Roteang Orphanage
(As of
January, 2002)
Song Tola, who turned 1 in December, and is one of the orphans now at Roteang, was born with patent ductus arteriosus, a heart condition that prevents normal circulation. In the United States the condition would be corrected just after birth, but in Cambodia, that's not the case. Without surgery, this little girl won't see her first birthday, and that's why we've decided to pay for the $2,000 operation. Song Tola returned to Roteang Orphanage from Bangkok after her heart surgery with a complete cure.
 | Song Tola waves after returning to Roteang Orphanage from Bangkok. |
Last year we helped arrange for a series of operations by Dr. Daniel Ryan at Massachusetts General Hospital that gave little Srey Mom the chance for a healthy childhood. Srey Mom has since been adopted. Song Tola's serious condition, however, keeps her from flying to the United States for medical care, and while there's certainly no guarantee of success for this child, the procedure offers the only hope she has.
Roteang Orphanage will always be home to a number of children whose medical conditions will make it impossible for them to find families. More than a third of the population is in that category. About half those children have HIV/AIDS, a segment expected to increase as Cambodia sees a continued climb in the disease. Others have TB, heart problems, and one child is on a feeding tube. We have started immunizing all children who cannot be adopted against Hepatitis B, a blood-borne pathogen responsible for a 300 percent increased risk of liver cancer and other serious complications. The three-shot series will cost the foundation about $45 per child, but will eliminate one further life-threatening problem these children might otherwise face.
Donations
for Roteang, and all of our projects, come from across the United States and Canada.
For instance, construction of Roteang Orphanage's new kitchen received nearly
full sponsorship from Trinity Lutheran Church of Princeton, Minn., with the help
of Krissie Mason and Sandy Powers, who organized a recent fund drive there. The
Sharing Foundation has expanded as the needs have become clear, and the opportunities
to help have arisen.
The new Roteang Orphanage can care for up to 65 children,
many destined for homes in the United States, but the village projects are having
a positive effect on hundreds of children who will grow up and stay in Cambodia.
Our focus has widened, but our core mission has stayed the same.