Smile Action Project 6

Smile Action Project 6

Date: 6th - 12th August 2013
Location: Phnom Penh and Takeo Province, Cambodia


The Smile Action Team is setting their feet in Takeo Province! 
For the first time visiting children's homes in Daunkeo, we managed to collaborate with two orphanage homes which are A Greater Hope Orphanage and Our Friends Orphanage. In Phnom Penh, we have revisited FGA child centre and Chey Children's Home as well as established a new contact with Center for Children Happiness and the Sunflower Centre for Children. 

Our Volunteers are consist of 20 members of diverse background. They are playing different roles to make our project accomplished! 

No.	Name	Position
1	Dr. Wong Ruen Yuan	Dentist
2	Dr. Patrick Sia King Shang	Dentist
3	Dr. Lau Hoon Way	Dentist
4	Dr. Yap Boon San	Medical doctor
5	Chua Yin Yin	Assistant
6	Rainee Leong	Sterilisation
7	Vivian Cheong Yan Hui	Sterilisation
8	Choy Kim Lee	OHI
9	Kung Syh Yu	OHI
10	Candy Cheah	OHI
11	Wong Kah Kit	Set up Operation
12	Jean Wong	Videographer
13	Lim Yi Qing	Assistant
14	Michelle Hon Yern Ee	Assistant
15	Kung Sze Sze	Assistant
16	Chia Hui Shan	Assistant
17	How Yoke Mooi	Treasurer
18	Hong Li Li	Special task
19	Hong Sherly	Special task
20	Lai Yoke Lin	Assistant
21	Ah Kew (Cambodain)	Logistic

More updates soon!



Schedule of Smile Action Project 6:

7th Aug 2013	8th Aug  2013	9th Aug 2013	10th Aug 2013	11th Aug 2013
FGA	Daunkeo 2	Daunkeo 2	Daunkeo 2	Daunkeo 2
FGA (105 ptt)	A Greater Hope Orphanage (125 ptt)	Our Friends Orphange (300 ptt)	Our Friends Orphange (300 ptt)	Travel to Phnom Penh, Check in hotel
Paddy Field (27 ptt), Travel to Takeo	A Greater Hope Orphanage (125 ptt)	Our Friends Orphange (300 ptt)	Our Friends Orphange (300 ptt)	Center for Children Happiness, CCH (87 ptt) Sunflower Center for Children (12ptt) – come to CCH

 

This time, we will share more photos of our volunteers in action for you to have an overview of our activities with the children!

Treatment room at A Greater Home Orphanage (Treated patients: 125 people).

Medical check-up by Dr. Yap Boon San.

Can you see the human flea eggs on the little girl's hair?

Treatment in the process by Dr Lau and assisted by Syh Yu. 

Our dentist Dr Patrick Sia and his assistants.

Little girls who loved to take photos.

Revisited Chey's Children Home in Phnom Penh. The kids have grown up!

Wondering what is this?

Kids teeth brushing demonstration time!

The kids and villagers enjoyed the oral hygiene education session with Smile Action Team.

The volunteers helped us in translating English into Khmer. 

Curiosity of little kids while watching kids song videos on a laptop.

Older children are facilitating in teeth brushing session.

Registration counter is full of 'customers'.

Lunch time right in the children's home. 

Practical session of proper teeth brushing method. 

Kids who do not wear clothes. 

My teeth are white in colour!

Instrument stefilisation counter

There are four sets of dental set up in one treatment room.

Cut your dirty nails. 

Does my smile look better?

Waiting for the dental check-up. Trembling?

Come up next, we will share with your the Smile Action Project 7 which will be held in Siem Reap, Cambodia! 

Stay tuned! 

If you wish to be our volunteers, please sign up the volunteer form available in this website. 

You may also express your interest to smileaction@gmail.com

We need your support and donation to sustain this projects and reach out to more kids in rural area too!

Kindly bank in to:

Pertubuhan Pasukan Penggerak Senyuman Malaysia

Public bank acc: 3173478707

Please send your scanned bank-in slip/photo/proof of record to: smileaction@gmail.com and 012-6213798.

