Sister Michelle: Rescuing Women and Children from Cambodia's Sex Trade

“You don’t mind if we sit on the floor?” the nun asks with a smile, gesturing to the tiled ground. Forgoing the chair set out for her, Sister Michelle settles down at our level. We are in the heart of Sihanoukville’s seedy districts. This city in southern Cambodia is undergoing rapid, sprawling development driven by Chinese investors. The casinos are multiplying, and with them the trafficking and the prostitution, bringing their share of violence. It is here, “close to those who thirst,” that Sister Michelle has set up her centre: at the end of the street, women sell their bodies and children are left to fend for themselves.

What is the Fountain of Life centre in Sihanoukville?

“The people we live among are like plants that are dying. Suddenly they come into contact with water — that is to say, love — and so they come back to life,” the nun explains gently, her features drawn with exhaustion.

To “give them something to drink,” there is one answer: Fountain of Life. With its team of teachers, the centre welcomes the children of the neighbourhood. “Around forty children aged 3 to 6 are entrusted to us, to keep them from wandering the streets and falling victim to abuse.” At the centre, they are fed and learn the basics of Khmer, English, and Chinese. In the evening, the older children join them for further classes. But Sister Michelle does not stop there. The great work of her life is the women.

Sister Michelle teaches Chinese to a class of children at her Fountain of Life centre in Sihanoukville.

How did Sister Michelle's mission begin?

Ever since she entered the novitiate, the Indian-born nun has carried within her a desire to help the most vulnerable. In Bangkok, Thailand, she came face to face with the misery of sex tourism in nearby Pattaya. There she opened her first centre in 1988, sharing the lives of the women around her — never judging them, but supporting them. She visits them in prison and offers them training to help them become independent.

“Education is the key to freedom,” she explains.

She has been replicating this approach in Sihanoukville since 2006.

Sihanoukville's development has many dark sides. The Chinese casinos and shady bars harbour every kind of trafficking, and the violence that comes with them reduces the most vulnerable to slavery. — Sihanoukville’s development has many dark sides. The Chinese casinos and shady bars harbour every kind of trafficking, and the violence that comes with them reduces the most vulnerable to slavery.

The 71-year-old Indian-born nun has dedicated her life to the poor and the marginalised in the slums of Southeast Asia, where sex tourism wreaks havoc.

Sister Michelle teaches Chinese to a class of children at her Fountain of Life centre in Sihanoukville.

How can you support Sister Michelle’s work?

Stand alongside Sister Michelle, and come to the aid of women and children caught up in human trafficking.

Your collective sponsorship will help pay the teachers and enable the centre to say “yes” to the many calls for help it receives.

With your sponsorship, you will receive regular news from the Fountain of Life centre. And if your travels ever lead you to Cambodia, go and meet Sister Michelle in Sihanoukville for a truly extraordinary moment.

Support Sister Michelle’s work