Student Stories

During the eight days in Cambodia, we had the opportunity to visit various healthcare facilities such as national and provincial hospitals, and community-based centres. We also visited a karaoke lounge where screening for vulnerable populations at risk of HIV was conducted. While it was obvious that many of these facilities faced a shortage of manpower, resources and funding, what was unexpected was the complexity of the healthcare structure. There were many levels of intervention within a single healthcare centre: provision of medication to the sick, education by peer educators and schools to increase the health literacy of local communities, and collaborative efforts between local and international bodies for medical research and internships. This was a healthcare model that I was unfamiliar with, yet this model shows how medical services adapt to the local culture. I grew to appreciate how the social structures become the foundation for the medical infrastructure in Cambodia; that what lies at the heart of healthcare is people.

Beyond physical resources, these multipronged efforts require long-term commitment from the people working on the ground. In particular, the healthcare providers and peer educators left the deepest impression on me. Their faces beaming with joy and their persistence in the causes they believe in, in spite of discouragements, was truly inspirational. I was humbled to see how doctors, sweating and red-faced from the heat, would rush out after meeting patients, just to answer questions from a group of students. Their willingness to learn and share information really warmed my heart.