(Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
From 30 May to 1 June 2025, Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) and volunteer teams from Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines worked together to hold a large-scale free clinic in Kabas District, Takeo Province, Cambodia.
The three-day free clinic held at Prey Kabas Referral Hospital was successfully conducted, serving a total of 3,698 local villagers. The doctors and nurses were not only there to relieve patients’ suffering but also to share their medical expertise and humanistic values, working tirelessly to safeguard life, health, and love.
Cherishing every opportunity to serve
The free clinic offered services across five specialties: internal medicine, surgery, ophthalmology, dentistry, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). A 20-year-old girl called Ra Pisey came for treatment during the free clinic as she was troubled by her tooth decay. The dentist performed dental fillings for three teeth, but because her two front teeth were severely decayed, Dr Eugene Tang was invited to conduct a further examination.
(Photo by Cai Meng Ping)
Dr Tang decided to first perform a root canal treatment, followed by teeth filling. The procedure took over an hour, and the toothache that had troubled Ra Pisey for nearly six months was finally resolved, helping her regain her self-confidence. Grateful and visibly joyful, her face lit up once again. In Cambodia, a dental filling can cost tens of US dollars, while a root canal treatment can easily exceed US$100, an amount unaffordable for most locals. For Ra Pisey, the successful treatment brought a deep sense of relief.
Dr Eugene Tang is the convener of TIMA Singapore and has never missed a single overseas medical mission organised by the Singapore team in the past ten years. Having long lost count of how many free clinics he has participated in, Dr Tang remarked, “The number of times isn’t important. The most important thing is to come every time.” He is well aware of the shortage of medical resources in remote areas and that most poor villagers cannot afford medical expenses. Therefore, he makes every minute of every medical mission count and tries to serve as many villagers as possible.
In fact, during this medical mission, Dr Eugene Tang had a frightening encounter. At the end of the first day of the free clinic, after working for several hours without rest, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. "It felt like I was stabbed with a knife. I squatted down. People around me started to look panic and thought I had a heart attack." Fortunately, Deputy Superintendent Dr Heng-Chia Chang from Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital was there and promptly performed an electrocardiogram (ECG) on Dr Tang and confirmed that his heart and lungs were functioning normally at that time.
Deputy Superintendent Dr Heng-Chia Chang from Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital promptly performed an electrocardiogram on Dr Eugene Tang to confirm that his heart and lungs were functioning normally. (Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
Dr Tang said that since there was no major health issue with him, he continued on to serve. "I am already here, so I have to continue, because every minute counts." Whenever there was free time during the free clinic, he would seize the opportunity to have a video call with the Kaohsiung Book Club and listen to Master Cheng Yen’s talks online.
Dr Tang shared that for this free clinic, the advance team from Singapore consisted of 49 people, while the main team had 52 members. He was grateful to the advance team for spending two days cleaning up Prey Kabas Referral Hospital, relocating and setting up medical equipment, and connecting electricity and water, so that the team could see patients with peace of mind as soon as they arrived. He was also grateful for the close cooperation among various medical disciplines, sharing supplies and supporting each other.
The sharing of experience inspires local students profoundly
Leading the advance team this time was Dr Tan Tien Wang, who has participated in overseas medical missions for more than 20 years and has led the advance team for 10 consecutive missions to ensure the team can begin work immediately upon arrival. This time, Dr Tan (pictured below) was on the front line of dentistry, selflessly sharing his clinical experience with local medical students.
(Photo by Phang Wai Wen)
Dr Tan emphasised the importance of clinical experience and diagnosis, which can help students avoid unnecessary mistakes and improve their skills and benefit patients. He believes that the focus of the medical mission is not on the number of patients, but to provide timely treatment. Fifth-year dental student Vong Sinratha had been with Dr Tan for the past two days during the medical mission and he was grateful for this rare internship opportunity. Dr Tan's guidance was pragmatic and through case analysis and good communications between the teams, Vong Sinratha gained a lot from this experience.
