Summer Internship Reflections - Ryann
My name is Ryann Phillips and I started here at Banyan Tree Clinics as a non profit management intern and was given the opportunity to fulfill the role of Interim Director of Fundraising. This role helped to grow and learn so much throughout my time at Banyan Tree Clinics. Currently, I am a sophomore at the University of Washington and am studying Finance. I have always been passionate about helping others and have always known that I want my career to be impactful.
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Summer Internship Reflections - Cordy
Hello, all! I am Cordy Plymale, the Interim Secretary and Non-Profit Business Management Intern for Banyan Tree Clinics. As my summer internship comes to a bittersweet end, I've been reflecting on all I have gained from this amazing experience. Healthcare accessibility, service, and helping others have always been huge passions of mine. These have been fueled by being heavily involved with various volunteer organizations which have allowed me to see healthcare issues up close.
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Interning Remotely at Banyan Tree Clinics: My Journey in Impacting Cambodian Public Health
About me
Hi my name is Qamer Memon, currently I am a Masters of Public Health student at Purdue Global University. I originate from Pakistan, where I worked as an Obs/gyne managing my own center, but moved to the United States for a chance at a better future for my kids, leaving family, friends and my medical center behind. I moved and after many trials and tribulations, I ended up as an MPH student to intern at Banyan Tree Clinics.
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When work and passion collide
Hello! I am Lauren Soles, a pharmacist, and the newest intern at Bayan Tree Clinics. Since I was a young child, I have wanted to help others. This is one of the reasons I became a pharmacist. Working in the pharmacy provided me with the opportunity for daily patient interaction. I had regulars who I knew by name. They stopped by routinely and trusted me to as their medication expert. After a few years, I felt like something was missing, so I transitioned into another role where I would learn the business of pharmacy. While my new role did not have the same community impacts, it afforded me more autonomy and the ability to travel more.
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Our Founder Visits Cambodia!
Hello, Banyan Tree Clinics supporters! I am embarking on a trip to visit the community of Srae Sdok in Pursat Province, Cambodia. My goal on this trip is to network with the community to better understand how we can best support their needs and to determine the feasibility of the projects we hope to launch in this community. At Banyan Tree Clinics, we understand that the people who are best able to articulate the needs of the community are the members of the community itself, so hearing their voices will be instrumental to achieving our mission.
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Growing Personal and Professional Skills with Banyan Tree Clinics
I joined Banyan Tree Clinics two years ago after responding to a volunteer advertisement. When you first interview for a position, there's that quick sense or intuition about the culture of the organization. I was immediately impressed by the founder’s vision for growing sustainable health infrastructure in rural Cambodia.
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Health in Rural Cambodia - Field Notes from our Summer Intern
Many of the Cambodians working in the public health sector that I talked to identified access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as being one of the biggest outlasting health issues here. 35% of rural Cambodians do not have access to basic drinking water services, and almost 40% do not have access to basic sanitation services. Additionally, many Cambodians still practice open defecation. The United Nations features access to WASH prominently in their Sustainable Development Goals, indicating a recognition of how crucial they are to health and well-being. Globally, almost a million people die every year due to inadequate access to WASH. 100% of these deaths are preventable through education and proper facilities.
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Meet Megan - our first student intern in Cambodia!
Hi everyone! My name is Megan Ruoff and I'm currently spending the summer in Cambodia doing an internship with Banyan Tree Clinics. I'm originally from Portland, but right now I'm doing my undergrad at Swarthmore College, just outside of Philadelphia.
I am interested in a variety of public health issues including nutrition, reproductive health, and sanitation/hygiene, and particularly the ways in which behavioral science can be leveraged to design and implement change in these areas. I love traveling, soccer, warm weather, being outdoors, and meeting new people, so Cambodia has been great for me!
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An Overview of Cambodia's Healthcare System
Cambodia has made remarkable progress in the 21st century, focusing largely on economic growth. As a result, the overall population is healthier and its healthcare system is growing stronger. Such rapid growth, however, has led to a lack of regulation and an extensive private healthcare sector.
Cambodia's budget for health care nearly doubled from 2007 to 2012 and about 50% of health spending is financed by foreign donors. Government funding accounts for most infrastructure and staffing with revenue supported by user charges. As of 2011, more than half of government expenditures were spent on medications and medical supplies, which is much higher than average. Cambodia does not have mandatory health insurance, and the few insurance companies that do exist target workers who can pay premiums, leaving the poor without monetary assistance.
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Different ways you can support Banyan Tree Clinics in making a difference
With so many causes in the world requesting support, it can seem overwhelming. For me, the children of Cambodia have a special place in my heart because of the difficult challenges faced by their parents and grandparents to give them a good life after the devastation of the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields.
Thank you for helping Banyan Tree Clinics raise enough money to get wheelchairs and other medical supplies to the clinic in Pursat Province, Cambodia. The staff are very grateful and we are excited to expand how we can help them. In addition to continue accumulate medical supplies, our next fundraiser goal is to provide health assessments and nutritional education to the area through various means.
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About Cambodia
Cambodia is one of the countries of Southeast Asia on the Indochinese mainland.
Population: 16.49 million (2019)
Capital: Phnom Penh
Language: Khmer (major language)
Government: Constitutional monarchy operated as a parliamentary representative
Currency: Cambodian Riel ($1 U.S Dollar = 4060 Cambodian Riel)
Religion: Buddhism (96%), Islam (2%)