Yunnan, Cambodia help each other in COVID-19 response

China and Cambodia have conducted mutual assistance in the  COVID-19 epidemic control and prevention.

After the COVID-19 outbreak in China, Chea Munyrith’s organization joined hands with the Cambodian office of the Yundi Behavior and Health Research Center in donating medical supplies to Yunnan province. Chea works at a Cambodian NGO.

The event lasted from Jan. 25 to Feb. 3, during which parents of 86 congenital heart diseases (CHD) kids from Cambodia donated over 5,000 masks to Yunnan. Their children had been cured by the Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital.

Later on, the COVID-19 began to hit Cambodia. The Yunnan doctors worried about the Cambodian CHD children. On April 1, Yunnan sent caring packages to CHD kids via the same Yundi center.

In the caring packs, there are masks, disinfectants, sanitizer, thermometers and a handbook on COVID-19 prevention in Khmer.

Chea Munyrith said that some left their caring packs to needier families and donated detergents to 50 families.

On April 3, six-year-old girl Phe Nary living in Siem Reap received a Yunnan caring package delivered to her by a local official. Phe Nary’s mother was moved by the loving words on the package.

The caring package reminded the mother of the Chinese doctors who gave Phe Nary a physical re-exam. It took them two days to reach the hospital in Phnom Penh. “The help and advice is unforgettable,” said the mom.

Up to April 7, all the caring packages were delivered to the needy. “If the families in the remote areas were equipped with phones, it would be easier to do the job,” said Chea Munyrith and other volunteers.

When Chea Munyrith was preparing for an online meeting for CHD children in 6 countries on May 19, he received a call from a 13-year-old boy, saying the caring package can be sent back to his Chinese doctor as a gift. By then, all COVID-19 cases in Cambodia were cured.

Chea Munrith felt all his efforts were worthwhile. These CHD children needed help the most, and they are the most caring children, as well. 

Now, China and Cambodia are recovering from the COVID-19 outbreak. “The bilateral ties are strengthened by the joint epidemic prevention,” said Chea Munrith. “And China has shared its experience with Cambodia and others.”

In June, the Yundi center will hold an online seminar on curing schemes for CHD children in Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Bangladesh. “I hope the COVID-19 to be rid of soon, so that another 46 Cambodian kids with the CHD could get cured at Fuwai hospital in Yunnan,” said Chea Munrith.

Reporting by Shen Yan; trans-editing by Li Yushuangyue and Wang Shixue