Smile Action in Poipet, Cambodia

Cambodia, or previously known as Khmer, is an ancient country with a remarkable history of civilization. It reaches its peak during the dynasty of Angkor. However, the modern history of Cambodia is written with wars – began with French colonization, followed by the Japanese occupation, and then again by French occupation. Despite independent from France in 1953, Cambodia faced many wars from different domestic forces. The region has become a huge land of minefields, frequent flooding of Mekong river left the country to be devastative.

Field Relief Agency in Poipet

Poipet area is located in Banteay Meanchey Province, has been suffered from years of war and also known as a “mine village”. The poor live in the mines area, mowing, logging but they couldn’t move away from the risky land.

Despite located in the border of Thailand and Cambodia, the Poipet villagers would look for opportunity in the modern glass floor casino hotels and shopping malls. Beggars without limbs, women holding their children are seen wandering around the street to ask for money.  Some husbands who go out to work in Thailand, are contracted with HIV/AIDS. When they go home they then transmitted the disease to their wives and making AIDS spread among the villagers quickly. Nearly half of the children’s parents or family members died because of AIDS, and they became orphans.  Some children had been sold to brothels to provide sexual services. There, they faced sexual abuse, given drug and sniffed glue in order to work beyond their physical capability.

The person-in-charge of Field Relief Agency (FRA), Ms Yang WeiLing took these children back into the children's home, gave food and send them to school. This organization provides a rebirth opportunity for these poor children by arranging them to the school and vocational training. The only way to change one child’s destiny, is through education, said Ms Yang.

The Smile Action Team members, Ms Yang (front middle) and her staffs from the Field Relief Agency. 

Smile Action Project 5.0

The Smile Action Team was amazed with the work Ms Yang has done – who established the Field Relief Agency (FRA) in Poipet, using donation and funds from Taiwan to help to establish children’s home and vocational training school for the helpless children for 10 years. Thus, we decided to visit her center in Poipet in the fifth Action Project on 19-22th January, 2013.

FRA arranged us to screen about 1000 children from the village. The team started to accommodate with the life at this center. We slept in a simple dorm room, covered with mosquito nets and pumped the underground water to wash face and clothes. They prepared simple meals to everyone – vegetables which are planted in their own farm, little bit of meat and rice. To us, we are very gratitude to have the meals ready for us.

We set up the mobile dental units and chairs, instrument station and medical check up station on our arrival. We have another classroom for oral hygiene education by teaching them proper teeth brushing technique. The children were queue up according to classes, have their registration form and oral health survey filled assisted by volunteers and translators.  They learnt about the importance of keeping good oral hygiene and teeth brushing methods using the new toothbrush and toothpaste distributed by Dental Pro, our sponsor of toothbrush. The kids went through basic health screening by our medical doctor, Dr. Khoo. Then they proceeded with dental screening and treatment by three dentists assisted by 6 volunteers. We have a volunteer stationed for sterilization of instruments in order to ensure the safety of staffs and children from disease infection.

The volunteers worked from sunrise until sun set for the past 3 days. There were 775 children being treated – with fillings, tooth extractions, scaling and given medication.

The setting of the treatment room was very simple – we thanked FRA for arranging the logistic parts for us, i.e. preparing clean water for mouth rinsing. The treatment waste was treated by sending it off to a local hospital for disposal. The volunteers from FRA such as translators and teachers from the neighboring school have been very helpful in communication between the dentists and children.

Before the team leaving the center, we have purchased a few textile products and paintings made by the children themselves who learnt from the vocational training. These children with skills will be able to sustain their living when they leave the center.

During the educational session, the children were asked what do they like the most in their life. Some responded with toys, food, clothes, shoes, football, motorbike, bicycles, house, etc. They said once they grow up they want to be a doctor, dentist, singer, football star, farmer, teacher… and so on. The children are very simple, innocents and they are very happy to welcome visitors to their village. We hope that our presence will bring about hopes and courage for them to live better.

 Poipet kids have a group photo session after oral hygiene education session. 

    Some children have never own a toothbrush or toothpaste in their life. Proper oral care is necessary in order to let these children grow healthily. 

Screening and Treatment in the process. Efficiency is the key. 

Previous Projects

The team has been doing many welfare projects in Cambodia, such as the FGA orphanage home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia since 2009 and 2010, 8 homes in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Blue Valley, Acodo childcare center etc.) in 2012, Field Relieve Agency (FRA) Children’s Home in Poipet, Cambodia in 2013, homes for the elderly Sister Angel in Cheras, as well as a children day care center in Puchong Kenanga in 2011.

