The beginning
Dr. Sophea Long is a doctor who started his own clinic in Phnom Penh together with five colleagues. His goal: to help the poor.
For a medical consultation poor people only have to pay a fee of $ 2.50. For the more “wealthy” families this fee is higher. A special financial arrangement may be made for hospital stays or surgery.
The patient or his family must pay only a financial contribution that they are able to afford given their financial situation.
Apart from this, Dr. Sophea has reserved the upper floor of his clinic as accommodation for ten underprivileged youths. These young people are between 16 and 25 years old and could not finish their education because of the poverty of their parents. The result is that they (the oldest sons in particular) have to earn money to give their parents, brothers and sisters a chance to get an education. They have a part-time job in the clinic, for instance as a security guard, cleaner, cook or caregiver. In return they receive free accommodation, personal guidance from the six doctors in the clinic, meals and medical care.
Our contribution to this project
The aim for these young people is to give them an education, the opportunity to finish the education or to start a course in order to be self-sufficient. After completing their training, they have to make room for someone else. We donate money for study fees and visit the youths regularly in the clinic. In addition, we arrange additional training courses such as English lessons, and we organize the training.
If an underprivileged youth is eligible, we want to make sure that they can finish their education.
Results
Success stories: A girl succeeded in completing her training as a midwife during her participation in the project and her stay in the clinic. Afterwards, she returned to her village and started her own practice.
A boy from one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia (Siem Reap) has successfully completed his studies in finance and banking. He returned to his home village, found a job at a well-known bank and can now support his family and develop further.
Thirteen young people are currently participating in this project. Three of them live with family members in Phnom Penh.
Special advantages of this project
- Most children come from the poor provinces and have little education and life experiences.
- They are placed in a very protected environment (the clinic) 24 hours a day.
- They are coached personally in order to receive social and professional experiences.
- They learn how to deal with the various activities in the clinic and with everyday situations.
Special events
LHVC / TFH donated two laptops. Reason: Three young people could not practice “at home” after an IT course or do their homework. Now they are able to continue or finish their studies. This was made possible thanks to your donations.
LHVC / TFH has purchased rice via the self-help groups, which bought the rice from a member of this group. This rice was then donated to Dr. Sophea’s group.
Our youngest volunteer Thijs spent the month of April 2015 as a teaching practice for his bilingual course. In addition, he gave conversation lessons English to a select group of young people in the care of Dr. Sophea. These courses continue to this day.
Our system of assistance in detail:
For example, we donate $ 250 to a family with HIV / AIDS in the self-help group. They can start a small business – in this case the family has grown rice. The self-help group, who train these families, buy the crop and sell it on the market as well as privately, for example to Dr. Sophea’s project. In this way, the circle is closed.
Current help and problems
We are currently facing the following problems and are looking for solutions together
- Regular English lessons for the participants (in the clinic with a Volunteer started)
- No more space for the accommodation of new students (alternatives wanted)
- Project “Students from our schools get an education” Financing (donations needed)
- Older fully trained participants “want” to stay in the house anyway (dialogue started)
