Witnessing 'the worst things you could ever see' put Leanne on a British royal's map

Leanne Savage went to Cambodia to help. Instead, she witnessed "the worst things you could ever possibly see"."They're so bad that I don't share them, because they would leave people very upset and traumatised. You can't unsee it," she tells 9honey.What she uncovered while teaching English there in 2011 rocked Savage to her core and set her on a path she never expected, one that involved starting a business and meeting a royal.READ MORE: Royal's first public appearance after husband's shock deathWhen Savage arrived in the small Cambodian village she'd call home for six months, she had no idea what she was walking into."I wasn't a tourist. I wasn't just driving by, I wasn't in a nice hotel. We had no aircon, no hot water for six months. I was chased by wild dogs most mornings. It wasn't glamorous," she says.The wildlife she could handle. The stories from local women and children, less so.Violence against women and girls has been rife in Cambodia since the the Pol Pot regime, with rape and sex trafficking shockingly common.One in five men in Cambodia aged 18-49 admitted to raping a woman in a 2013 UN report and reports of children being forced into sex work have been coming out of the country for years.Though the Cambodian government has taken some measures to reduce sex trafficking, it's still rampant.Locals told Savage of being sold into slavery or the sex trade as children, often being taken out of unregulated orphanages where their living parents had left them due to poverty or promises that the children would be housed, fed and educated. "Many low-income families are persuaded by institution directors to place their children in residential care facilities, thinking that their children will have better lives there," wrote Madison Bingle for the American University Washington College of Law Human Rights Brief, 2020."The reality is that many children [...] are subjected to abuse and neglect."Some force children to work or perform for visiting tourists, and there are few limitations on who can access and work with these children."The mothers that I met, they have to leave their children behind in these orphanages," Savage says, "and they know what's going to happen to them."With everything she'd heard and witnessed, Savage knew she couldn't walk away.A graphic designer by trade, she came up with the idea for a sustainable, ethical textile business employing and empowering Cambodian women, especially mothers.Acala Stem would specialise in lotus silk, a rare hand-made fabric considered the most sustainable textile on the planet, as it requires no water, gas, oil or electricity to create.It took years to develop, during which time Savage had her own child, and she didn't return to Cambodia until February 2020, when she was ready to secure a lotus silk supplier and launch.But the supplier she wanted to work with turned her away.For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here."They knew I only had three days to get the samples done [...] and they said no [because] the seamstresses were home with their children," she reveals."That's just not what happens in Southeast Asia. I've been in tailors where there's girls asleep all over the floor, and we've got to climb all over them."Thrilled at being told 'no' for the sake of the female workers, Savage extended her trip despite the looming threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, determined to work with this supplier.She eventually flew home to Australia with a bundle of lotus silk scarves, one of which she wrapped around her face on the plane as a makeshift mask. That mid-air act inspired the product that put Acala Stem on the map."I ordered 20 face masks in March 2020, and by September were selling close to 4,000."With nothing but her own savings and profits from sales to fund the business, Savage spent the next four years relying solely on her design work to make ends meet while she poured the passion into Acala Stem.Now the brand offers lotus silk scarves, kimonos, skincare and more, with high price tags that allow Cambodian employees to work from home to earn a good wage.Savage has already done a lot of good but she wants to create lasting change, and that takes time and influence. Fortunately, she has a British royal on her side.READ MORE: Young couple's wedding derailed by cruel turn of eventsLast month, Savage accepted the Duchess of York Special Award from the hands of Sarah, Duchess of York herself at The Women Changing The World Awards in London."I just froze. My head was spinning ... I blacked out completely, I've got no recollection of it," she admits."It was four years of work leading up to that moment of someone with a very high public profile helping me [...] it was one of the highlights of my human experience."Savage was so starstruck that she didn't realise what was draped around the duchess' neck until Sarah lifted it up to show the crowd.In her hands was an elegant green Acala Stem scarf."It just made the 80 hour weeks with no salary at all worth it," Savage says emotionally.Today Acala Stem is a six-figure business, holds 14 industry awards, and Savage says this is only the beginning as more fashion brands start to put sustainability and ethical practices first."We just don't want any more slavery and we don't want any more exploitation," she says. "If we all just pull back a little, by the millions we can really make a big impact."FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. 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