23 trip to Kampot

opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, voluntary

The Khmer Sight Foundation’s Saturday pre-assessment trip to Kampot was a huge success. Travelling early in the morning to a location 175 kilometres from Phnom Penh and setting up, assisted by local health personnel, to see over 100 people with suspected eye issues.
Each client had a basic eye exam before being evaluated by the attending doctor to discover any underlying eye disorders.
Any patient who has a detected eye condition will be invited to the clinic in Phnom Penh to have the necessary surgery at no cost in the near future.

http://khmersight.com/

The Khmer Sight Foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to eliminate avoidable blindness in Cambodia by training local eye care professionals and providing free eye surgeries to the poor. Founded in 2015 by His Excellency Sean Ngu and the late Dr Kim Frumar, the foundation works with international partners and volunteers to improve the quality and accessibility of eye care services in Cambodia.

According to the foundation’s website, over 180,000 Cambodians are blind, and 90% of blindness is avoidable. The main causes of blindness are cataracts, uncorrected vision, glaucoma, corneal scarring and pterygium. Cambodia has one of the lowest numbers of eye specialist doctors per capita in the world, and most of the poor live in rural areas where there is little or no eye care available.

The Khmer Sight Foundation’s mission is to train the next generation of eye care health professionals in Cambodia so that the country can become self-reliant in the provision of high-quality, safe and effective eye care. The foundation selects local graduates to study internationally on scholarships to further their education in ophthalmology and pass on their training. It also develops surgical and diagnostic skills and provides scholarships abroad to train in sub-specialities that are lacking in Cambodia, such as corneal and retinal issues and paediatric conditions.

The foundation also runs a charitable mission offering free cataract surgery based at multiple charitable hospitals in Phnom Penh. The foundation’s volunteer health workers visit remote rural communities to conduct eye screenings and provide basic instructions on eye hygiene. International specialists help by not only providing training but also conducting free surgery for the poorest people in Cambodia. These surgeries are life-changing and make a tangible difference to local communities.

The Khmer Sight Foundation is a remarkable example of how local and international collaboration can help address a major health issue in a developing country. By empowering local eye care professionals and providing free eye care services to the needy, the foundation is helping to restore the gift of sight to many thousands of Cambodians.

Volunteers – Khmer Sight Foundation.

cambodia, opinons, thoughts, photography, voluntary

What a challenging but excellent week helping the volunteers with Khmer Sight Foundation complete 116 surgeries over 4 days. Hard work and very busy but still managed to make a few pictures for the team.

The first day was pretty hectic, with new people getting to know each other, learning where everything was and who was doing what. Dr Gupta, the team leader with the help of the permanent staff at the clinic got things running like a well-oiled machine, the staff helping each other and getting do something in the most efficient way possible to enable as many patients to be seen.

The patience and gratitude shown by the Cambodian people waiting to be seen was heartwarming and enabled the doctors to see and treat many more people.

People working together to help others who cannot help themselves are always great to witness, and the potential change in the lives of those treated cannot be measured in money. Imagine being almost blind and then, because of the hard work of KSF, being able to see again, like a miracle.

Overcoming fear and apprehension, the staff showed understanding and kindness. People fear the unknown and things they don’t understand and need support throughout the process and the Khmer volunteers achieved this admirable. Seeing the happiness and relief on people’s faces when this ordeal was done made all the hard work worthwhile.

Personally, I did very little in comparison to the work the team achieved, I helped where I could and just hope that my pictures will add something to the team’s trip. Memories are made in pictures.

A celebratory dinner, after a long day, when people could let their hair down a little, and many friends made.

What to know more about KSF

http://khmersight.com/

Khmer Sight Foundation. Assessment trip to Kampot Area 2023

cambodia, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, voluntary

What a busy two days spent working hard, by the team, to identify the people with the greatest need for further treament. The team assessed over 350 people over the 2 days with over 100 people needing further treatment.

The team was supported by the local administration which provided support staff from various clinics in the area.

10,000 Cambodians suffer avoidable blindness each year. 90% of blindness is avoidable with the right care and skilled doctors to provide it. Sadly Cambodia has one of the lowest numbers of eye specialist doctors per capita in the world. Many people living in rural areas have no access to eye care, meaning their Cataracts, uncorrected vision, glaucoma, corneal scarring and pterygium go untreated.

All the people from KSF are volunteers and provide their skills and expertise without charge. They work hard and long in difficult conditions without complaint to try and provide this much-needed service to the Cambodian people.

Want to know more : http://khmersight.com/

Want to know more : http://khmersight.com/ Want to help or donate to save somebodies sight.

Khmer Sight Foundation

cambodia, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, voluntary

I am spending some time volunteering with the Khmer Sight Foundation which helps people with vision problems. It is a free service funded by donations and costs the patient nothing.

Initially the people are very wary and scared as they don’t really understand what is going to happen to them, many probably have been treated badly in the past and are reluctant to take advantage of the service. This seems to change quite quicly once they realise that they will be treated with kindness and understanding, but getting them to that point I understand can be quite a challenge.

http://khmersight.com/

to donate or find out more

Kids Dental Service is a Voluntary Effort.

cambodia, cameras, fujifilm, Lenses, opinons, thoughts, photography, pictures, Travel, voluntary

The new incarnation of KIDS International Dental Services was first brought to Cambodia by Dr Bob Renner and now trying to re-emerge from Covid restrictions, under new leadership, to bring Dental volunteers teams to Cambodia again.

The fundamental mission of Kids International Dental Services (KIDS) is to provide pro-bono dental care to impoverished children in developing countries. Other aspects of our mission include: (a) providing a platform for young dental professionals to perform community service world wide, (b) providing an opportunity for young adults to part take in social service and encourage them to innovate projects to serve disadvantaged youths in developing areas of the world.

forPeace 2019

cambodia, fujifilm, opinons, thoughts, photography, Travel, voluntary

Every year since 2013/14 I have be invited to spend the week with the forPeace house building team on there quest to finish houses donated to poor families in the Cambodia countryside. Covid 19 interupted the seasonal job as 2020 had o be cancelled. Hopefully 2021 will happen.