As of September 30th, the building for the satellite project at Sotnikum is 80% complete. Due to some cost savings, the building has been extended to 17 x 17 meters and has a covered waiting area in front. In addition, the water tank for the entire Sotnikum hospital has been refurbished and a donated water purification system will be installed in December which will benefit the entire facility.

Overall, the project is a little ahead of schedule. Currently, the supplies and equipment for the facility are being purchased and training for new staff will begin in the next few months ahead. A combination of expatriate and Khmer Physician staffing will ensure both enough quantity and quality of staffing to make the venture successful.

Read more …

“I (Ms. Anonymous) just talked to a friend from UNICEF Myanmar who is working in the disaster area in Myanmar. Just as we heard, it sounded quite exhausting and frustrating to work out there. My UNICEF Volunteer friend has been working in a village called Laputta where over 40,000 people are displaced. UNICEF Volunteer said the resources that actually get there are too little, both human and material. For example, babies who lost their mothers need milk, but they could not find powder-milk to give. There are not enough clean clothing and footwear for people to change. Doctors have been warning about the outbreak of tetanus and other infectious diseases. The price of construction material for shelter is sky-rocketing ($200/10-person shelter). ”

Source: UNICEF Myanmar May 22, 2008 11:16am

Can you work effectively in Myanmar?

“You can work here very well, and to say that you can’t is a lie,” said Frank Smithuis, a physician and the longtime country director for Medecins Sans Frontieres. “Look, the human rights record is shaky, yes, and it’s politically nice to beat up Burma, but the military has actually been quite helpful to us.” Dr. Smithuis said the delta had recovered well enough – and that enough other agencies were working there – that he had deployed his staffers to poorer, needier parts of the country.

“Because of sanctions there is a lot of suffering, and we see that particularly in the humanitarian-aid field,” said Frank Smithius, Myanmar country director for Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders. “There’s definitely hope in the aid community that the policy will be reconsidered.”

“The Myanmar people are victims of a humanitarian boycott,” Smithius said. “There is enormous pressure on politicians in the West to look politically correct, and they get human rights brownie points by being very strict on aid.” (Source: Myanmar loses aid to political “brownie points” – Bloomberg 5 May 2009)

Read more …

Dr. John and Nina Cassils

Since becoming involved with Friends Without A Border in 2005, John and Nina have continued to increase their support of Friends Without A Border and Angkor Hospital for Children. They have proved to be vital ambassadors of the organization as they spread news about the good work being done at AHC to their friends and colleagues in Canada and worldwide. They have introduced numerous volunteers to the hospital, hosted multiple get-togethers at their home to raise awareness and spread the word about AHC, and presented AHC to other like-minded organizations to build networks and foster collaboration throughout Cambodia.

Nina and John have generously supported the organization and enabled others to do the same through The Cassils Wettstein Asia Fund. One of John and Nina’s greatest gifts to Friends Without A Border has been their role in mobilizing funding for the AHC Satellite Project at Sot Nikum, which will provide many more children in Cambodia with the care they so desperately need.

We are truly grateful to the Cassils for their dedication to the organization. Thank you, John and Nina.

Read more …

The site has been safely fenced out from M’Lop Tapang day Centre in order to completely avoid access to building site for children attending the centre.

Ground was broken at the end of March and the Foundations of the building will be laid during April 2009. Status of construction on April 8, 2009:

8am Visit to Room to Read project funded by Cassils and Wettsteins

Paul Hancock, Patricia Solar, John and I traveled 40 minutes outside of Siem Reap to visit a village school library. For anyone interested in funding child education Room to Read is well positioned in Laos and Cambodia as we know from personal experience.

In Cambodia the Room to Read team has chosen to focus on all of our core programs, except for the School Room Program. They have identified library construction, Khmer language children’s books, and girls’ scholarships as three of the most important improvements we can make to the educational system and have thus chosen to focus much of their work there. The following table highlights our Cambodia team’s success to date:

Read more …

Helping Change the World for Children in Rural Cambodia

Children are the innocent victims of the most drastic consequences of poverty. In Cambodia, thousands of children die each year of preventable and treatable disease and it is not uncommon for a child to die of complications from respiratory infections, diarrhea, and diseases which are practically eradicated in the more developed countries.

In this impoverished and battered country, the mortality statistics are earthshaking:

• 15% of Cambodian children die before the age of 5
• 35% of Cambodian children are not immunized for polio, measles, or diphtheria
• 45% of Cambodian children under 5 are moderately to severely underweight
• 12,000 Cambodian children under the age of 15 live with HIV/AIDS

Read more …

by Rob Elliot

Canadians from Vancouver participate in the Cambodian International Half Marathon December 7th, 2008 , running to raise funds for the children of Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap.

In early December 2008, the Vancouver group went over seas and participated in an incredible event that raises awareness for Youth with HIV and land man survivors. The Cambodian International Half Marathon in Siem Reap, Cambodia must be one of the most exotic running races in the world, a run through the ancient ruins of Angkor. But this was not the only purpose of our journey

Dr. Chris Zed (associate Dean of Dentistry UBC) has been working in South East Asia for almost 10 years leading residency students in a knowledge transfer program through the University of British Columbia. Dr. Zed works extensively with The Angkor Hospital for Children in the town of Siem Reap. In 2007, he and Innovative Fitness West Vancouver training coach Rob Elliott ran the Half Marathon for the first time, as well as brought the concepts of health, wellness and fitness to the hospital. The two brought over simple fitness equipment for the employees, an active seminar was held teaching functional training and exercises that would help the employees on the job. The Angkor Hospital for Children sees upwards of 450 children a day, and the employees were having some injuries due to the volume. That trip was a huge success and an inspiration to share the experience with others.

Read more …

Dec 1-3, 2008

Support for M’Lop Tapang, 2008

Commitment By: Cassils Wettstein Asia Fund (CW Asia Fund)
Partner(s): M’Lop Tapang and ADM Capital Foundation
Objective: To provide funding for the construction of a new wing of M’Lop Tapang’s day center. The new wing will host a medical clinic for street children and other vulnerable children, 4 classrooms, 1 large computer lab, 1 art room and 1 dance/music room.

Commitment Details:

Estimated Total Value: $100,000
Anticipated Launch: January 1, 2009
Commitment Duration: 1 year
Geographic Region: Asia
Geographic Scope: Cambodia

Read more …

Dr. Phoebe Tsang and her dental team from the Children’s Oral Care Center in Abbotsford, British Columbia closed her practice for 10 days to volunteer their services to the child patients of Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap Cambodia. A young graduate from University of British Columbia made a commitment to David Shoemaker, Medical Education Director of AHC in September 2006 that she would come help him one day. She kept her promise, not only did she go, but she brought along her husband Dr. Samson Ng, an oral pathologist and her office dental assistants Shauna Willems, Norine Kobes and Sheila Harte. Together they provided much needed dental care to young patients at the AHC dental clinic in the mornings and in the afternoon went out on outreach into the community reaching children in their schools to fluoride teeth, repair, and extract as needed. Hundreds of tooth brushes and tooth paste was provided.

Dr. Phoebe Tsang opened her dental clinic in September 2007 at
201-2051 McCallum Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 3N5.
Tel: 604-756-0111, Hours 8:30 to 4pm Tues – Fri.

Read more …