Planet Asia Podcast: Socially Responsible Travel in Cambodia
Guest: Dr. William Houseworth (DWH)
Host: Scott Coates (SC)
Air Date: March 3, 2011

Dr. William Houseworth

This is a partial transcript of our Planet Asia podcast interview with Dr. William Houseworth, Director of the Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

You can listen to the Podcast by clicking on the following link or enter it in your browser: http://smilingalbino.podbean.com/2011/03/03/social-responsible-travel-in-cambodia-dr-william-houseworth-director-angkor-children%e2%80%99s-hospital/

SC:
Hi, this is Scott Coates, co-founder of Smiling Albino adventures. Today I’m in Siem Reap, Cambodia, a country that’s struggling to recover from the bloody rule of the Khmer Rouge in the 70’s, Vietnamese occupation after that for about a decade, then being run by the United Nations. And the country’s slowly finding its way onto its feet. And thanks in large part to a lot of donations and non-government organizations, NGOs.
Today, I have the pleasure to be sitting with Dr. William Houseworth. He is the Director at the Angkor Hospital for Children, a place that Smiling Albino has been involved with for the last few months and a really inspirational place. Thanks for being with me today Dr. Houseworth.

DWH:
Thanks for having me. You can call me Dr. Bill, like everyone here does.

SC:
Alright, Dr. Bill, then. Dr. Bill, can you give me a bit of an idea about what the Angkor Hospital for Children is?

DWH:
The Angkor Hospital for Children is a charity pediatric facility here in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have technically 50 beds in our in-patient ward. We’re here to serve the children in northern Cambodia affected by poverty and disease. We’ve been here for ten years and we grow each and every year as the demand and the need grows each and every year.

SC:
So, where are you from originally?

DWH:
I’m an emergency room physician from the States, originally. My wife is a physician as well. And for years, as we worked in the States, we did a short-term trip. We did a lot of volunteer trips and we had a growing interest in what can be done in a more sustainable way. And after a little soul-searching, we found this opportunity to take over the leadership of this hospital. And we’ve been here for three years now and enjoy every minute.

SC:
Wow. Given the challenges facing Cambodia, NGOs play an important role in addressing many social needs. Can you give listeners an idea of the size and the scope of the NGO sector in Siem Reap and the entire country of Cambodia?

DWH:
The NGO sector, this is very large in Cambodia and it’s good and bad, I think. The NGOs serve a lot of needs that currently the government of Cambodia can’t quite keep up with. And they also address needs that perhaps would not even come out of a function of a government in normal situations. So there’s probably hundreds of NGOs right here in Siem Reap with their offices located here in Siem Reap, and again, it’s good and bad.
There are some that I trust and really like working with and there are some that I think probably need a little bit more oversight here in Cambodia. I always like to say, my standard line here in Cambodia is, “What’s the best thing in Cambodia? It’s unregulated. What’s the worst thing about Cambodia? It’s unregulated.” And that goes for the NGO community, I bet, as well.

SC:
What are some of the top challenges facing the country and how do you think NGOs help with those challenges?

DWH:
Well, we work for them partly in the health sector, and so there’s obviously a huge health need within Cambodia to rebuild infrastructure. You mentioned the Khmer Rouge in the 70’s, but Vietnamese occupation in the 80’s and the convoy in the 90’s. It was only around the year 2000 that schools, hospitals, systems were beginning to be built back. So, the health sector here still needs a lot of help.
Ten years ago, when the hospital was founded and one in five children died before their fifth birthday, today, that number is one out of fifteen die before their fifth birthday. That’s a lot better but it’s a far cry from a more developed nation. You know in the United States, that number is probably more that of one out of 180 children die before their fifth birthday. So we still have a long ways to go here in Cambodia to get things right.

SC:
Wow. A neat thing about running a travel company is our guests and the people we meet. And a lot of them, regardless of whether they’re traveling in Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, I think a real kind of trend, let’s call it, has been for people to want to feel they’ve made some impact or difference in the areas they’re traveling rather than just sitting on the beach and having great meals. And it’s been a great part of the business for us to be able to connect people and that’s why I think we try to serve as a connector.
People that come to places usually have a short, limited amount of time to be in that country, but then even a more limited amount of time to really make a true difference in aspects of time. So, for people that say come to Siem Reap, Cambodia on a trip with limited time, what’s the best way you think they can make a real difference contribution without being disruptive at the same time?

