When I returned to visit CSC in Cambodia accompanied by my 7 year-old daughter, who has chosen CSC to be her class charity at school, I found that a lot has changed since my last visit. I was told that there are only 2-3 surgeons in the whole of Phnom Penh carrying out specialist surgery to treat chronic ear infections, so ENT (ears nose and throat) has become a big focus for CSC.
Following training from visiting specialists, CSC has since carried out over 110 procedures (in the last 18-months) to either repair or clean eardrums helping greatly improve quality of life for Cambodian children and adults suffering from hearing loss.
What always impresses me the most about CSC is Dr Jim’s passion, not only for healing, but in developing his team and the organisation beyond a routine hospital services centre. The morning meeting I attended was packed with doctors, visiting specialists, scrub nurses, students, volunteers and a sales trader (me)! These regular morning gatherings have now evolved into a full training programme, not only discussing the patients to be operated on that day or analysing previous cases (resulting in extra specialist training) but giving Khmer doctors a chance to improve their English by presenting and educating the floor on other topics. These discussions are often unrelated to medical issues and range from gigantism to sunburn!
At the CSC everyone in the hospital is always learning something new. I am very proud to be the catalyst for the Chairman’s Trust funding, which has helped Dr Jim and his team achieve their objectives in helping improve the lives of hundreds of people in Cambodia.
Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC) was founded in 1998 by Dr Jim Gollogly with the aim of treating victims of landmine injuries, mainly in children. CSC has since evolved into a rehabilitative centre, treating children and adults with physical disabilities arising from injuries, disease or congenital defects, entirely free of charge. Dr Jim’s mission is to improve the quality of life for disabled Cambodian’s, enabling children an education and adults the opportunity to provide for their families.