GCL: Sharing the health wealth

Our Global Community Leadership (GCL) team partnered with Utah State University to award participants with upper-division college credit upon the completion of a 5-month long hybrid curriculum and a two-week learning experience in Cambodia. Read about their experiences and learning developments below. Click here to learn more about GCL.

The health committee put together a health fair focusing on prenatal care, first aid, anti smoking, dental hygiene, all the stages of maturation, proper hand washing, as well as CPR for infants and adults. We tried to focus challenges and resources the people of Pursat face. We traveled to two remote villages teachings these lessons and handing out health kits that we put together. These kits consisted of soap, tooth brushes, tooth paste, floss, and hand towels that are sufficient for a family of five. The villagers were very grateful for the donations that the health team provided. The small children were thrilled to get their very own toothbrush.

The Cambodian women were attentive and asked many good questions. In one of the villages the women took turns doing CPR on a manakin we provided. They were especially interested in learning about prenatal health. They had fun doing the exercises that were taught to help strengthen their bodies after menopause. It was interesting to hear what they used for treatment. The Cambodian women said TOOTHPASTE and SALT cures ALL! The health committee was a great group to work with. They all worked together and jumped in when someone needed help. Anti-smoking was a great topic to talk about to the village, because they all have issues with themselves or someone they know. Overall it was great to see the village smile when we handed out the kits for health.

We also had the opportunity to teach the men who work for our in country partner, Sustainable Cambodia. It was a very successful health fair as the men were really engaged in learning ways to teach health and wellness to the students they work with. They also were really excited to learn about responsible drinking. There were so many great questions asked and I think all of us learned more about how to be healthy and take care of ourselves and our families better.