DWH:
Well, I think your travel agency is great. I think anybody who comes to Cambodia, do a little bit of legwork, a little research before you come to kind of search out what NGO, what organization you think might be of interest to you and you ought to get a feel for those doing quality work.
Again, I say that the best thing about this place is its unregulated and the worst thing is it’s unregulated. So you need to be careful who you come in and partner with or work with. But there are plenty of opportunities to make a little bit of a difference in a few hours time.
With us, we have a volunteer program. We have ways for people. If you’re referred to us, we’re able to have you come in and work with our play therapist to know some of the children, see the need here. And honestly, people coming by have seen what we do, catching the vision, giving us a bit of encouragement, it’s huge to us. You know it’s not easy work here.
We all, our staff appreciates it, our expatriate staff, our Khmer staff, all appreciate it when people come by, see what we’re doing, buy into it a little bit and give us encouragement. It really tanks us up. We’re not in this for the money.

SC:
Outside of the Angkor Hospital for Children, what are some of the prime NGO or volunteer opportunities that you think exists and are worth people considering?

DWH:
For me, I like organizations that work with children. Obviously, it’s in the health sector, but as far as helping children in need, helping them stay in their families, help them have a better living here in Siem Reap, there are a couple of organizations like Friends International and Sangkheum Center do a lot of work with street children, a lot of work with children at risk in their families and communities and trying to keep those families and communities intact. So those are a couple of organizations I think that are good for travelers to stop by, see if there are volunteer activities, get to know those organizations and to see them.
It’s great when people come to the temples, spend some time at the hotel, relax and those types of things, but there are so many good NGOs here that are worth visiting, getting down and giving the people there encouragement. I’d encourage the people there to drop by.

SC:
Without naming any names, are there any things you can think of that if people are doing some research online that are sort of warning signs that hey, this organization is probably one you want to avoid?

DWH:
You always want to make sure that organizations are connected with other ones. So if you look online at an organization, make sure that they have relationships on their website or a site with other NGOs. Isolated NGOs tend to, again, be unregulated. They’re not answering to others and that can be a challenge. Word of mouth is also the biggest thing. So if you can find through research online or through your travel agency, that’s great, those are great resources. But also hitting the ground and asking people when you’re here, that’s the biggest thing.
Ask the Cambodian people themselves. Ask your tuk tuk drivers. Ask the people at the hotel you’re staying at. Ask them what NGOs and what places have made impacts to them. For us, if you ask around town, most people have brought their child here at some point and people will tell you honestly what they thing about our hospital. And I think the Cambodian people themselves are the best source of information sometimes.

Inside the AHC Visitor's Center

SC:
Neat. If a traveler, let’s say, just has a couple of hours and that’s all they have and they want to make a difference, what opportunities exist? What could they do, say at the Angkor Hospital for Children?

DWH:
We have a volunteer program here, so when people come by and if there’s a fit, we can let people in with our play therapist, actually work with some of the children briefly. We have a teddy bear program where we actually have supporters come by and help us distribute teddy bears to give kind of a comfort to some of the children in our hospital. And for people with special skills, sometimes if people have a medical background or some sort of technical backgrounds, sometimes they can simply work with some of our staff and do a little education or training while they’re here. It just depends on the individual. I’d strongly encourage people to not underestimate yourselves.
Some of our most important or helpful volunteers have been people with absolutely no medical background. One of our most popular and helpful volunteers was actually an exercise trainer who developed a program with us for our staff to begin a daily exercise routine together after work, and that’s lasted for years now since that volunteer came through. It’s just that we’ve built our teamwork here that can make a big impact, so I encourage people not to underestimate yourselves and your skills and training can make a difference here.

