Sokun
came to Sons of Cambodia two years ago, shortly after the program was launched.
Today, he works in the wood shop, learning the skills of carpentry. He's made a
lot of progress in the last two years, but as with all of our clients, total
life transformation is rarely instantaneous, and it's never easy — especially
when they come from a home like Sokun's.
When
Sokun was growing up, his father was almost never around. When he was, it was
usually to abuse Sokun's mother.
Between
the beatings and his mother's blindness, Sokun quickly became the caregiver in
the mother-son relationship. He aspired to go to school, but wound up missing
classes to stay home and care for his mother. When money was tight — which it
often was —
he and his mother would go door-to-door begging for money from their neighbors.
"This
made me feel very ashamed," Sokun said of their begging. But it was the
only way the boy could provide for his mother.
As
Sokun grew up, he said he always felt feminine. He grew his hair long and was known
in his neighborhood as an effeminate boy. Male neighbors took note and abused
him.
Later,
Sokun left his home to find a job in Phnom Penh in an attempt to support his
mother, but his lack of schooling made his job search difficult, as he did not
know how to read or write.
Unemployed
and desperate, Sokun easily fell in with a group of ladyboys. He started
dressing as a girl and selling his body to male clients. But he still barely
scraped by, sometimes sleeping on the streets and usually going hungry.
Then,
Sokun met some people who worked at Daughters. They told him about the new Sons
program, and Sokun joined.
Two
years later, Sokun is employed and off the streets. And he's finally learning
to read and write. He finds special comfort in the Bible and discipleship
classes, and, earlier this year, he became a Christian.
Sokun
says his anger toward himself and others is reducing and, in an outward sign of
his inward transformation, says he wants to start dressing like a man again.
Today,
Sokun harbors great ambitions for his future. Once he learns to read and write,
he wants to work for a wedding dressmaker, helping brides change in and out of
their intricate and elaborate traditional wedding costumes. When he's saved
enough money, he hopes to become a hairstylist and open his own barber shop.
Someday, he wants to get married and start a family.
