Cambodia or Kampuchea (officially called Kingdom of Cambodia) is a country in Southeast Asia. It is located near Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand with a population of 13 million. The people of Cambodia are called Cambodians or Kampucheans. Khmer is the official language. The country has recently emerged from a long civil war and the rule of the Khmer Rouge. It is part of ASEAN, Association of South East Asian Nations. The Khmer (Cambodians) account for the vast majority of the population. Ethnic minorities include Chinese, Vietnamese, Muslim Cham-Malays, Laotians, and various native peoples of the rural highlands.
In the 1970’s, Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime killed over 2.5 million people, starting with intellectuals and community leaders. They forced children to be soldiers which escalated the genocide and destroyed family structures, cultural institutions, and the entire fabric of society. This left the people of Cambodia with a demoralized view of human worth, which was almost necessary for survival at that time. After the Khmer Rouge genocide ended, children became a commodity. Cambodia’s unique economic challenges, history, and geographic location make it a hub for human trafficking and child sex trafficking. The country provides a large population source for new victims, is a transit point along many organized human trafficking routes, and has become a destination for traffickers and sex customers alike. Svay Pak was once known as the child sex trafficking capital of the world.
Buddhism has existed in Cambodia since at least the 5th century AD, with some sources placing its origin as early as the 3rd century BC. Theravada Buddhism has been the Cambodian state religion since the 13th century AD (exempting the Khmer Rouge period), and is currently estimated to be the religion of 96.9% of the population.
HERE I AM – SEND ME!
My name is Kara Leigh. I am a missionary to Svay Pak, Cambodia to combat the evils of child sex trafficking with the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ.
When I was in my early twenties, I learned about the horrors of child sex trafficking. I was reading “Outlive Your Life” by Max Lucado and after reading page 28, I never picked the book up again. On those pages, I learned that kids as young as two were being sold into the sex trade, specifically in Cambodia. I spent days researching what that actually meant. I wept over the acts of rape and violence that were happening to children around the clock; the starvation and abuse, and that they didn’t even have mothers to give them hugs or brush their hair. Among the different times I have experienced brokenness in this world, this would certainly make the top three.
My faith was so young that I didn’t even know what a ministry was! After spending a few days crying, I googled something similar to “people doing something about sex trafficking in Cambodia.” After searching through different links I was completely inspired by the work being done by ministries to rehabilitate and reintegrate survivors of sex trafficking. Although programs existed, this did not quench the brokenness and drive in my heart for something to be done. I decided then that I would be going to Cambodia.
At that young age and as a young Christian, I really had no idea how it would all come together. I was at the age of making big decisions, but I didn’t feel any clear direction towards a specific career. I was passionate about Jesus and passionate about people, but I lacked the maturity to know where to invest this as it pertained to education. As I continued to study during my first two years of college, my heart became increasingly convicted that I was wasting away time. I began to really seek the Lord’s will and the words He spoke to my heart were “Love and get your hands dirty.”
It was time for a missions trip. I was looking into a one month mission trip to Cambodia, but through the Lord’s leading I landed on a year long international mission trip. During this trip, the Lord transformed my life.
I grew up in a broken home of divorced parents and many siblings. Although my family experienced a lot of hurt and betrayal, it was through the sacrifices of my parents that I was able to eventually come to a knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ. I became a Christian at age 19, just before God called me to Cambodia, however He had a lot of healing to bring me through. At that point, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. A part of that was how much the enemy had sewed self-hate into my identity. Growing up, I had a family member repetitively tell me how ugly, stupid, and worthless I was. The words spoken became my core belief about myself. I grew up feeling like a burden and believing that I was so grotesque that I didn’t even want anyone to look at my face. I reached such a low point that I prayed to God that if it was best for me to die, He would take me away.
During that year of missions, I came face to face with the falsehoods that had been claimed over me for so long. Over the next several years I sought counsel and healing in order to be able to present myself as the best servant for Christ that I could. You see, the issue with self-hate is that it produces a broken understanding, view, and relationship with the Father. As long as I hated myself, I hated the image God and all within Him that was also found in me. The Enemy’s deceit in this created a wedge that needed to be removed. Through the struggles I experienced in this, a deep devotion and love for the Lord was born. I claimed then that I had suffered enough self-hate for 1,000 people, so I would bring 1,000 people into freedom with me.
At the counsel of R.K., I eventually returned to school to pursue a degree in English Education. This was the route of tent-making that God opened as a practical way to serve the people of Cambodia. I am now on board with Agape International Missions and AIM School in Svay Pak, Cambodia. AIM uses a holistic approach to prevent, rescue, and rehabilitate children from sex trafficking. AIM School provides academic and spiritual excellence in education while protecting children from trafficking and abuse.
One survivor who suffered the worst abuse that AIM has ever seen said of the school, “If I have had something like this I would have been able to go to school and be normal.” – Survivor Reaksmey.
My vision is to live out God’s desires of restoration and renewal in the chapter of Isaiah 61. It starts by stating, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…” I may never fully understand the life that a trafficked person has endured, but what I do know is that I was once a captive to my own sin and hurt and the Lord set me free and this is exactly what I want to do for others. God has never turned His face from me because it was too difficult or too heartbreaking for Him, so how can I do this to any other? In fact, He sent His own Son into my world to pay the ultimate price for my sin. So now I also go.
This urgent call on my heart has led to my desire to give up all that an American life has to offer in order to reach out to this forgotten generation of Cambodia. Is it easy? No. As I choose this route, friends beside me are making high incomes, getting married, and having children. This often leads to feelings of loneliness and fear of “financial destitution” as some have warned me against; but at the end of my life when I draw my last breath, my desire is to hear, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Lord.”
“Children could survive a horrific event, but they can’t heal from it without the act of protection and unconditional love. That’s what it means to be safe and free.” Reaksmey
FROM R.K.’S CORNER
A few years ago, I met Kara in our then local church. She was then a shy and seemingly unremarkable woman in her early twenties, seeking to find her place in life as a new believer after growing up in a complicated family whereby her parents had gone through a painful divorce. In a conversation with Kara, she told me she would forego her education, as she was called to Cambodia to share the Good News of the love of Jesus and care for the children who are victims of sex trafficking there Thinking this was no more than youthful, ignorant zeal, my friend, Barbara and I met with her and urged her to go back to school and get a diploma in a “tent-making” profession to fall back on. What about becoming a teacher of English as a foreign language?
Fast forwarding eight years. A few days ago, Kara and my paths crossed again. I was astounded—Kara has grown into a beautiful, confident, mature, well educated, and articulate 28 year old woman of solid faith. Being discipled by the faith and wisdom of older women (thanks, Karen and Kathy!), Kara has used the years wisely in preparing herself to follow the call God gave her in her youth. She is ready to walk away from the future comforts of the “American dream”, to follow in the Master’s footsteps and embrace the abused and wounded children of Cambodia with the love of Jesus.
In today’s crisis of the Corona pandemic when people fearfully worldwide are pulling into the isolation of their homes, Kara has still her heart set on Cambodia. I recommend Kara to you… please consider partnering with her by financially investing in the restoring and healing of the trafficked children of Cambodia!