Dr. SOEURN Visal
18 Oral Health Therapy students from University of Newcastle in Australia arrived in Cambodia last week to support the Healthy Kids Cambodia project for disadvantaged children from the PIO (in Stung Mean Chey) and Cambodia Children’s Fund (CCF) NGOs. During the two weeks they are here, the students will rotate (in groups of 6-8) between PIO, the UP Dental Clinic (where PIO children have been referred for more advanced treatment) and the Cambodia Children’s Fund (CCF).
The Newcastle team has been coming to Cambodia for the past 4 years, but this is the first time they have partnered with UP. Their mission is to help support the implementation of the Healthy Kids Cambodia school oral health program, which UP students are also part of. The overall coordinator of the project is One-2-One Cambodia. During the 2 weeks the Newcastle students are in our clinic they will provide a range of basic dental treatments with assistance from our own UP students and staff. The logistics for the visit were organized by Ground Asia, a local company which facilitates volunteer visits to Cambodia. The students each had to raise funds to join the trip, and are accompanied by lecturers from the University of Newcastle to supervise and mentor.
