Crowdfunding for our Cambodia Sensory Spaces

We are delighted to announce the opening of the sixth SicKids Sensory Space. Located in the outpatients department at Battambang Referral Hospital in North Cambodia. It’s the fourth Sensory Space to open in Cambodia.

Sensory facilities are proven to support the development of the senses – like touch, hearing and sight – through special lighting, music, tactile objects and a calming environment.

The new Sensory Space opened in November 2018 thanks to a partnership between SicKids and Transform Health Cambodia. It’s kitted out with top quality sensory equipment, most of which isn’t otherwise available in Cambodia.

Developmental delay is prevalent among children and young people in Cambodia, but unlike some other countries in the world, there is very little access to specialist care. The new SicKids Sensory Space is the first-of-its-kind in northern Cambodia, and will greatly support the wellbeing of the many children and young people in and around Battambang, the country’s third most populous city.

The first SicKids Sensory Space was opened in September 2017 in the Children’s Emergency Department at North Manchester General Hospital in the North West of England, by Her Excellency Dr Soeung Rathchavy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cambodia to the United Kingdom. Her Excellency was keen to learn more about how children in Cambodia would benefit from similar facilities.

Since then, SicKids has funded, designed, built and opened new Sensory Spaces at M’Lop Tapang Health Centre, M’Lop Tapang Baby Care Programme and at Phnom Kiev, all in the Sihanouk Province in southern Cambodia, and the PANDA unit at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, in the UK.

The template for the SicKids Sensory Space was co-designed with children and young people and their families, ensuring it met the needs of patients needing these life-changing facilities.

Den Carter, Trustee of SicKids said:

“Sensory facilities are a crucial part of child development, especially for children with conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Development Delay, Learning Disabilities and Autistic Spectrum Disorders, which are common in Cambodia. The SicKids Sensory Space concept takes all the life-enhancing equipment, toys and principles from traditional sensory rooms, and enables them to be re-packaged for use in physical spaces where you wouldn’t usually find this amazing kind of kit. It’s a delight to introduce the concept to the north of Cambodia, playing a small but significant role in protecting the country’s future, one child at a time.”

We are very grateful for all of your support and would like to take this opportunity to send you our very best wishes for 2019.

Links:

• News about our Battambang Sensory Space