So far, more than 1,500 people have benefited from the Smile Action Projects, among which are orphans and the elderly. Oral health education was taught so that they can practice the proper way of teeth brushing and oral health care.

Future Projects

We want to further expand our services to underrepresented people, such as the poor elderly, as well as refugees in Malaysia. We would also reach to the children in Nepal one day. Coming up, we will be giving oral hygiene education and screening to 500 children and adolescents in a refugee center (MSRI) at Ampang.

Challenges

      

        For every project we did there’re challenges lying ahead. From toothbrush and medication collection, access to electricity and clean water, to the breakdown of mobile dental unit, we need to be resourceful to fix the problems until we achieve our goals of the day. Besides, children are not using clean toothbrush constantly. Even though they learnt the technique of brushing teeth, they need to sustain the use of toothbrush and toothpaste to maintain their oral health. As such, poverty maybe cause them not to change toothbrush once the team is left. The biggest challenge is finding sufficient fund to sustain our projects. Therefore, financial support and items sponsorship from the public are welcomed.

       The children in Cambodia who live under the poverty line have to work and find money to support their family. Some are living with HIV/AIDS, some are being sold to work in the sex industry. For every reason, the Smile Action Team would give out the love to these children, telling them they are not the abandoned one.  

Sponsorship Information

Mode of Sponsorship

(    ) Cash

(    ) Bank Transfer – Public Bank Berhad: 3173-4787-07 (Pertubuhan Pasukan Penggerak Senyuman Malaysia)

(    ) Cheque payable to PERTUBUHAN PASUKAN PENGGERAK SENYUMAN MALAYSIA  and addresse to :

No.5-2-1, Jalan 14/155B, Aked Esplanad,

57000 Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

马来西亚微笑行动 5 - 光明日报报导

Once again, Smile Action Team (SAT) is featured in Seven （文明生活周刊）of Guangming Daily.

Smile Action Team on Melody FM

Dr Lau Hoon Way, Dr Wong Ruen Yuan & Kim Lee @ Melody FM Live Interview

Volunteer Registration form Smile Action Project 5.0: Cambodia

Smile Action Project 4.0 Report

Report of Smile Action Project 4.0 18^th-23^rd August 2012

The Malaysia Smile Action Team Association has finally completed its fourth project in Cambodia on 18^th-23^rd August in 2012. The team consisted of 9 volunteers who are dentists and assistants.

The kids could not benefit from healthy food people give them unless they have good teeth to help eat it. In 2009, the Smile Action Team was established and opened an opportunity for kids to have their teeth fixed and reviewed.

This time, in 2012, we visited 8 childcare centers: Two in Phnom Penh and six in Siem Reap. 444 children from FGA Child Care center, Chay’s Children’ s home, Cambodian Development Organisation (CDO), ACODO farm, Sunrise Children’s home, Khna Thmey Church, Angkor Orphan Organisatin (AOO) and Di-El Korean Food Feeding Center were benefited from our visits.

We taught all of these children basic oral hygiene and showed them how to use a toothbrush. We also supply toothbrushes and toothpaste in ev ery of our visit for the children. Meanwhile, we also reviewed and did basic dental treatment for the children who need it, including examinations, extractions, fillings and cleaning. Since they lack of education on proper way to take care of teeth, most of the kids have terrible oral problems – decayed permanent teeth at very young age, retained roots, thick calculus, abscess and so on. The main reason for these problems is the lack of education on proper teeth brushing technique. Another reason could be poverty to own and change toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Before we arrived, the kids had to rely on practitioners operating in town and they are expensive and for that, many of them just lived with dreadful pain. Now we are here to provide necessary services for free, and that we use the most hygienic methods with all our equipment is sterilized and safe. We will, and hope to review the children every 6 months and we would like to see the improvement in their oral hygiene.

We wish to improve the dental treatment flow in order to maximize the process.  Above all, we need to have a center to arrange all these things- a center that allows more dentists or volunteers to come and meet up for more actions done to the kids. The Smile Action Project 5.0 will be held on 18th-22nd January 2013.

Prepared by

Choy Kim Lee

蔡锦莉

Executive Secretary                                                                                                        25^th August 2012