Why Cambodia?

It’s just over forty years since the Khmer Rouge devastated Cambodia. The brutal regime ruled the country from 1975 to 1979 under its leader, Pol Pot and were responsible for one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century, claiming the lives of over two million Cambodian people. Hundreds of thousands of the educated people were tortured and executed in special centres, and anyone thought to be an intellectual of any kind was killed. Wearing glasses was seen as a sign of intelligence resulting in an untimely and unpleasant death for the wearer. The entire health care and education system was destroyed, and it’s estimated that by end of the regime only 10 doctors survived. All infrastructure, transportation, power, water, sanitation, and irrigation were destroyed, taking the country back to ‘year zero’.

One of the charity's founder members, Edwin Pugh, had a long association with Cambodia and a trip to the country with former director of nursing at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust Sue Smith resulted in a visit to the Battambang Referral Hospital. The idea for the charity and its work arose from that visit.