Introduction: Handmade Back Board

When you are injured in an accident, it is crucial if your neck is fixed while you are rescued from the scene of accident. If you get damage on your neck and people move you without fixing your neck, you may get additional damage or, in the worst case, it kills you.



The back board is one of the rescue tools which can make a patient's body be fixed and stable during evacuation and transferring by an ambulance.



The back board is currently not available in Cambodia; we need to import it from outside. It costs around few hundred dollars if you purchase a back board in some countries like USA, Japan etc. We decided to produce handmade back boards in collaboration with TICO Cambodia. We provide piece of woods and TICO Cambodia make back board from them.

[Handmade back board (Left); photo taken at TICO Cambodia Office]

It cannot last long compare to the plasitic commercially produced ones. But our handmade back boards already saved many victims from accidents.

Introduction: Community Ambulance

Today, we would like to introduce Medic 42, our community ambulance.

There was a so-called "Ambulance" in the community. We heard it was a donation from a Rotary Club. Unfortunately, community didn't have proper management system to maintain this ambulance.


When this ambulance was seriously broken and nobody in the community could cover the cost for repair, we suggested that we can pay for the cost but we would like to supervise the management of this ambulance. Since then, we have been keeping our eyes on this ambulance so that the ambulance is properly maintained and used as "Ambulance" but not for any other purpose. We have also been paying for ambulance driver's salary.

[Community Ambulance; Before TICO's modification]

It used to equip a stretcher only. We could transfer patients but could not do much to keep patients stable. TICO, a Japanese NGO, our good partner in Cambodia, modified and equipped this community ambulance with necessary Basic Life Suport equipment in this year. Now we can provide at least basic prehospital care before and during transferring patient to a hospital.

[It used to be like this; had only stretcher]

[Now our community ambulance can provide Basic Life Support]

Our Health Center has not yet started operation, but we have been transferring number of patients from our area to Phnom Penh.

Since we started cooperation with TICO, we have been working together on patients' transfer from National Road No.4, where our site locates, to Phnom Penh. It takes at least 1 hour in emergency drive from our area to Phnom Penh. If we transfer a patient to Phnom Penh by our ambulance, we cannot respond to any other case for next 2 hours. There is no other ambulance available in 30 km radious of our area. Also, fuel cost for 2 hours round trip was a big burden.


In order to minimize those negative factors, TICO and we established link-up system. When we receive a patient, we communicate with TICO and TICO arrange a public ambulance in Phnom Penh and it comes along the National Road No.4 towards our area. We meet in the halfway point and pass the patient to the ambulance from Phnom Penh.

[Working together with TICO "Life Saving Project" team]

In this way, we can share the travel distance and travel cost. We can return to the base within an hour and can prepare for the next response. Cooperation with public ambulances through TICO "Life Saving Project" significantly ameliorate Emergency Medical Response along National Road No.4.

Emergency Medical Response System in Phnom Penh City is currently dramatically improved with the effort of Cambodian Government and also guidance from TICO. Now we can communicate with Phnom Penh City Emergency Call Center and they dispatch appropriate public ambulance from Phnom Penh.

After our Health Center starts operation, we will be able to improve our emergency medical response system more.

Construction up-date

From May till November, Cambodia is rainy season. We could not do much on the construction of the Health Center.

We have finished columns and connected them on the ground.

We made columns 1.5 times thicker than Cambodian current standard. In Phnom Penh, lots of construction work is going on (now slow down because of global economic crisis) but many of them are poor quality.

We don't want our Health Center having crack in the walls or any other inevitable damage within few years.

We are monitoring progress in every stage carefully.

Unfortunately, we had too much rain in October / November and it washed cement away from the last two columns before it dried. We needed to demolish those two columns because it's too sandy and not solid enough. After this, we decided to stop construction until rain stops.

Now, we enter dry season and we are ready to catch up with construction schedule!

Community is looking forward to seeing the Health Center starts operataion. Also, GRAPHIS, the donor of the Health Center is coming to celebrate the Health Center Opening Ceremony. We need to complete the construction by March 2009!!!

Having pain for about 20 years

He is a victim of a landmine and had to cut his right leg off about 20 years ago.
Since then, the part has been festered and has never cured. He has pain all the time and has difficulty walking smoothly.

He needs proper surgery.
We seek for an opportunity to receive a doctor who specializes in surgical operations after our Health Center opens.

Not only him but tere are many people who used to get inaccurate treatment and have been suffering from disability or sequela. Some of them could recover if they can get proper treatment once more.

Water Related Problems and Reservoir

Some families don't have access to clean water.

They use dirty water for daily life.

It can be easily imagined that this is the cause for water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera etc. Additionally, it causes skin problems as well.

We are making a reservoir which can provide clean water to at least 150 families.

[Photo; Reservoir under construction]



It will be an incentive for some villagers to move into our area.

Lots of villagers built their houses illegally (i.e. not official land-owner). It can happen anytime that they will be evicted from their houses. Furthermore, these people tend to live near the roadside and which creates a number of traffic accidents.

We want those vulnerable villagers to move into our site and have a safe living environment. At the moment, we are yet to accommodate them sustainably. This reservoir construction is just one of the steps.

Donors and Supporters of Graphis Health Center

The health center was funded by "GRAPHIS", a Japanese Students Group. They raised 2,000,000 Japanese Yen. This fund made it possible to start the Health Center construction in 2008.

