Korea Overseas Volunteers` Sok Sabay Team Provides Community Services in Batheay

Translation of News Released on Local Newspaper
Raksmei Kampuchea Daily Newspaper
Year 18, volume 5225, Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Mobile: Mr. Yin Leangkong, reporter, 012 989297, leangkongyin@yahoo.com

[caption id="attachment_1137" align="aligncenter" width="477" caption="Korea Overseas Volunteers` Sok Sabay Team Provides Community Services in Batheay"][/caption]

Korea Overseas Volunteers` Sok Sabay Team Provides Community Services in Batheay

Kampong Cham: Korea Overseas Volunteers` Sok Sabay team consisting of 32 volunteers, including 2 doctors, 5 nurses, provided the 12th community service at Tropeang Sno village, Tomnup commune, Batheay district, Kampong Cham province.

During the day`s whole morning, the team provided medical consultation with free medicines to 70 villagers and hepatitis-B vaccine for children, provided haircut to 30 children, took photographs and cooked Korean foods for the elders in the villages, and led students in Tropeang Sno primary school to do painting activities as well.

During the program` activities last Saturday, Mr. Kim Byung Gwan, Representative of KOICA office in Cambodia, the Sok Sabay Team was founded by a group of Korea Overseas Volunteers to provide monthly diversified community services like medical consultation, art and other community activities to the people in rural areas. Depending on the participation of the volunteers, usually the team consists of around 25 to 35 members who are medical doctors, nurses, rural development workers, or others.

He added that, regarding financial support, Sok Sabay team members share their own money to cover fee of medicines, medical materials, and meal for the whole day, while KOICA support transportation fee. This is the volunteerism and kindness of all Korean volunteers who devote their own weekend times and finance to help poor Cambodian people who are facing health problem.

Mr. Chhin Chhoy, Tronup commune chief, stated that Tropeang Sno is the farthest village in Tomnup commune. People have difficulty in reaching both public and private health services. Together with poverty, the people do not so care about their health when they are sick. However, people health is getting better and they are happy when Sok Sabay team comes to provide this community services. He added that not only the people in Tropeang Sno village benefit from this service, but also around 15% of people from nearby villages.

KOVs are Korean natives who has been officially dispatched by the Government of the Republic of Korea to Cambodia as part of Korean Official Development Assistance in the form of human resource support for social and economic development. Since 2003, more than 200 KOVs were dispatched to Cambodia with the mission of 2 years.

XXX