Dear Editor,

I was sad to learn there is apparently no public sympathy for the financial crisis the Kantha Bopha Hospital is facing.

Several reports in local and international media have highlighted that the hospital urgently needs help if it is to survive. Indeed, this is an extremely urgent issue for us all.

Unlike the Koh Pich stampede in 2010 or the fighting on the Cambodia-Thai border, this in-house health crisis is largely ignored by Khmers.

The Kantha Bopha Hospital has greatly enhanced the lives of the next generation of Cambodians by generously treating thousands of infants and young children whose impoverished parents could not afford proper medical care.

Many of them would have died were it not for the treatment provided by this hospital.

I have followed up the news about the fund-raising, and it appears few people have made their contribution; most of us continue to ignore it.

I have visited the Kantha Bopha Hospital several times, bringing my two-year-old son for treatment of his respiratory disease. I was warmly welcomed, and he was hospitalised safely.

I will never forget the goodness this hospital has shown me and my family.

Although I cannot help the hospital much by donating, as I live in another country, I know the families of the patients and the hospital staff in this time of crisis would be far from calm.

I can’t imagine the death of my own child from lack of medical care.

I would like to see a real commitment from everyone, especially those with power and resources, to do something like establishing a social foundation to gather resources from everyone, like the one that was set up after the Koh Pich tragedy.

At the very least, such a step would save hundreds of young lives, safeguarding the future of our nation.

This is very urgent, as the lives of young Cambodians are at risk, and it is in your hands to help.

Please do something to help the Kantha Bopha Hospital. I am sure that with our hearts and hands, we can do it.

Chanthy Sam

Bangkok, Thailand

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The views expressed above are solely the author’s and do not reflect any positions taken by The Phnom Penh Post