Medical Assistance

One strand of The Assistance Fund of Cambodia’s mission is to provide Medical Assistance programs, particularly for the young and less fortunate in society who can neither afford to see a doctor or buy often expensive medicines. This can range from surgical procedures to the price of a bus ticket to get them from a remote village to the special care they require.

                                              Historically the Fund has worked with Operation Smile Cambodia to transform the
                                              lives of young individuals with cleft lips and palates. This congenital deformity stays
                                              with the children to adulthood and if not fixed early can cause physical problems,
                                              speech difficulties and social rejection.

The surgery and aftercare is carried out by volunteer OP Smile surgeons, nurses, care workers locally and from around the globe. The money you donate to our Fund goes towards transportation costs, food, clean water and even dental care for patients who attend OP Smile's missions in Cambodia. Just imagine you are a parent living on less than 50 cents a day. You live in a remote jungle village and your baby daughter was born with a cleft lip/palate. She cannot eat properly, cannot speak intelligibly and is the butt of heartless jokes made by her peer group. The nearest help is 12 hours away. Without charitable organizations such as OP Smile and its fund raisers such as AFC, the simple corrective surgery might as well be on Mars.

The AFC is a small fund monetarily but gigantic when you look at our commitment to the people of Cambodia.   We are constantly looking for local efforts that are under the radar of the big charities.

One such operation is All Ears Cambodia. All Ears provides the vital support to those afflicted with ear problems and hearing difficulties.   It works with Cambodians from all walks of life - from newborns to the elderly - helping them to hear. An English Audiologist championed this effort and became the mentor and teacher of two Cambodian sisters-Sin Chan Seyha and SinTith Makara. These two remarkable women developed extraordinary medical, teaching and social skills with the irrepressible desire to help others.   The three of them run the clinic in Phnom Penh and travel on a regular basis to remote parts of Cambodia to conduct clinics for people who cannot afford to travel to the capital. “We focus on the weakest and hardest hit,” says Sin Chan Seyha. “Often the work is done under difficult circumstances. We meet people whose lives are so deprived that they lack the most basic necessities - sufficient food, clean drinking water and shelter.”

Can you imagine their satisfaction and joy as they outfit a young child with a hearing aid and see the excited and curious expression as that child hears their name for the first time from their Mother?

This is one of many reasons why our Fund is a donor and supporter of All Ears Cambodia.   You can learn more about them at www.allearscambodia.org.

We will continue to look for organizations like All Ears to help. As we learn of more efforts and make donations, we will keep you updated in our newsletter and this page.