Excellency, Prof Sea Huong, Vice Secretary of State opens 3rd. Rose Charities Intl. Meeting

The 3rd Rose Charities International Meeting held at the Imperial Garden Hotel in Phnom Penh was officially opened by Proff. Sea Huong, Vice Secretary of State at the Ministry of Health. Rose Charities International, Rose Charities Cambodia, Operation First Cambodia and Rose Rehabilitation Cambodia is very grateful to Excellency Sea Huong. A copy of his opening address is found below (beneath the photographs)

(left to right: Dr Basant Sharma, Vice President, Dr William Grut, Sec. General Rose Charit. International, Excellency Sea Huong. Under Sec. of State for Cambodia, Mr Mike Webber OMNZ. Meeting Moderator)

Opening address of Excellency Sea Huong..

It gives me great pleasure today to open the 3rd Rose Charities International Meeting, Co-hosted by Rose Charities Cambodia, Operation FIRST Cambodia, and Rose Charities Canada, three organizations which have up to 12 year histories of helping to deliver health care to the poor of Cambodia under the guidance and permission of the Government of Cambodia

I would like to welcome today both delegates from Cambodia, delegates from our close neighbouring countries and also from further overseas. These countries include Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, the United States and Canada.

I would also like to say to Rose Charities – Welcome home ! I say this because I know that it was here in Cambodia that Rose Charities started. Initially a branch of the organization IRIS in 1997, it became its own independent organization in 1998 registered in British Columbia, Canada. Though Rose Charities now has branches and/or projects planned or existing in over 15 countries, it was nevertheless here in Cambodia that was the starting point. So this is why I say ‘Welcome home’

I know though that there are some delegates here who have not previously visited Cambodia at all. To you I say, a special welcome and a thank you for traveling to see us. I hope you all very much enjoy your stay. I extend a special big welcome to you and hope that you will take home many happy memories with you.

The Government of Cambodia considers the provision of proper health care for the poor to be a very high priority and welcomes properly managed and run NGO’ efforts to assist in this process. It is extremely important however for such NGO’s to work closely with the Government and follow all official programs and protocols. It is only through such coordinated and standardized procedures that real progress will be made. A team where individual members are not following rules and procedures will fall to pieces and help no-one. They do not help Cambodia . But a team where members are all working together in properly coordinated efforts will advance in great strides to advance the welfare of all and help to build a bright future for the country. I am very happy to say that we consider both Rose Charities directed and founded by Dr Hang Vra and Operation FIRST, directed and founded by Dr Nous Sarom, to be proper team members of the best possible type and so I was happy today to come to open this meeting.

Though their surgical and eye projects respectively Dr Nous Sarom and Dr Hang Vra have and continue to provide a most wonderful service to the poor and debilitated people of Cambodia. These two surgeons demonstrate not only the highest ideals of charitable assistance and professionalism to their patients, but also fit it into a framework of teaching and training to pass their knowledge on to others. I express my appreciation of their work as does, I know the whole Rose Charities network

Rose Charities and Operation FIRST are both fully registered Cambodian organizations and are thus sibling members of the whole Rose Charities international family. It is a family which also has many close friends which cooperate and mutually assist with project work and administration. Some of those friends are here today too, such as Impact Cambodia, FDCC Cambodia, Sovann Komar, Somali Mam and AMDA. They and others all contribute so much to all our work to improve the lives of those in need.

Rose Charities and Operation FIRST projects have at times been assisted by not only individuals and sibling Rose organizations but also from other governments through their embassies. Most noteworthy here has been Australia who have provided both material support but recently, support through their ‘Youth Ambassador’ scheme to sponsor a physiotherapist trainer, Ms Joanna Thomson, to assist with rehabilitation services at Operation FIRST Such initiatives are a great help to Cambodia and much appreciated. Rose Charities New Zealand has also been pivotal in assisting with material, teaching and logistical support for eye surgery and medicine as well as optometry. Mr. Mike Webber and Dr David Sabiston of New Zealand as well as Dr Basant Sharma of the Lumbini Eye Hospital, Nepal, have been foremost in these efforts without which the Rose Charities Eye clinic would be far smaller and less functional than it is today.

