Physical Health Cambodia Project #45220

Hospital to treat 25,000 disabled Cambodians

by Children's Surgical Centre

Project Report | Jul 1, 2025
Children's Surgical Centre Qu2-25 Report July 2025

By Ellen Interlandi | Stakeholder Relations Officer

Sok Nai pre-op

WHO WE ARE

CSC is a healthcare organization that provides affordable surgical care by skilled specialists. CSC started as a small project in 1998 to help victims of landmine injuries, many of whom were children. Since then, it has grown into what it is today - a tertiary teaching hospital with over 75 Cambodian staff, and 9,628 and counting surgeries since 2017. We offer free or low-cost surgical care and rehabilitation in numerous specialties for economically disadvantaged patients. Integral to our mission is a program of training local surgeons and hospital staff by international experts, focusing on the development of sustainable rehabilitative surgical services. We empower our CSC staff to develop skills and knowledge that contribute to long-term improvements in healthcare across the country, ensuring that the impact extends beyond our center and supports a sustainable healthcare system.

THE ASK: Whatever you can give, please know we are grateful to receive it! Little acts of kindness can collectively make a big difference. Thank you for your continued support and for helping us live our mission.

Sok Nai’s new “outlook”

Sok Nai is a 13-year-old teen from Kampong Cham province. She lives with her grandmother and two sisters. Her 15-year-old sister had to quit school and now works as a laborer at a water factory. Her younger sister is eight years old and in the second grade. Sok Nai is in fourth grade and enjoys studying math. She knows she will have to quit school soon and would like to work in a garment factory. At home, she likes to jump rope with her friends.

Eight years ago, Sok Nai’s mother tragically passed away from an unknown lung condition. Her father soon remarried and moved away, never providing support for his children. Now, a teenager, Sok Nai is painfully aware that other children make fun of her droopy eyelids, which she has had since birth. The condition is called ptosis and can be present at birth or acquired. She feels uncomfortable at school because it is difficult to read the blackboard. Her grandmother cannot afford to care for her granddaughter and heard about the free eye care Children’s Surgical Centre offers for children. Despite all their hardships, she and her grandmother took a two-hour bus ride to Phnom Penh to seek advice for her ptosis. On April 3, surgeons performed a bilateral frontalis suspension of the eyelids for Sok Nai. After spending a night in the hospital, she was discharged home with antibiotics to decrease the risk of infection and instructions to return in a week to remove sutures. Her eyes now look much better than before. Although there was some swelling, Sok Nai is thrilled and has renewed confidence in her looks when she returns to school this fall.

Her grandmother shared: I am very thankful to the doctors and all the staff at CSC who helped with my granddaughter’s surgery free of charge

Sok Nai post-op

Links:

CSC website

Attachments:

CSC GG Quarter2 Report July 2025 (PDF)

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