Vong Sinratha expressed that Cambodia's medical resources are limited, but he was truly inspired when he saw how the dentists at the medical mission were able to provide high standard services with just simple tools and equipment. He hopes to study hard and become a very good dentist so that he could give back to the country and to the people of his hometown.
Traditional Chinese Medicine offers timely relief and rekindles long-lost connections
Another popular treatment among villagers during the medical mission was TCM. Phos Hay, a 55-year-old farmer, had previously received medical treatment at one of Tzu Chi’s free clinics in 2019. After undergoing acupuncture, her knee pain was relieved for several years, but the discomfort returned last year.
Phos Hay heard from a neighbour that she had recently received TCM treatment and found it very effective, so, she immediately went to the medical mission and seek for TCM treatment as well. A Singaporean TCM physician, Chang Chen Hsien (pictured below), gave her acupuncture and after ten minutes later, she said that her pain had been relieved.
(Photo by Ng Hock Soon)
Before returning home, Phos hay collected some Chinese medicine so that she could return to the fields with peace of mind. TCM physician Chang Chen Hsien said that there is no TCM practitioner in Takeo Province, and similar symptoms can only be treated with painkillers. Although there are TCM practitioners in the capital, Phnom Penh, it will be a two-hour drive away. Not only that, the medical fees are expensive and ordinary villagers will not be able to afford it. Through this free clinic, Phos hay managed to meet the Tzu Chi doctors twice and received timely treatment for her knee injury.
Nay Munirort, a dental student from the University of Puthisastra, who also served as an interpreter between the doctors and villagers, said she was honoured to work with medical staff from various countries. She was especially grateful for TCM physician Chang’s guidance, which gave her a deeper understanding of the mysteries of TCM. She said, "This free clinic has convinced me that the power of compassion and companionship can truly change society. We may not be perfect, and mistakes are inevitable in the process, but we can cherish each other's differences and learn from each other."
Volunteers from two countries joined hands to care for the villagers together
“My mother has not been able to walk anymore since half a year ago. Today, my younger sister and I rode a motorcycle with her sitting between us to come for medical treatment.” Cheng Ra heard about the Tzu Chi Free Clinic when she returned to her hometown to visit her mother. Although there were no men in the family, the two sisters decided to bring their mother to seek medical treatment despite having to overcome some obstacles.
(Photo by Li Guo Yuan)
Their mother, Men Ry, was thin and her family thought she had osteoporosis, which caused her to be unable to stand and walk six months ago. When Dr Tan Chun Yeal examined her, he found that her left limbs were stiff and she was taking high blood pressure medication. He confirmed that she had a stroke and needed further examination and treatment. After receiving the medications on behalf of their mother, the two sisters went home on their motorcycle.
Men Ry's case has been referred to the Samdech Techo Voluntary Youth Doctor Association (TYDA) for follow-up treatments such as brain scans. In the past two days, Dr Tan Chun Yeal has seen several similar cases and found that villagers generally lack knowledge about stroke, so he hopes to work closely with TYDA to help more patients by giving them the right treatment sooner.
Vei Samnang, the governor of Takeo Province, mentioned that the villager’s health is very important and expressed his gratitude to Tzu Chi for helping the sick and suffering villagers regardless of their skin colour, religious belief or political stance and even at their own expenses.
Head of Tzu Chi Cambodia, Ming-Hsuan Hsieh (first from left), and Superintendent of Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Sou-Hsin Chien (second from left), led the governor (the one clasping hands in the picture) and other distinguished guests to visit the various medical sections within the free clinic to express gratitude to the doctors and show concern to the villagers.
During the three-day free clinic, over 100 medical professionals and 933 volunteer shifts worked hand in hand to serve 3,698 villagers, relieving them of various long-standing ailments. Nearly 60 medical students, while assisting with interpretation, also gained a deeper understanding of how to apply what they had learned in the classroom to real patient care. Through this experience, they cultivated compassionate hearts by treating patients as if they were family, adding youthful strength to the effort of safeguarding the health of the local community.
Share 
