Phoenix Kids initiative

Phoenix Kids is all about rebuilding the lives of children who have been disabled as a result of serious burn injuries. With the right treatment from the Children’s Surgical Centre their lives can be transformed and their quality of life immeasurably improved.

What We Are Doing
The Rotary Club of Phnom Penh (RCPP) is working with the Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC) in Phnom Penh to help children from all over Cambodia who have significant health issues arising from the long term effects of burn injuries.

Why We Are Doing It
Sadly children in Cambodia suffer relatively high numbers of serious burn injuries. Traditional Cambodian cooking practices involve the use of open fires and very hot oil or water and parents of young children do not always take the appropriate steps to avoid accidents. The resultant injuries often lead to drastically reduced quality of life for the child and can adversely affect the well-being and livelihood of the entire family unit.

High quality acute burns care is scarce particularly in more rural areas where an appropriately equipped medical facility can be many hours’ journey away. This lack of both appropriate immediate care and ongoing treatment can result in child burn victims suffering from chronic pain, disfigurement and disability preventing them from having the long, happy and productive lives they deserve.

Who We Are Doing It For
The Children’s Surgical Centre recently helped Lin, a very brave 3-year-old girl who, from a very young age, had faced years of struggle. When she was just one year old a tragic accident in the kitchen resulted in severe burns from firewood. Despite receiving initial treatment at a local hospital Lin lost the use of the fingers and toes of her right hand and foot.

Fortunately, on the recommendation of a doctor who had heard of the Children’s Surgical Centre, Lin’s family were able to bring Lin to the CSC for help. Three operations later and Lin has been given back the use of her right hand and foot. The team at CSC couldn’t be more proud of Lin for her strength and bravery.

Your generous support ensures that children like Lin can undergo the necessary surgery to heal and to regain the freedom and quality of life every child deserves.

Thank you for making a difference in the lives of children like Lin.

Who We Are

The Rotary Club of Phnom Penh (RCPP) (https://rotaryclubpp.org/)
RCPP is part of Rotary International, one of the largest service organisations in the world. The mission of Rotary is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. It is a non-political and non-religious organisation. There are over 46,000 member clubs worldwide with a membership of 1.4 million.

The Rotary Club of Phnom Penh was established in 1995 and focuses on delivering humanitarian projects, mostly health and education related, that benefit the Cambodian people.

The Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC) (https://csc.org/)
CSC Founder and CEO, Dr. Jim Gollogly, a British-American surgeon, first came to Cambodia in 1992 for a six month assignment with the American Red Cross. After 30 years of war and genocide by the Pol Pot regime, in which educated citizens, including healthcare professionals, were actively targeted for execution, the medical system had suffered tremendously. War and landmine injuries were rampant yet support for those disabled as a consequence was scant at best.

Jim returned to Cambodia in 1998 and started CSC as a small project to help victims of landmine injuries, many of whom were children. Since then, CSC has grown into what it is today – a tertiary teaching hospital with over 100 Cambodian staff performing free and low-cost surgery in numerous specialties for economically disadvantaged patients.