Caring for Cambodia’s Health Education program started with basic healthcare for students at our schools. Students’ poor health and several deaths in our first year spurred CFC to quickly focus on building health through basic care and teaching. It is now a comprehensive Health Education Program reaching students, parents, and the wider community.
Beginning with early lessons on teeth brushing, hand washing, and clean water, students go on to learn more complex lessons on disease and healthy practices, fitness, reproductive health, and more. Our Program now reaches pre-school mothers, providing vital knowledge in a country where health care is often inaccessible or unaffordable.
How do we do this?
CFC employs a Health Program Manager and a full-time health educator. A 100% volunteer Health Education Committee, primarily from Singapore, sends skilled professionals to CFC schools several times a year to assist with training and student health screenings. CFC staff provides the following to keep students healthy and learning:
- Vision screening and glasses
- Dental screening and referrals to a dental clinic
- Health screening, including height and weight – Body Mass Index (BMI). Students with low BMI are referred for follow up with CFC’s health partner, Angkor Hospital for Children
- First Aid training
- Prenatal care and early childhood care for mothers
- Water & Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) standards for each campus
- In-kind contributions of soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, first aid supplies, and more
- Community members use the health lessons they learn; a mother intervened with first aid for a child who nearly drowned, using new lifesaving knowledge
- BMI tracking shows decreases in malnutrition among our students
- Increased attendance and fewer infections and illnesses among students (and teachers)
- Increased integration of health lessons as part of the required curriculum
- CFC is providing health curriculum to the Teacher Training College in Siem Reap
Goals for the Future
- A school nurse on each campus
- All families have access to affordable medical treatment
- Health modules become part of the regular government-supported curriculum
- More Cambodian medical professionals