Enabled in Cambodia

February 24th, 2008 by Bryan

Chan Bros

As a child, Chan Bros was stricken with polio, and his legs were left too weak to support him. Unfortunately, in his home country of Cambodia about 50,000 people have been left disabled by polio or similar diseases as a result of the destruction of the health care system during the Khmer Rouge regime. This large number only compounds with the estimated 43,000 people disabled by landmines and unexploded ordnance left over from the many years of conflict in the country. Cambodia is like many developing countries, where the majority of disabled people do not have access to the medical services they need to become productive members of society, and therefore are forced into poverty. Their only option is to beg on the streets

Fortunately for Bros, The Cambodia Trust, a UK-based NGO specializing in helping the disabled, offered their services. The organization not only gave him the leg braces he needed for basic mobility, but also the education and training to become a self-sufficient and productive member of society. With a grant, Bros was able to attend a year-long motorbike mechanic course. With these skills, he started his own sustainable business operating a repair shop. Now, he even teaches the mechanical skills to other members of the community.

The story of Chan Bros is at the heart of The Cambodia Trust’s mission. Disabled people in developing countries are not only in need of medical assistance, but also community assistance. Unfortunately, discrimination is a very strong hindrance to most disabled people in Cambodia and other developing countries. They can not find work, and therefore are forced into poverty. In developing countries, about 98% of disabled children are unable to attend school, and children of disabled parents are often made to work because their parents can not. Furthermore, studies have shown that disabled women are more likely to be sexually abused, and thus are more likely to be exposed to sexually transmitted diseases. The Cambodia Trust’s primary goals are to help with not only medical issues, but also the social and economic problems relating to disabilities.

Dani

The Cambodia Trust first started in 1989 after Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, made an international plea for help for the disabled people of Cambodia, as so many were left crippled after years of long conflict. Originally started by Stan Windass, John Pedler and Dr. Peter Carey in Oxford, the UK based organization soon gained attention after Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado’s inspiring photographs of Cambodian landmine survivors were published in a number of magazines along with a request for donations and assistance. Private donations and a grant from the British government soon funded a Prosthetics center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Over the years, the organization has opened several more throughout Cambodia, and one in Timor Leste (East Timor). The organization also expanded its mission of helping those disabled by disease as well as landmines.

Ultimately, one of the main goals of the organization has become “Capacity Building,” the important task of training Cambodians to provide these critical prosthetic and rehabilitation services to their own population. The Cambodia Trust believes that providing rehabilitation services should be sustainable in order to reduce Cambodia’s need for foreign expertise. In 1994, the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO) was founded to train prosthetist-orthotists, people with expertise in fitting prosthetic limbs and orthopedic braces. Students have come from all over the world to attend the courses, including Afghanistan and Iraq. Enough students have graduated from the program to fully staff all of the rehabilitation centers in Cambodia. Furthermore, to ensure high educational standards, the CSPO has acquired an ISO 9001:2000 accreditation, and is the only educational program of its kind in the world to obtain such a certification. Also, in 2004, another school was opened in Sri Lanka. Its students are now providing services to victims of the tsunami and the civil war.

Vat Seoun

Even with these amazing clinical efforts, The Cambodia Trust also works to ensure that disabled people can overcome their social status within their communities. Community Based Rehabilitation workers venture into the rural areas of the country to seek out disabled people that may be living in poverty, including adults that are not able to work and children not attending school. These people are given access to the rehabilitation centers and other benefits provided by The Cambodia Trust. In order to ensure that disabled children and the children of disabled adults are able to attend school, members of the organization visit schools to make improvements to facilities, donate books and educational supplies, and even supply bicycles to children who live long distances from the schools. Many adults, like Chan Bros, are also given a chance to obtain an education, provided grants for self-employment, and then allowed to continue with their therapeutic needs demanded by their disability. For example, Vat Soeun, a 67-year old woman and landmine victim could not provide her family an income. Her granddaughter was forced to drop out of school in order to support the family. The Cambodia Trust not only fitted Mrs. Soeun with a prosthetic leg, but also gave her a grant to start her own chicken farming business. She is now self sufficient and her 14-year old granddaughter regularly attends school.

Between capacity building, rehabilitation, and community involvement, The Cambodia trust is taking on the problems associated with disabilities from all angles. Despite this, Cambodia is still one the poorest nations in the world and receives little attention in the media. The Cambodia Trust believes that education surrounding these issues can help their cause, and is looking for volunteers in all countries to help raise awareness.

For more information, see The Cambodia Trust’s profile below.

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