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Channa* was 14 when she was sent to Phnom Penh to earn extra income for her mother’s medical treatments.

Desperate for work, she found a job at a bar. She refused the lewd offers from male patrons, but when her family continually pressured Channa to earn more, she thought she had no alternative. Channa began to engage in commercial sex work. Her dreams of a happy future seemed spoiled.

“I thought I was an animal, a slave,” she said.

Thousands of Cambodian women are forced into such work every year. A lack of education and skills training leave them with few options to support their families.

Samuel Heng, co-founder of Daughters, a ministry that aids exploited women, says cultural norms contribute to the problem.

“Many girls believe that the more they sacrifice for their family, the better their next life will be,” Heng said. “They say parents are like a second god—Buddha is the first, parents are the second. So you should serve your parents like you would serve god.”

Samaritan’s Purse is working with Daughters to provide a way out. The ministry runs a safe house and provides vocational training to give exploited women the skills they need to start over.

Channa now works as a cake decorator, with a special expertise in making delicate sugar flowers. The sweetest part of her story is that Channa now knows Jesus Christ as her Savior.

“When I prayed, I felt a peace in my heart,” she said. “I hadn’t felt that before.”

She attends weekly church services at Daughters and has found a community that encourages and supports her.

“I feel that a lot of people love me at Daughters, that I have a big value and a lot of hope,” she said. “Before I had a big family, but with no love, no peace. Now I have a good father—God.”

*Name has been changed