On this hot April day, Soknim and Vanthi arrived at the Kien Khleang rehabilitation center in Phnom Penh and invited CIOMAL employees to attend their wedding, scheduled for Saturday, May 4, at the home of the bride in a village in Kompong Cham: “Please come in large numbers, it will help us take our place in the village and protect us from the judgment of the community. An appeal heard. Nearly half of CIOMAL’s employees have made themselves available to attend the event.

Soknim and Vanthi met at the Kien Khleang center, where they were undergoing treatment. Soknim, who had legs, hands and face cancer, had rejected several other marriage proposals, partly out of filial piety, but also out of lack of confidence and self-esteem. The first signs of the disease appeared when I was 15,” she says. But I was in denial because it terrified me. When I was 20, my feet and hands started to deform. I was sent to Kien Khleang for treatment. Once the triple therapy was over, the doctors told me I was cured, but the damage was done, the stigma was visible and I was so ashamed of my appearance that I didn’t leave the house.

To protect her, for fear that she would be mistreated, her parents had convinced her to spurn any potential courtier. Because, in spite of her handicaps, Soknim is strong, hard-working and resourceful, values that are highly valued by Cambodian suitors. In fact, she took out a loan from CIOMAL to buy the equipment needed to husk rice and to set up a business to earn a living. In her forties, Soknim gave up on motherhood. But that didn’t stop her from adopting an adorable daughter, her niece Srei Pich, now 12 years old.

Vanthi, who is handicapped in his legs and hands, was also refused several times by Soknim. He then found another wife, had children, who are now adults. After his divorce, he tried his luck again with Soknim. This time, Soknim said yes, despite the reluctance of his relatives. My family was afraid he would hurt me, especially since he had already been married,” she says. But I love him and I know he loves me. In fact, known for being authoritarian and imposing, Vanthi is docile as a lamb in front of his wife. A detail that did not escape their entourage.