Please help me save Pheary’s life.

This is the reality of being part of a low-income family in Cambodia. If you know me well, you probably know that my parents make rice wine for a living. They do it traditionally, which means boiling large pots of fermented rice every day to produce the wine.

About a month ago, I received a shocking phone call from my mom. She told me that my cousin, Pheary, had accidentally fallen into one of the boiling pots while helping her make rice wine.

This news was beyond tragic for me because the work Pheary was doing is the same type of work I used to do to help my family make a living before I had the opportunity to come to the US to study. Pheary is only 18 years old, and like many girls in my village, she had to drop out of school to work and support her family.

Because of this accident, she has been hospitalized in Phnom Penh for the past month, and her leg had to be amputated. Yesterday, we received heartbreaking news from the doctor that complications have now affected her lungs, and her condition is beyond what the doctors in Cambodia are able to treat. The only chance for Pheary to survive right now is to receive treatment in Vietnam.

However, without having health insurance, her family has already spent everything they have on her hospital stay in Cambodia. That is why I am asking my friends, family, and network to contribute in any way you can to help save her life.

Pheary is more than my cousin. I have always seen her as one of my best friends and a younger sister. Anyone who knows her would describe her as polite, kind, honest, and hardworking. She has always dreamed of opening her own salon one day.

Your support would mean so much to our family. Any donation, no matter the amount, can help give Pheary a chance to recover, survive, and one day continue pursuing her dream. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness, prayers, and support.