Dr. SOEURN Visal
Two final year dental students, Sary Saney and Nam Virak, had an opportunity recently to participate in a 2-week exchange program to Australia. They were fully supported by AHHA (Australian Health & Humanitarian Aid) and the Rotary Club of Liverpool West in Sydney, who arranged a full and interesting program. AHHA has been partnering with UP for the past 4 years, the highlight of which is a visit by their Australian dental team to Cambodia for a week where they work closely with UP dental students to treat over 400 disadvantaged children, many of them with special needs.
During the two-week visit Virak and Saney visited the Sydney Dental Hospital, Westmead Dental Hospital, the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Dental Clinic and several of the top private dental clinics in Sydney. They were able to observe both general practice and specialist clinics, learning a lot and seeing how cutting-edge technologies can be used to enhance patient treatment.
They also had many opportunities to learn about the Australian culture, and visited many places of interest in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. They also toured Sydney by night, joined in an AHHA fund raising BBQ event and AHHA business meeting, and a spoke at a local Rotary Club meeting about their experiences in the exchange program.
Virak and Saney were so grateful to the AHHA team for their wonderful hospitality, and for going out of their way to make the visit an unforgettable experience. They arrived back just in time to sit their final exams.