I would also like to acknowledge the non medical, social, income-generating and education programs that various Rose Charities organizations also carry out many by delegates within this room. Progress in all these areas of the developing world is vital and Rose Charities carries this banner high particularly in countries in Africa as well as Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Rose Charities Malaysia combines public health education (Expo) with vital clinics for the needy and I praise this too. Finally, I must mention the emergency humanitarian relief activities of Rose Charities which have been carried out for many years and included at one stage assistance for flood victims here in Cambodian itself. Most recently however has been the Haiti Earthquake disaster where Rose Charities nursing teams continue to work

It remains for me then to officially declare this important meeting open. I wish it all success and hope that its aims of learning, networking, mutual understanding and advancement are entirely fulfilled. My very best wishes for this now, and far into the future. The meeting is now open !

Thank you. ..

Excellency Sea Huong (center). Mme. Trish Gribben Rose Charities NZ Chair (right)

Mrs Linda Roberts. Rose Charities International Hon. Secretary presents an opening address



Below.. a packed conference room...

Cambodian Rehab Surgery goes to sea !

Dr Nous Sarom, Director of Operation First - Rose Rehab Cambodia and Rose Charities International Board Director is Cambodia's leading maxillofacial surgeon. Dedicated specifically to rehabilitation surgery peripheral rehabilitative therapies since 1998, Rose Charities is widely recognized as being the pinnacle organization in Cambodia in the field. Dr Sarom, Operation First and Rose Charities / Rose Rehab Cambodia work closely with other excellent organizations such as Impact Cambodia, Smile Train, Operation Rainbow and Operation Smile (Dr Sarom regularly participates in Operation SMILE missions, including in recent times to Lao, Thailand, and Bhutan, as well as Cambodia itself.

Operation First / Rose Rehab Cambodia run fully under the Cambodian Ministry of Health, support Ministy of Health progams and, of paramount importance, operate from proper Ministry of Health Facilities.

In June 2010 the United States Hospital Ship USNS Mercy came to Cambodia's main deep-water port (Sihanoukville) to provide humanitarian medical assistance to poor Cambodians. Dr Sarom was specifically invited via the US Embassy in Phnom Penh to partake in the mission. Patients were screened at Sihanoukville Hospital then taken to the ship for surgery in its wonderfully equipped facilities. Rose Charities / Rose Rehab Cambodia is very appreciative of this generous USA initiative for Cambodia. The USNS Mercy is an amazing facility which provides enormous good wherever it goes.


Rose Charities Cambodia / Rose Rehabiliation Cambodia and Operation FIRST are all supported by Rose Charities USA which runs out of New York and is a 501(c)(3) organization (ie donations receive USA tax receipts) Any donations to the program are hugely appreciated. Rose Charities has USA has zero administration costs, no directors salaries, no office charges. It works with local people to respond to their needs, and to support their own health and other systems.

Rose Charities in Haiti - Update July 2010

Initially coordinating with AMDA International, which specializes in emergency relief, Rose Charities worked with AMDA Canada to help send emergency orthopaedic surgical teams to St Marc and Gonaives. Personnel came also from Columbia, Bolivia, India and Japan. Within several weeks a second initiative was commenced, in this case to Port au Prance, sending pediatric teams, both from B.C’s Children’s Hospital and other center(s) on Vancouver Island and Mainland B.C, Alberta . Generous support was given particularly from the B.C. Lower Mainland Sikh Temples and support groups and Dr Pargat Sigh, Consultant Pediatrician headed one of the earliest pediatric teams to travel to Port au Prince. In total (both surgical and pediatric), 11 teams were sent from the period some 4 days after the quake to May 2010.

