27/07/2025
Some difficult and disappointing news to share.
Whilst 23 Health Post now has record numbers of patients as it is open 6-days a week - with mid-wife Srey Ka and nurse Mr Try regularly staying overnight.
It has been a challenging period since my last appeal update in Feb - when all objectives of our booster campaign had been achieved, and more - except our final, key step: delivery of the portable Ultrasound scanner, which has not happened.
This is very disappointing news for us all. In February, believing the update that the scanner was en-route, I prepared end-of-campaign report for usual transparency to share, linked below. They include payments made to Dara for the Ultrasound (as our trusted lead, coordinating purchase and paid funds to pay to supplier). I have held off sharing whilst finding out this situation for sure.
Regrettably, I now need to confirm that the Ultrasound will not be delivered - as the final payment was never made.
Multiple delivery dates were given last year, and Feb '25 was finally confirmed in January. When Feb passed without delivery, my requests for supplier confirmations from went unanswered.
Since March, Dara’s involvement in the project noticeably reduced. His last visit to M’pai Bay was at Khmer New Year in April. We now understand he has left the area, possibly the country. It also appears that $50 monthly donations Dara continued to receive have not been used for project costs, adding to our growing concerns. Since April, multiple people and messages have gone unanswered. A meet planned 20th May did not happen and several deadlines for response have now passed.
We have since, spoken directly with the Ultrasound supplier, who confirmed that although the $1,350 deposit was paid in February last year - the remaining $3,150 balance was never actually paid. As a result, the deposit is now also lost.
Our collaboration has always been rooted in trust, which brings both benefits and risks. Unfortunately, in this case, trust was broken — which has been a difficult and hard lesson for all involved. It is so disappointing that the community does not benefit from the device we worked so hard to raise funds for.
We are currently exploring formal avenues — including police, local council, and employer contacts — with the goal of recovering funds to allow them to be used on the Health Post.
Despite this setback, we remain committed to the project and continue to support 23 Health Post. The rest of the appeal’s equipment is in place, medications are stocked, and day-to-day services are all working very well. We are very grateful for Srey Ka and Mr Heng's hard work and dedication.
I’ve waited to share this update because it’s been genuinely hard to process and put into words. Accepting what has happened — and the shadow it has cast (on all the positive) — has taken time.
But now, it’s important to share this with you - our kind and appreciated supporters. I will share more significant good news on the projects progress very soon.
In the meantime, please feel free to ask any questions.
I’m always open to sharing more details and taking on board the learnings from our approach.
Link to English version of report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i2aOLR-EeWXaplMp-Umz1K05bnNJMXkP/view?usp=drive_link
Link to Khmer version of report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14W5v6J8L5irxDGWj8NMdu0KaF-A2D4dR/view?usp=sharing
Thank you again for being with us on this journey — even through the difficult parts 🙏
