Dr. SOEURN Visal
Due to the pandemic, numerous mission trips and community engagement projects had to be put on hold. However, now that the situation has much improved, University of Puthisastra is starting to resume its normal collaboration. Therefore, in order to further global collaboration, joint projects, and exchange activities, the University of Puthisastra and three different projects from the National University of Singapore decided to sign the renewal of their Memorandum of Understanding as follows:
1. Project Lokun, signed on December 5, 2022, is a student-initiated Overseas Community Involvement Project (OCIP) that was first founded in December 2007. It is a biannual medical mission trip that serves 4 villages – Toul Makak, Takeo Village, Buon Village and Prey Omal – in Pursat, Cambodia. It has always been Project Lokun’s vision to establish ties with a Cambodian Medical University to achieve sustainability. Project Lokun traditionally organises 2 medical mission trips a year, usually in May and December.
2. Project Sothea, signed on December 5, 2022 is a student-initiated and student-led project conducted by first and second year medical students from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Since 2010, medical professionals from across multiple disciplines and various organisations have joined the project for the annual trips to Battambang. Project Sothea has been operating in Dangkut Thnong and Anlong Svay since 2010, but will be shifting the focus to two new villages, Srae Ou and Roung 1. The project conducts health screenings annually to help villagers who present with acute or chronic diseases. ProjectSothea recognises the importance of preventive healthcare and thus focuses on health education by working with local schools and Village Health Support Groups (VHSG). These topics range from handwashing, healthy diet to dengue prevention and exercising.
3. Project Sa’Bai, signed on December 8, 2022 is a student-initiated Overseas Community Involvement Project (OCIP) that was first founded in December 2006. It is an annual medical mission trip that serves 3 schools (as of December 2022): Don Bosco Phum Chreh School, Don Bosco Teuk Thla School and Don Bosco Vocational Training Center for Girls in Toul Kork, and 3 areas: Phum Ches Village, Teuk Thla Commune and Wat Champa in Chbar Ampov District. Sa’Bai organises 1 medical mission trip per year, in May. During the ceremony, Professor Ian Findlay advised volunteer students to remember that this initiative is crucial in connecting students across borders, so they should all seize the chance to appreciate and enjoy exchanging and learning from each other’s cultures and experiences. The international friendship has to continue even after the project is over. Professor Ian also shared some prerequisites that the students should be aware of before beginning the upcoming projects.
