A Handicap International project in Cambodia has benefitted from a €5,000 donation from KBL European Private Bankers Luxembourg.

The cheque was presented by Olivier de Jamblinne de Meux, Member of the Executive Committee of KBL EPB Luxembourg, to Bénédicte Degeest, Vice President of Handicap International. The donation will go towards training medical staff in rehabilitation at the pilot centre in Kampong Cham, Cambodia, and to raising awareness of the risks of explosive remnants of war to civilians.

Handicap International was established in Cambodia at the Khao camp in 1982, where 160,000 survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime has taken refuge, among them nearly 6,000 amputee victims of landmines littering the border with Thailand. In 1990, mine accidents made victims of 200 Cambodians every month. Outraged by the suffering and absence of adequate reponse to their needs, three young doctors and physiotherapists established equipment activities and physical rehabilitation programmes.

Handicap International officials also opted to get involved in the implementation of demining programmes and raising public awareness of the dangers posed by these weapons, particularly to avoid accidents affecting the general public. A large network of rehabilitation centres has been established in ten provinces around the country.

 

Photo by C. Chibaeff/ Handicap International (L-R9: Olivier de Jamblinne de Meux; Bénédicte Degeest.