Church and Cambodian government leaders meet on Zoom to continue partnership on humanitarian activities

COVID-19 has caused significant suffering in many parts of the world and disrupted almost everyone’s life around. Business, school, religious activities and many other things have been put on hold because of the pandemic; but that did not stop The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from helping people.

During the week of April 27, a series of meetings took place via video conference between the Cambodian government officials and Church leaders to continue their partnership on humanitarian activities.

On April 29 and April 30, H.E. General Meach Sophana, Secretary of State from the Ministry of Interior, and H.E. Sok Khavan, Secretary of State from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, respectively conducted a coordination meeting on Zoom with Elder Meurs and others to discuss the Health Care Improvement Project in the Prey Veng Province and Takeo Province.

They are the strongest advocates for the Church’s medical initiative in Cambodia. Both expressed deep gratitude to the Church and complimented on the effectiveness of the work because of the Church’s cooperation with the hospitals and clinics. They meet at least once a quarter with Church leaders to review the work that has been accomplished and review future needs and projects.

Among the provincial leaders who attended the meeting from Cambodia were the provincial council chairman, the vice governors of the Kampong Cham Province and provincial directors of the Department of Health and the Department of Cult and Religion.

According to the Khmer Television CTV9 which reported about the video conference, these Cambodian government leaders were appreciative of the Church’s service, and admired its consistent effort in improving the medical care in Cambodia, as well as other aspects of the country’s development reduce suffering.

The Church has been in Cambodia since 1994 and over the years, about 300 humanitarian projects have taken place throughout the country and blessed hundreds of thousands. These contributions went beyond mere monetary and equipment donation. The Church has a group of retired physicians leading the medical initiative in Cambodia. They serve as volunteers, accessing needs in consultation with leaders of hospitals and clinics, and provide needed equipment and training to the local health practitioners that are now better equipped to save lives. Due to the pandemic they have temporarily returned to their homes in the United States but are continuing to actively support the work from there and attended the video conferences.

Their efforts include:

• Provided CPR and first-aid training to the police who are often the first responders in accidents.
• Trained nurse midwives to learn new techniques for managing emergencies.
• Assisted hospitals to make plans to improve cleanliness which help reduce risk of infection.
• COVID-19 – provided training and donated equipment for hospital isolation rooms.

For details of CTV9’s news report about this video conference meeting, please click here.