Aktion Lächeln in Kambodscha - Ärzte der Welt e.V.

Misery always has a face …
... a name, a very personal story.
“Aw Kohn” [Okun] means “thank you”
in Khmer.The mother of the little
You Ryna said “Aw Kohn” to Médecins du
Monde. She and her daughter, You Ryna,
took nearly an entire day to reach
Kampong Cham to have her daughter’s
cleft of the upper lip, jaw and palate
operated on, by the doctors from Germany.
For greater part of the journey
they came on foot or hitchhiked on
oxcarts. You Ryna was born with this
deformity. Children with such malformations
are often hidden, or worse,
left to themselves after birth.The child’s
mother had heard of Opération Sourire
only by chance on her neighbor's radio.
The little girl can at last be operated
on and has the opportunity to lead a
normal life, to play with other children,
to learn and to later find a husband
who will provide for her. You Ryna is
thoroughly examined by the team
of doctors in a simple hospital ward.
Tears run down the little girl’s cheeks
because she is afraid.
It is perfectly normal and the doctors
are quickly able to win the trust of the
mother and daughter. It is now You
Ryna’s turn. With the simplest of means
the anesthetist watches over the state
of the little girl. The operation takes
just about three hours. Everything again
went well. A small soft toy from Germany
lies next to the little girl when she
wakes up on the floor in her mother’s
arms. Her mother’s eyes begin to glow
when the doctor comes the next day
to remove the bandage.The deforming
cleft lip, jaw and palate had been
successfully corrected. A new life now
begins for the little You Ryna and her
family. “Aw Kohn”says the mother with
tears in her eyes.The next children
are already waiting.
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