AMDA followed up its surgical initiative, by sending a prosthetic team to help with the terrible problem of crush injury amputations while Rose Charities moved its focus to nursing.. The quake had completely raised the nursing school killing some 40 trainee nurses. so Rose Charities efforts to date have focused on the re-establishment of this facility with sending both nurse trainers, equipment and books

Rose Charities has pooled resources with Health Frontiers www.healthfrontiers.org , a highly respected and experienced Minnesota based Health Organization which runs projects in Laos, Malawi and other centers. Sharing a local office and project coordination center, Health Frontiers is concentrating on reestablishment of pediatric physician services.

Rose Charities is not primarily a disaster relief organization but will engage in such activities where and when the organizers feel they can be of assistance. Focus however is always, wherever possible to ensure involvement extends long term assistance, not simply carry out immediate assistance and then leave. In the case of Haiti, the commitment will continue to re-establishing and upgrading nursing, particularly pediatric nursing training and the provision of good, locally managed mother and child care into the future.

New homes for the blind - Hue

As part of our commitment to improving the quality of life for blind people in Hue, Rose Charities is building ten homes for some of the poorest residents. With a donation of $2000,00 from the Canadian Chamber in HCMC (CanCham) and support from PEB Steel Construction Company, the first home was "unveiled" on July 17th, 2010. PEB Steel has very generously offered to undertake the construction of the roofs on all ten houses.

http://rosevietnam.giving.officelive.com/default.aspx

Rose Charities - Vietnam

Over the last two years Oliver Bonas UK has been making steady donations to Be Tho orphanage. These funds have contributed to the building of a new orphanage to ease overcrowding, support for essentials (such as food, etc.) and most recently the purchase of three "professional" sewing machines and one needle over-lock. These machines will make a considerable difference to the girls in the training programme that has been set up at the orphanage to ensure a means of support for young women when they leave (the boys learn carpentry). With the help of Albetta, a local clothing manufacturing company that has also been a generous donor to Be Tho, and with training from volunteers from the Canadian women's group in HCMC, the young seamstresses at Be Tho will soon be producing professional quality goods which can be sold at local markets.

For more information please visit http://rosevietnam.giving.officelive.com/default.aspx

For an update on all that is being accomplished in Vietnam, please visit

http://rosevietnam.giving.officelive.com/default.aspx

2010 Charity Rose Award recipient: Mr Nguyen Chi Phuoc

Mr Nguyen Chi Phuoc of Rose Charities Vietnam is the recipient of the 2010 Charity-Rose Award

Mr Phuoc has been committed to Rose Vietnam form the very beginning. He was responsible for identifying and addressing the need in Hue for adult blind people to have an education and was instrumental in getting the (blind) school built, the Braille computers and locating a teacher. He led the charge in establishing the Laundromat and acupressure clinic which are operated by the blind students, thus enabling them to earn money and for the first time in their lives enjoy a measure of independence, and is presently negotiaing the construction of homes for ten of the students who currently live in shacks.

Mr Nguyen responded immediately when the typhoon hit Hue (see film clip below) by providing disaster relief for the students in the school as well as for other poor members of the community. He has provided wheelchairs for disabled adults, canes for the blind, scholarships, food and gifts for the children in a number of of orphanages, support for disabled children and street children, and organizes an annual mobile clinic to deliver cataract surgery for 200 patients.



For the last year he has maintained contact with and provided support for Be Tho orphanage and Sister Vinh during the construction of Be Tho 2, which is now complete and houses 100 orphans..

All of these projects were established and supported by Mr Nguyen Chi Phuoc, both physically and financially in a true Spirit of Charity, and in the name of Rose Charities Vietnam

Mr Nguyen Chi Phuoc is relentless in his aim to help the less fortunate; he is diligent about identifying the most needy and ensuring that they get the help they need, he is conscientious about how the funds are spent and seems to stretch a dollar a huge distance. He charitable spirit is remarkable and without him many poor Vietnamese have benefited hugely


Sadly, Mr Nguyen Chi Phuoc was unable to attend the 3rd Rose Charities International Meeting in Phnom Penh , but Ms Hanh Thuc Nguyen represented Rose Charities Vietnam and was able to collect the award on his behalf (see photo below) from the Secretary General of Rose Charities International