Kampong Cham is a densely populated province in the east of Cambodia. In 2014 the province was split into two provinces, Kampong Cham and Tbong Khmum. The Mekong River flows through the middle of the province and the capital Kampong Cham. Only five percent of the population lives in the province capital. The farmers in the rural areas are poor. They subsist on the income generated by fishing and the cultivation of rubber trees, cashew trees, coffee, pepper and rice. A lot of fruit is also grown in the province such as durian, rambutan and lychees.
The infrastructure in the province is reasonable, but particularly the northern districts are remote and hard to reach. During the rainy season, some villages can only be reached by boat. For the people here eye care is both inaccessible and unaffordable.
The Eye Care Foundation has supported the eye department of the hospital in Kampong Cham since 2016. The foundations` main focus is on those patients who cannot afford cataract surgery. Ten eye camps are held every year. At least eighty patients are examined at every eye camp and, if necessary, referred to the eye clinic.
- In order to inform the locals about eye care, the Eye Care Foundation helps the eye clinic with the annual celebration and promotion of World Sight Day. The eye care team receives subsidies to do so and medicines are distributed.
- The Eye Care Foundation further supports the eye clinic by covering the costs for one team member every year to attend the Asian Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congres (APAOC).
- In 2017 an ophthalmic nurse will receive refraction training in Phnom Penh, funded by the Eye Care Foundation.
- The roof, ceiling and exterior walls of the eye clinic need to be renovated. The Eye Care Foundation has agreed to cover 50% of the renovation costs.