"Side by Side International", a Japanese NGO, coordinated GRAPHIS with us. Side by Side Inernational also donated medical equipments such as X-ray machines and echo machines etc.
Additionally, Side by Side International provided solar panels and other energy generation systems through the Family Care Foundation grant.

"TICO", a Japanese NGO, has rennovated our ambulance with Basic Life Support equipments, and also have been cooperating on emergency medical response along the National Road No.4.

Medical Volunteers are Welcomed!!

Any medical personnel interested in our activity is welcomed as a volunteer.
You will be able to learn a lot about health issues in Cambodia, especially ones in rural area.


We’d like to request you to stay with us for at least 3 months, but we can discuss about the possibility if you wish to stay for less than 3 months.
We can provide you the followings with reasonable price.

- Bed and board
- Local transport (Between Phnom Penh and the site)
- Internet access etc.


Please contact to
graphis.health.center#gmail.com (please change # with @)
if you want to know more.

Concept of Graphis Health Center

Operates strictly on humanitarian purposes but not for profit
The first priority is to save the lives and improve the health situation of the people, especially those who are socially and economically vulnerable. We will charge only a minimum fee of 5,000 Riels ($1.25 dollars) for all visiting patients. Those who cannot afford will not be charged more than this.

Our fundamental concept is a sustainable development with appropriate technology
Our energy resource is solar and hydropower energy. We have already installed solar panels. A small scale hydropower system which has a minimum impact on nature has been experimented and ready to be installed. Those methods of natural energy generation will realize 24hours trauma care service for traffic accident victims as well as normal health service with electronic devices. We will install an X-ray machine, an echo machine and other basic medical facilities which are essential to provide proper medical service. We don’t blindly insist to adopt “locally available resources only”. We need these machines in order to keep the quality of the service. However, how to maintain and operate these machines should be considered from a sustainability point of view.
















[Photo; Solar panels installed at the site]


Harmonization with nature
The Health Center locates in the middle of nature. We are aiming the Health Center to coexist with the surrounding nature. We cleared only a minimum range of area. We utilize existing trees as part of the Health Center garden. We planted variety of fruits and herbs along the foot path. People will enjoy walking along the path as they pick some fruits such as banana, papaya, mango and passion fruits. Those plants will also provide shade and keep the walking path cool.
















[Photo; Health center construction site]


Adoption of Micro Credit Scheme
Since the Health Center is operated on humanitarian purposes, we cannot fully generate the operation costs from its revenue. In order to operate the Health Center sustainably, we developed a micro credit scheme on the Health Center basis. Capital is the investment from people who understand the concept of our activity and are willing to support the Health Center with their investments. From this micro credit scheme, a certain % of revenue (=interest) is utilized as the Health Center operation cost.

Introduction; Issue of Health Care

People in the area have been struggling because of the absence of proper health facility.
Some villagers have never been treated by medical personnel in their life.


People have limited knowledge about hygiene, sanitation, nutrition and health. Many people die from curable diseases such as malaria, typhoid, diarrhea or flu. If they are treated in the primary stage, they could survive but people tend to ignore the disease until it reaches a very critical stage.


Lots of children suffer from malnutrition. Data shows that out of children under-5, 37% are stunted and 7% are wasted. When you look at detailed data, children among 18 to 23 months, 49% are stunted and 45% are wasted (Data from Cambodia Demographic Health Survey 2005). Mothers and pregnant women also suffer from under nutrition. Anemia is one of the serious health problems of pregnant women in Cambodia.


We are planning to do comprehensive health and hygiene education in the community at the same time providing basic health service.

Introduction; Issue of Traffic Accident

Graphis Health Center locates at Kompong Seila District Koh Kong Province in Cambodia. It's a quite rural area, 150 km away from Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.















However, since the area locates along the National Road No.4, which connects Phnom Penh and Sehanouk Ville, the international sea port and tourist area, a number of cars and big trucks are travelling everyday and consequently lots of traffic accidents happen.

As Cambodian economy grows, the number of vehicles increase day by day. People's behaviour have not caught up with this change. Cambodia has currently the highest road traffic fatality rate (number of fatalities / 10,000 vehicles) in the ASEAN Region.



















[Photo; National Road No.4]




Many accidents happened within a 30km radius of the Health Center Site. The area is mountainous and the road has many curved sections. It is also equal distance to Koh Kong, Kompong Som and Kampot. These provincial capitals do not have proper facilities to handle serious trauma patients. As a result, all trauma victims need to be transported to Phnom Penh.


Often, trauma patients are transported by normal cars, motorbikes or tuk tuk (motorbike with a carriage) but not by ambulances with proper pre-hospital care. It takes 3 to 8 hours in the worst case to reach a hospital in Phnom Penh.

We have been providing ambulance services whenever we receive information of accidents in the area and transported victims to Phnom Penh by an ambulance which has a Basic Life Support facility. However, because of this long distance drive, we cannot always save lives. A trauma victim has a better chance of survival if we can stabilize them before being transported to Phnom Penh or Provincial Hospital.


The Health Center will operate as a 24 hours trauma care center and trauma victims who require stabilization before being transferred to Phnom Penh will be able to be treated here. Of course, if injury level is treatable, victims don't need to be transferred to Phnom Penh but are treated at the Health Center.