We were delighted to welcome for the second time this year Dr. Tsuchiya, a Japanese psychiatrist who is supporting us. She arrived in Cambodia on September 21st and spent a full week with us.
She donated a cardiac electronic monitor, splints and lots of medical consumables in June. As our Health Center is not operational yet, these are kept in storage for the time being. We very much hope that, on her next visit, she will see them being in use once our Health Center opens its doors.
Dr. Tsuchiya generously gave us fund donation this time, to help us cover our activities for the Health Center. Thank you so much, Dr Tsuchiya, for your generosity. Hope to see you again soon!!!
9/20/09
Alex is gone, 4 Malaysian volunteers arrived
On 15th September, Alex, who came from Taiwan to volunteer with us as electronic engineer for four weeks, has returned home. He worked magic with all the electronic devices donated to us that needed to be tuned in order to be operational. We are so grateful to him! It was a worthwhile experience for him as well, and he may come back in January or February next year. We are looking forward to seeing him again!
[Photo 1; Alex working at Phnom Penh Office]
[Photo 2; One of Alex's Products during his volunteer]
On 18th September, 4 Malaysian volunteers, Jazz, Huei, Shiang and Ming Kang arrived at our site. They gave an arts class at the Prey Proseth Primary School, and students enjoyed painting, drawing and watching a movie. It was at the time of Pchum Ben, a Cambodian Buddhist Festival to honor the ancestors, during which most of the students returned to their parents’ hometown to meet with their relatives and celebrate the festival. Some of them however remained here, as their family home is too far away, and it was for them that our Malaysian volunteers organized an arts class. It was a most enjoyable time for these 20 students who couldn’t be with their family. Thank you so much, Jazz, Huei, Shiang and Ming Kang!
[Photo 3&4; Students dancing with 4 volunteers]
[Photo 5,6&7; Students enjoying paintings]
[Photo 8; One of the products from Arts Class]
We also distributed to the students the clothes generously donated by Ariele from the Rotary Club of Taipei Yungfu.
9/18/09
Rain, Rain, Rain!
Cambodia is now celebrating Pchum Ben, a 15-day long Buddhist festival to honor ancestors. People visit pagodas, offer prayers and prepare meals for the monks. We can hear the monks chanting all day long, from very early in the morning!
These days, we have lots of rain; during heavy precipitations, there is so much water flowing from the mountains that the access bridge to our Health Center is completely submerged one meter deep. When this happens, we have no choice but to use a boat instead of a car to move in and out.
We took this problem into consideration when building our road, by digging ditches along both sides of the road behind the access bridge, for water control and rainwater storage. It was not enough however and right now, we are digging additional ditches before the bridge as well. The ditches will be built at different elevations, each with a gate so as to secure proper water flow and minimize the impact of heavy rainfall. Furthermore, the water retained will be used for agriculture whenever needed, and will be channeled back into the stream, so as to secure a steady water supply throughout the year.
These days, we have lots of rain; during heavy precipitations, there is so much water flowing from the mountains that the access bridge to our Health Center is completely submerged one meter deep. When this happens, we have no choice but to use a boat instead of a car to move in and out.
We took this problem into consideration when building our road, by digging ditches along both sides of the road behind the access bridge, for water control and rainwater storage. It was not enough however and right now, we are digging additional ditches before the bridge as well. The ditches will be built at different elevations, each with a gate so as to secure proper water flow and minimize the impact of heavy rainfall. Furthermore, the water retained will be used for agriculture whenever needed, and will be channeled back into the stream, so as to secure a steady water supply throughout the year.
9/1/09
An Electronic Engineer from Taiwan is Volunteering with Us
Alex, from Taiwan, arrived in Cambodia on 19th August and he is going to stay here for 4 weeks. 
He is helping us to test all the donated electronic devices, modify our solar power generation system and install some new techniques that will greatly facilitate our operations in Cambodia.
Alex is also assisting us with the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Development activities that we are conducting in Phnom Penh, in collaboration with the NGO Side-by-Side International, one of our partner organizations. He is applying his expertise to improve our radio communication system for EMS.
He is helping us to test all the donated electronic devices, modify our solar power generation system and install some new techniques that will greatly facilitate our operations in Cambodia.
Alex is also assisting us with the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Development activities that we are conducting in Phnom Penh, in collaboration with the NGO Side-by-Side International, one of our partner organizations. He is applying his expertise to improve our radio communication system for EMS.
8/31/09
Re-Design on our Blog
We would like to introduce in this blog not only our innovative health center in Kompong Seila Province, but also all the activities that our organization is conducting in Cambodia.
7/29/09
The Value of a Life
On 9th July 2009, a villager from nearby Obak Rote Commune was hit by a big truck. Our community ambulance rushed him to a hospital in Phnom Penh but he died on the way.
The case was handled by the local authorities, and the company owner of this truck agreed to pay $500 to the villager’s family as compensation for his death. $500! You may be shocked to know how cheap a life is valued in Cambodia, particularly in the countryside. Most of the time, powerless villagers have no choice but to compromise over the death of a family member with a few hundred dollars. If the deceased was the breadwinner, the household will inevitably fall into extreme poverty. In the case of this accident, we put our weight during the negotiation process and, somehow the company agreed to pay this amount of money. But we heard that the company owner commented that even $100 would have been enough. This is one of the sad facts in Cambodia.
The case was handled by the local authorities, and the company owner of this truck agreed to pay $500 to the villager’s family as compensation for his death. $500! You may be shocked to know how cheap a life is valued in Cambodia, particularly in the countryside. Most of the time, powerless villagers have no choice but to compromise over the death of a family member with a few hundred dollars. If the deceased was the breadwinner, the household will inevitably fall into extreme poverty. In the case of this accident, we put our weight during the negotiation process and, somehow the company agreed to pay this amount of money. But we heard that the company owner commented that even $100 would have been enough. This is one of the sad facts in Cambodia.
7/27/09
Slowly but Surely
Sorry for the long silence on this blog. Life sometime brings unpredictable changes, and that’s what happened to us these past months.
Two volunteer experts who had been working with us on the development of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system in Phnom Penh needed to leave Cambodia in April, for family reasons. They were key players in our endeavor, and it was a big loss for us. As a result, we had our hands fully occupied in Phnom Penh to keep the operation running while reorganizing it with other collaborators.
We didn’t forget about the ongoing construction of our Health Center however. We needed to slow down the preparations for a while but our work for the Health Center has continued without interruption.
We didn’t forget about the ongoing construction of our Health Center however. We needed to slow down the preparations for a while but our work for the Health Center has continued without interruption.
We have just completed the concrete roofing works. As it takes a month for the cement to dry, we were anxious about the process, as Cambodia had entered into the rainy season in May. Heavy rains may cause the cement to loose density before it dries, making it too porous to provide effective insulation.
Thanks God! Rain was kept at bay! One month later, the cement had cured completely without problem. From the photo, you may think: “the roof is only half done!” Well, yes… Now that the concrete has set nicely, we are going to put translucent plastic sheets on the rest of the roof, in addition to solar panels. A key point of our Health Center is that it will be environment friendly and energy efficient, using as many natural resources as possible. The transparent plastic sheets will allow more sunlight inside the Center in daytime, as well as moonlight at nighttime. You cannot imagine it? You will see it soon!
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