SC:
You’ve been working here and living in Cambodia for a number of years. You have no doubt seen some horrific and horrible things and I imagine you’ve had some amazing experiences. Can you think of a real highlight or something, one of your most memorable experiences working here at the hospital?

DWH:
You know I think easily, one of the most memorable things from last year was we started a heart surgery program here, so we’re now able to fix some children who have congenital heart disease, have holes in their heart, who otherwise would not be able to receive any care or any help, and it’s really remarkable to see.
We helped one of these children a couple of years ago and the most remarkable thing I saw this year was that child, after we did the surgery, after we helped him, he saved his money for 2 years and he came back to us and he donated $100 himself to our hospital. And that was a child from the rural area of Cambodia whose parents probably made $2 to $3 per day. He had saved and saved and saved to pay back for his care. And to me, when I saw that child, when I met him and he came to us and did that, what I saw was a hope for the future of Cambodia.

SC:
Wow. When I was at your visitor’s center and I watched your wonderful film that introduces the hospital and its story, I noticed that you’ve had some pretty high profile guests – Bill Clinton has been here and Quincy Jones. How did they hear about the hospital and what was their experience here?

DWH:
We have an organization that is supporting our funding arm in the United States called Friends Without A Border. And they have been really strong at trying to build bridges and get our name out there and get us better known in circles in New York City. It was through some of our board members’ connections that Bill Clinton and Quincy Jones and those people have come by.
For us, it’s important for people to have trust in what we do. I think the biggest thing that high profile people do for us when they come by is to show people that we are respected and trusted by people who are certainly in the know.
Bill Clinton’s foundation has worked with NGOs as someone who is very intuitive and knowledgeable about the NGO community. Him coming by and giving us a stamp of approval, if you want to put it that way, was very meaningful for us and very helpful. We don’t get that many high profile people coming through, but when we do, we greatly appreciate it.

SC:
So, it sounds, then, like people, whether they have specific skills and talents and maybe long-term amounts of time to donate to your hospital or short-term, there’s opportunities that exist sort of for all people here, whether short-term visit or long-term.

DWH:
We love people coming up. We’re all about people and relationships, so yeah, we try our best to get everybody in here to have them learn about the hospital, take part when they can take part, and certainly we appreciate long, short, medium term volunteers. It’s a place that’s been built up with help from the outside.
The nice thing about it now is it’s all Cambodian-run except for a few expatriates. The head of Medicine, the head of Nursing, head of Admin, all of these people are Cambodian themselves, and that’s the way it should be over time. But we still use volunteers and need volunteers to help to get the job done at the end of the day.

SC:
How can people learn more about the Angkor Hospital for Children before their trip and while they’re here?

DWH:
They just need to check out the website, www.angkorhospital.org. It’s a new website. It has a lot of information on it about us. And also, on the website, you can see how to email our volunteer coordinator at Angkor Hospital and through email contact, we can have a discussion about what your skills and talents and interests are and see how we can get you in here working with us.

SC:
Thanks very much, Dr. Bill Houseworth, the director of Angkor Hospital for Children, a place that I feel really privileged to have the opportunity to not only see but get involved with gradually more or so of the last six months.
As you may or may not know, Smiling Albino sponsors a tuk tuk driver here in Siem Reap that shuttles sick patients to and from the hospital. One of the biggest challenges is that people don’t have the money needed just to get their kid to the hospital. The kid gets way sicker than they need to be. We’ve created a double win where the tuktuk driver gets regular work and people get to the hospital.
So I highly recommend, whether you come to the Angkor Hospital for Children or somewhere else, but during your time in Cambodia, do a little bit more than seeing the temples. Get out and make a difference.
Thanks very much, Dr. Houseworth.

With a nurse on a house call

DWH:
Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.

You can listen to the Podcast by clicking on the following link or enter it in your browser: http://smilingalbino.podbean.com/2011/03/03/social-responsible-travel-in-cambodia-dr-william-houseworth-director-angkor-children%e2%80%99s-hospital/

Visit Planet Asia to see the full range of interviews available.
Happy listening!

See some photos from a trip we took with the Angkor Hospital for Children to do house calls in the countryside