For the past few months, I have been traveling around Asia, exploring the world, myself, and the field of speech pathology (of course). But other than meeting other SLPs around the world for my Wanderlust SLP videos (see here), I was also interested in doing some Volunteering.
During my research, I came across the Angkor Children’s Hospital and the “Friends Without a Border” program.
Friends Without A Border (FWAB) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to provide compassionate medical care to children in Southeast Asia. After years of planning and gathering support from donors, photographers, and friends around the world, Friends Without A Border opened Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in 1999 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Their vision is clear: Every child in Cambodia gets quality compassionate healthcare, wherever they live and whatever their ability to pay.
Shortly after I emailed them, I was contacted by the Volunteer Coordinator and arranged a visit there, as my short time in Siem Reap was not enough for a full Volunteering placement.
I was welcomed there by the English Teacher, Mrs. Frost, and the Volunteer Coordinator, Mr. Ratanak who showed me around and explained how the hospital works, their missions, and goals, but also the huge needs that they have in order to achieve these goals especially since they are mostly funded from donations.
I also met the head of Nutrition, Mrs. Phannsy Sroeu, an incredible person who is very passionate about her work and providing the best possible care for her patients. She explained to me that they are lacking specialized staff in pediatric and neonatal dysphagia and care as there are no speech pathologists in the country, and they are only basing their knowledge on pieces of training they get from the Volunteers. It’s basically the nurses and nutrition staff who are covering for the majority of the specialties.
I tried to share as much knowledge as I could on the subject, as most of my experience is on adult dysphagia but promised to come back with more.
After my visit, I decided to donate blood there as they are in great need of all types of blood.
I left the Hospital with a full heart, and hope for a better future for these hard-working people and their patients.
If you are interested in Volunteering, I would definitely recommend you consider Angkor Hospital for Children, whether you want to donate your time, your money, or even some blood! The difference that you can make in these people’s lives is unimaginable.
You can find more information on their work and how you can make a difference, on the official site of the Hospital https://angkorhospital.org/
Konstantina Antiochou-Plexida, SLP