim’s family was forced out of Phnom Penh, and along with many others, they were driven like cattle to the province of Kampong Speu . They were made to walk the entire distance. In Kampong Speu their second child, Srai Owne, was born and one month after the birth they were relocated to the village of Moung Roussei in the Battambang province. Here the family was given one week to rest. Afterwards they were sent to work in a village called Phnom Thippadei, near Moung Roussei. They were told to cut down some trees and make a home for themselves. Work was difficult. The family had to depend entirely on the Khmer Rouge (KR) soldiers for food. All the people were given such small amounts of food there was not enough to keep their families healthy.
About two months after completing their home, KR soldiers began asking the people who had had a government job in Phnom Penh before the evacuation. Srai Sim’s husband was a soldier for the previous government, so he was included as being a former government worker. All those who had had a government job were being allowed to return to Phnom Penh. Srai Sim was happy that their family would be able to return home, but they were told that for now only the men would be going back. Her husband was taken away.
One month after Srai Sim’s husband went home their oldest daughter became very sick and was unable to recover due to the lack of food and medicine. Srai Dtop died never seeing her fourth birthday. Srai Sim was being given so little food to eat herself that she was no longer able to produce breast milk for baby Srai Owne, and 3 weeks after Srai Dtop died so did little Srai Owne. Soon after Srai Owne’s death one of the KR soldiers came to visit his mother in Moung Roussei. The soldier told his mother that all the men who were taken back to Phnom Penh were actually taken out to the forest and executed. The mother told Srai Sim, and so Srai Sim then knew that her husband was dead also.
Soon the KR soldiers noticed that Srai Sim no longer had any children to care for, so they assigned her to hard labor in the rice fields. Srai Sim would begin work at 6am and work until 10pm each day, with 3 hours’ worth of break time in between. During her breaks she was given only rice soup to eat. She was given a quota of how much work she needed to do each day, and was threatened death if she didn’t meet her quota. The KR followed through on these death threats with workers who could not keep up. Often Srai Sim had difficulty just to keep standing.
As a result of the relentless labor, and the lack of food, Srai Sim began to lose her eye sight. Her friend needed to guide her around as she worked. Srai Sim was afraid that if the soldiers saw how blind she was becoming they would shoot her because she could no longer work.
When the rice season was over she was then assigned to driving a cart pulled by cows to haul wood and other building materials. The people were being forced to build new homes for the KR soldiers. The work was easier for Srai Sim, and she recovered her eye sight. She hauled the wood from the forest to the construction site each day.
One of the home builders was a man named Heang. Heang was a farmer before the KR took control of the country. He too was a forced laborer. The KR foreman of the construction site noticed that Srai Sim and Heang were both single and he decided that the two of them should marry. It was the plan of the KR to force farmers and city dwellers to inter-marry. When Srai Sim was told this, she refused. When asked why she refused she said she had a husband waiting for her in Phnom Penh (she knew he was dead). The soldier told her that her husband would already be remarried himself. She still refused. The soldier said he would kill her if she continued to refuse. She told him to kill her and that she’d rather die than remarry. Thankfully Srai Sim’s friend stepped in and spoke some reason to her by saying that someday the KR would be gone and she would be free to do what she wanted and wouldn’t have to stay married. Srai Sim then agreed to the marriage. So, along with 22 other couples, they were all forced married on the same day.
Although Srai Sim was against the marriage, Heang was very happy to have a wife. He was afraid of Srai Sim leaving her. He would hold onto to her very tightly at night so that she wouldn’t sneak away. Soon Srai Sim was back in the rice field again, and Heang was sent into the forest to cut trees 40 km away. Whenever Heang was given some days off he would walk the 40 km, night and day, to visit his wife, and then walk the 40 km back again.
Towards the end of 1978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia in order to topple the KR government. The fighting made its way to the Moung Roussei area. KR soldiers began killing many Cambodians rather than letting them escape during the chaos of the fighting. The KR soldiers rounded up Srai Sim and all the other workers and took them into the forest where Heang was working. They sent everyone up a small mountain to create a stronghold against the Vietnamese soldiers. It was extremely hot up the mountain, and they began to run out of drinking water.
Some of the Cambodians couldn’t take the heat and thirst anymore and ran down the hill to escape. They were killed in Vietnamese/KR crossfire. If the KR soldiers saw Vietnamese soldiers taking Cambodians to safety they would open fire. Srai Sim and Heang realized that they were going to die on that mountain. They decided to make a run for safety. As they ran the KR soldiers began to fire at them. Thankfully they were not hit. The Vietnamese soldiers saw them and yelled to them to keep running. Srai Sim and Heang made it to the Vietnamese and were taken to safety. The Vietnamese defeated the KR and by early 1979 the Vietnamese took control of the country. The town of Moung Roussei was now relatively safe from the KR so Srai Sim and Heang settled there together.
In 1980 Srai Sim and Heang had their first son, Sarin. Later they had more children: a daughter, Makara; two more sons, Petra and Seyha; and then two more daughters, Gunya and Dtolla. Today she also has several grandchildren. And, she is still married to Heang.
After the violence of war settled down, Srai Sim ran her own business for several years, and later became a full time worker at a local Christian church. Today she works part time for a non-profit Christian school run by my wife and I.
We want to see Srai Sim beat this cancer and live for many more years. She is a strong woman who has survived many terrible things. She is loved much by her family and friends.
Thank you for your support.
~Harley Voogd
Organizer
Harley Voogd
Organizer
Leduc, AB