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| Vanna
Ngoun at work in the Kien Khleang Rehabilitation Center
Wheelchair Workshop |
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Vanna Ngoun was blind, unemployed, and
thought of killing himself when he first came to the
Kien Khleang Rehabilitation Center in 1993. Before his
arrival he had spent months in a provincial hospital,
a year in a military hospital, and five years at a government
center for handicapped veterans.
At 32 years of age, Vanna was one of the millions of
Cambodian victims of civil and regional wars. He had
enlisted in the Cambodian military in 1981 to fight Khmer
Rouge forces near the border with Thailand. While on
patrol he was injured by one of the millions of landmines
that litter the Cambodian countryside. Unlike most mine
victims he did not loose a limb, but took shrapnel to
his body and eyes. Vanna was referred to a series of
hospitals and treatment centers in the following years,
but doctors told him he would never see again. |
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| • Full
story - The
Kien Khleang Rehabilitation Center Wheel-chair Workshop [pdf, 49kb] |
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| Humanitarian Programs Targeting Cambodia's
Disabled Population |
Two
USAID-funded programs have been designed and implemented
to directly
address this
concern: First, since September 1998 USAID has assisted
Cambodia’s Disability Action Council (DAC). The
intent is to improve coordination among the many groups
that address disability issues in Cambodia. In addition,
it aims to promote and encourage national policy and
legislation on disability-related concerns. Among other
things, this support has helped to establish a DAC
secretariat; establish a governing structure; provide
serves to disabled
populations; introduce monitoring and evaluation systems;
and expand communication networks among both NGOs and
government institutions.
Second, since September 1992 USAID has provided significant
support to the Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation
(VVAF). This support has proved vital in the establishment
and expansion of the National Rehabilitation Center at
Kien Khleang. Funding has also been used to support rehabilitation
centers and provide services to disabled populations
in Preyi Veng, Kratie and Preah Vihear; establish community
outreach programs; treat more than 18,000 patients; produce
and distribute some 2,400 prostheses, 2,400 prosthetic
feet, 1,200 orthotic braces and 600 wheel chairs; train
Cambodian management and technical staff; and place Kien
Khleang on a path toward sustainability. Already, the
more than 100 graduates of the Cambodian School of Prosthetics
and Orthotics are making an important contribution in
addressing the needs of disabled people in Cambodia and
beyond.
USAID-related humanitarian assistance focuses in large
part on those affected by the legacy of war. As noted,
an estimated 4-6 million land mines still litter the
countryside, along with large numbers of unexploded bombs
and other ordinance. Even now, more than 800 Cambodians
are killed or injured as a result of these mines and
bombs each year. Illnesses and accidents further add
to the numbers of Cambodians who must adjust to living
with a disability of one kind or another. |
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| Humanitarian Programs Focused on Natural
Disasters |
Working with the
USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), efforts
are underway to help Cambodia deal with recurring natural
disasters, especially related to flooding. Three specific
programs address this concern: First, USAID and OFDA
work with the Mekong River Commission through two US
agencies, NOAA and the US Geological Survey (USGS). Under
the program, USGS hydrologists and NOAA meteorologists
provide technical assistance to the Commission in the
area of satellite rainfall estimation and precipitation
forecasting.
 Second, USAID and OFDA provide funding to the American
Red Cross to develop a community-based disaster preparedness
capacity within the Cambodian Red Cross. The program
included training for headquarters, provincial staff
and volunteers; support for the establishment of a preparedness
unit; and a vulnerability assessment as well as the implementation
of flood preparedness measures in flood-prone communities,
including Kandal, Kampong Cham and Preyi Veng.
Third, USAID and OFDA support a regional activity involving
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam that seeks to
strengthen the Mekong River Commission’s ability
to forecast flooding and providing early warning information
to communities
living along the Lower Mekong River Basin. The five-year
program began in December 2002 and is expected to continue
through December 2007.
Perhaps the most significant element is the provision
of new tools, methods and approaches for linking information
provided by the Commission with on-the-ground community
organizations. While flooding in Cambodia is almost
inevitably, this new approach will hopefully provide
an early warning, distribute information quickly among
relevant communities and ensure a more effective response.
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