Friday, May 27, 2011

Suture


This was a very productive week! Each year I try to fill my second suitcase with some type of donation that is hard to find in Cambodia. Some trips it's as simple as first aid kits, and one time I had surgical instrumentation. This year I found a medical supply organization called Global Links (http://www.globallinks.org/) that specializes in surplus suture donation. The Angkor Hospital for Children (http://www.angkorhospital.org/) listed suture as one of their needs, so I sent a few emails. In no time, I secured a large quantity of items that will help hundreds of children. It's incredible to me how easy it can be to make a significant difference in this world.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Administration

The past several weeks have been action-packed. In late March I met with Hem Heng, the Cambodian Ambassador to the United States. He was an informative and gracious host who helped give me insights into how acute-care medical services need attention in Cambodia. I was especially moved by how he could compare elements of our system here to the very basic infrastructure they have. For example: price. We pay a lot for healthcare and so do they. It's not surprising that people would try to cut corners where they feel they can save a few bucks.

This week I met with Deanna and Pat to plan for some administrative work. We want to make sure that our work in Cambodia has some longevity to it. Yes, a track record of over 10 years is impressive for a few people, but we want to do more. To help grow and improve our odds for long term success, we plan on incorporating under the name Building Cambodia and pursuing 501(c)(3) tax exemption status. This will make it easier for people to give money, add even more transparency to our work (as if vivid details about food poisoning interspersed with local mission work isn't enough!), and strengthen our cause. I have my best lawyers working on it now (thanks Rick).

I'm just over 7 weeks away from departure, so activity will begin to ramp up. My visa is purchased, flight booked, vaccinations verified, and work is lining up.