Adults and children living on the lake have virtually no access to health services.
For some villages we serve, the closest hospital or health center is at minimum, five hours away by boat and car, and the cost is too much to bear.

The Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is home to some of the poorest and most remote villages in Cambodia. Over 1 million people live on and around the lake and the average family makes an income of $2.50/day, often by fishing.

Many of the diseases experienced by villagers are highly preventable. Villagers have limited access to hygiene and sanitation and lack the education to understand how to prevent these diseases. For them, The Lake Clinic is their only option to care and education. There are no health centers or hospitals on the lake, and ordinarily, no school teachers.

The lake water level changes drastically between the wet and the dry seasons as the Mekong River increases hugely in volume and reverses the flow of the Tonle Sap River. From the dry to the wet seasons, the lake’s average depth can change from 0.5m to 9m and an area of 2700km2 to 16,000km2.

This drastic change makes travel difficult and time-consuming, and extreme poverty discourages families from seeking health care due to the high cost of transport and treatment. The long travel to the mainland can cost up to $50 in diesel fuel, which is an amount that is cost-prohibitive to most families.