Chinese charitable organization brings hope to Cambodian children with cleft lip, palate

PHNOM PENH -- Chinese charitable organization Future Smile Charitable Foundation on Wednesday donated four ambulances to Cambodia and provided free surgical operations to Cambodian children with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities.

The event was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin and Cambodian Health Minister Chheang Ra at a ceremony held at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in the capital Phnom Penh.

Ra expressed his heartfelt thanks to the charitable organization for the generosity and kindness towards Cambodia, saying that the donation would help Cambodia's Ministry of Health to provide high-quality first aid to patients.

China is a major contributor to the development of Cambodia's health sector, the minister said, adding that China has provided a great deal of assistance to Cambodia for the construction of the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh and the Cambodia-China Friendship Tboung Khmum Hospital in Tboung Khmum province.

In addition, China has so far donated more than 200 ambulances and 40 mobile clinics as well as a lot of medical equipment to Cambodia, and currently, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) experts have also been assisting Cambodia in developing the TCM sector, he said.

Ambassador Wang was confident that the donated ambulances would contribute to providing better healthcare services to Cambodian patients, while the Cambodia-China friendship surgical mission would bring beautiful smiles and hope to cleft lip and cleft palate children in the Southeast Asian country.

"China and Cambodia are unbreakable iron-clad friends," he said. "We hope in the future, more Chinese charitable people and organizations will come to Cambodia to help the country develop society and economy, and improve the people's health and livelihoods."

Chan Kok Choy, executive director of Smile Cambodia, said the surgical mission has conducted 35 operations in the last two days, and is expected to do another 15 operations on Wednesday.

Mok Theavy, undersecretary of state at Cambodia's Ministry of Health, said the donated ambulances will be very beneficial to Cambodian patients, adding that this donation reflects the longstanding friendship between the peoples of Cambodia and China.