Medical Team Recap
Our time in Cambodia was amazing! Because there exists a tremendous lack of medical resources in Cambodia, we admittedly were often overwhelmed by the physical needs of the Cambodian people, particularly in the remote regions we visited. Each physician assessed and treated approximately 60 patients each day through an interpreter. Over the course of the week, the physicians were able to assess and treat over 600 people, most of whom lacked any access to health care. In addition, each child in each village (several hundred in total) we visited was given a Vitamin A treatment (to prevent blindness), was de-wormed, was given a supply of multivitamins with iron, a dental fluoride treatment, dental education, toothbrush and paste.
Several of the villages we travelled to were very remote, located 2 hours drive away from our base in Poipet (a city of approx. 90,000 people on the border of Cambodia and Thailand). No medical team from any agency (NGO, government, church etc.) had ever visited these areas before. The Governor made a point to travel to our location on one of those days to thank us and brought along a film crew to broadcast the event on National TV the next day. We were told that people had lined up before sunrise in anticipation of our arrival in order to access care from our medical team. With the help of two additional Cambodian providers (a doctor and a medic) , we were able to treat 230 people that first day.
In an effort to stop child trafficking, CHO (Cambodian Hope Organization) is establishing a solid relationship with the Cambodian Army which patrols the Cambodian-Thai border. Our medical team provided medical care to these soldiers and their families in addition to the local villagers in this remote region of Cambodia. With their recent acquisition of an ambulance, the army asked our medical team to also provide Advanced First Aid and Trauma Training to it’s 7 medics. Due to widespread corruption within the Cambodian government, needed supplies rarely get to their end point and this was very evident when we looked inside of this newly acquired ambulance. Fortunately, we had procured medical and surgical supplies prior to leaving for Cambodia and we were able to leave them behind with the ambulance team and their commander (a Christian Cambodian general surgeon).
On our final day, Ian provided medical care to the village leaders who were attending the Pastor Training Program at Safe Haven while Maurie-Lynn ran a Women’s Clinic at CHO (Cambodian Hope Organization) headquarters providing women’s health care to women from CHO, Safe Haven and to women from the brothels.
I want to sincerely thank everyone who donated eye glasses for us to take to Cambodia! I cannot tell you how important your contribution was to those who received your gift!!!! The excitement and joy the Cambodians expressed when they received a pair of eye glasses was overwhelming.
It has been both an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to minister to the Cambodian people and to work with our brothers and sisters at CHO (Cambodian Hope Organization).
Maurie-Lynn Kozak-Lawson
