Dear Friends,
We hope all is well with you and yours. Many years ago we volunteered at the Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We met Jon Morgan, the director of the hospital. Jon told us he was wanting to help the people of very isolated areas of the Tonle Sap Lake. The Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and serves as home to some of the poorest and most remote villages in Cambodia. Over 1 million people live on and around the lake. The majority of families rely on subsistence fishing for survival and the average family income is $2.50 per day. A lack of education combined with limited access to hygiene and sanitation contribute to a huge burden of preventable diseases. There were no health centers or clinics on the lake when we met Jon.
 |  |
Together we decided to build the first floating clinic on the lake. Jon found funds for the staff and we raised funds to build the clinic, which was largely funded by Compassionate Eye Foundation. Since that time three more clinics were built and KIDS continues to fund two nurses/midwives yearly as well as help with the upkeep of the clinics. They now have 2 medical teams made up of 5 doctors, 2 nurses, 4 midwives, 1 dental nurse, and cooks who travel weekly through difficult conditions to serve the underserved on the lake and they also go to the Stung Sen River, another very poor area.
The teams travel through the rainy season and the hot season as the lake and the river rise and fall. This drastic change makes travel difficult, extreme poverty discourages families from seeking health care due to the high cost of transport and treatment. The teams stay on the clinics for three days and each week move to different areas of the lake and the Stung Sen River. Having traveled and stayed on the clinics many times we know how challenging the trips can be.
 |  |
The teams make house calls at villager's homes as well as seeing them at the clinics to save and improve lives as they provide medicine, pre and post-natal care, critical care, dental assistance, and other support services for mental health. One can only imagine how difficult life would be without The Lake Clinic (TLC).
 |  |
Thank you for supporting KIDS and helping us to support Jon Morgan and this
incredible team of dedicated people.
Until Next Time,
Adrianne and Rick