Mission brings hope to hospitals and children with cleft

Each year, aproximately 500 children are born with cleft lip and palate in Cambodia. Cleft lip and palate are congenital birth deformities that makes it difficult to eat and even more difficult to be accepted by society. Fortunately, a simple surgery can correct the deformity.

However, many impoverished children through out the Cambodian provinces cannot afford the surgeries. They do not even have the 20 US dollars needed for transportation to hospitals in Phnom Penh.

But this is promised to change in the very near future. Smile Train, an American charity that battles cleft lip and palate globally, is expanding into Cambodia.

Smile train incourages doctors to increase their numbers of cleft patients anually by providing grants of 200 US dollars to surgeons for each cleft sugery they perform.  The majority of the grant covers the cost of the surgery and transportation of patients to hospitals. However, in Cambodia, cleft surgeries cost a mere 120 US dollars, meaning that the extra money can go towards paying incentive to medical teams. Smile Train also provides training to local doctors, meaning that the quality of medical in the country will steadily increase.

May 19 to May 23, Smile Train country manager of Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, – Som Chunharas- and staff from the Children Surgical Center traveled to hospitals across Cambodia offering them the chance to become Smile Train partners.

Som visited nine hospitals in provinces across Cambodia. Several hospitals thought that this was a good oportunity for their medical teams to gain experience while providing increased aid to the children of Cambodia.

Provincial director of Kampong Thom, Luoung Khn, thought Smile Train was superior to other aid programs because it gave surgeons the chance to develop sustainable cleft teams.

“They train our surgeons to treat patients instead of sending foreigners in and performing surgeries and leaving,” Luoung said.

Children Surgical Center, in Phnom Penh, is the oldest Smile Train partner in Cambodia. Since 2002, CSC has performed 250 cleft surgeries a year, a total of 1500 surgeries.

Currently, CSC is assisting Smile Trains efforts to expand in Cambodia, providing staff and translators for Som as well as offering to train provincial surgeons.

“It is good for Cambodia as a whole. It gives the country the opportunity to grow strong medical teams,” Som said.

For impoverished Cambodia, nothing is more important.