Despite the sweltering heat of the100° days just before the New Year, men and women throughout the cities of Cambodia squished into crowded vans and busses and piled onto rickshaws and motodops to head to their hometowns. Young people used this time before the celebration to get together with friends and check out potential mates while they ate, drank, danced and played traditional games; for the older generation it was an opportunity to catch up with family, prep elaborate meals and make offerings to the monks at their local pagodas.
Normally, Samol Orng, a dedicated doctor at Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC), would have been among them either with his family or at the hospital treating patients; this year he was at Siem Reap airport about to leave Asia for the first time in his life and would end up quite literally on the other side of the world, in the heart of New York City. He would be representing the hospital for a special event that in one night could raise almost $250,000 for AHC. Dr Orng was quite honored to be chosen by Executive Director, Dr. William Housworth, as the face of AHC and a new generation of Cambodian healthcare professionals, but having worked in every department of the hospital during his five year tenure, he also knew what this trip meant in very human terms and it was a responsibility he took anything but lightly.
Dr. Orng (R) with Ron and Judy Ablow (Photo: Lynn Padwe).
While shooting the Angkor monuments in 1993, New York-based photographer, Kenro Izu, couldn’t help but be moved by the maimed, malnourished and ill children who followed him through the maze of temples. It was then and there that he decided to do whatever he could to help the children of Cambodia and created Friends Without A Border to create, fund and sponsor Angkor Hospital for Children. The hospital has been addressing the healthcare needs of the children in Siem Reap since its inception in1999 while also raising the standards of pediatric healthcare throughout the country.
Beyond providing pediatric care, AHC is a teaching hospital that was conceived of as a response to the devastation of the medical infrastructure left in the wake of the brutal Khmer Rouge Regime by the end of which all but 50doctors had fled the country or been killed by the regime. Dr. Samol Orng is a living testament to the success of the educational component of the hospital where now 118 of the staff of 120 are Cambodian.
Founder Kenro Izu getting ready to present the Making a Difference Award (Photo: Lynn Padwe).
Over the past decade, in response to the needs of the communities it serves, AHC has grown well beyond Izu’s original vision and has treated over 777,000 children to date. In addition to the outpatient and inpatient departments the hospital offers intensive and emergency care, surgical services, and contains a radiology department, a dental clinic and an eye clinic free for all children under fourteen and all as part of a comprehensive medical training program for Cambodian health care workers.
Outside the hospital’s walls, AHC’s staff travels to local villages as part of their homecare program, evaluating and treating children who need follow-up care such as those with HIV/AIDS, but whose families cannot afford to make regular trips to the hospital. The two-fold Capacity Building and Health Education Program works with local doctors and nurses in the Siem Reap province to better enable them to address the healthcare needs of residents in their areas, and has built a network of trained community volunteers who, with the support of supervisors, increase preventative healthcare on the community level.
The first Friends Annual Gala was created eight years ago not only to reach a wider audience to raise awareness of the existence of AHC its programs and progress but also to raise much needed funding. Despite the harsh economic reality of recent years, the gala has continued to be a successful event. This year, organizers decided that the event would be held on April 13th to coincide with the Cambodian New Year and to connect more deeply with Cambodian tradition: a marketplace with “Cambodian money” took the place of the usual silent auction, paper crocodile flags were placed on sand mounds by each attendee while making a wish, traditional Ping Peat and more modern Cambodian music was played, offerings to the Buddha were made and a moment of silence at 8:36pm EST, the precise moment of passage into the New Year, was observed.
The destive decor was created by Chazz Levi (Photo: Lynn Padwe).
Renowned voice actor, Drew DeCarvalho, entertained the crowd for the 4th year in a row but shared center stage with up and coming Cambodian actress, Bonna Tek. The duo led the audience through an evening of festivity, awareness, and recognition. Photography curator and writer, a modest John A. Bennette, gave an emotional speech when presented with the Best Friend of Friends Award for the untiring work he performs year after year for the Friends of Friends Photography Auction every December and its transformation into one of the most unique and successful photography auctions in the country. Dr. Ronald Ablow spoke on behalf of himself and his wife Judy, who were presented with the first ever Making a Difference Award which recognizes those who have contributed their time and expertise to directly enhance the knowledge and capability of the staff at AHC.
Since retiring as the President and CEO of St Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, Dr. Ablow has spent extensive periods of time at AHC with his wife Judy whom he movingly acknowledged was the “true star” who tirelessly teaches ESL classes to all the staff at AHC. Dr. Orng, who stayed with the Ablows during his eleven day stay and was seated at their table, was introduced to the audience as a “shining light of the next generation of Cambodian doctors.” All three stayed until the end of the evening, dancing, laughing and mingling with the crowd of philanthropists, New York socialites, artists and photographers, Cambodian American supporters, and even Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the United Nations, H.E. Eat Seyla.
By 11pm, Dr. Orng and the Ablows were making their way from Tribeca Rooftop to the upper west side on the other end of Manhattan. Upon waking the next day, Samol replayed the night before and how different it was from his usual New Year’s celebration; he was also anxious to hear how much was raised for AHC. He recalled that during the live auction, a hand-made quilt which featured AHC’s emblematic green heart produced by The Village Square Quilters Guild and an antique Cambodian Buddha head presented by Khmer Art Gallery both had both drawn excitement and high bids from the crowd.
There had been even more bidding and excitement for pledges to respond to immediate hospital needs like surgery for cardiac patients and those with cleft palates, lab supplies and oxygen therapy. Dr. Orng still wondered though if it would be enough to bridge the funding gap for 2010. Word came from the Friends’ office later that day that the event had been a success and grossed $250,000 which although below the revenue in years past, would still go a long way towards meeting the 2010 budget. Dr. Orng left New York visibly relieved but he was ready to take the journey back home and return to work at the hospital where even his short absence was felt.
By Gabriella Pireno.
Tags
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
