I first learned about PfD when PfD conducted malaria event and malaria education activity in my village using mobile video show. PfD also conducted many other community programs and training such as WASH, nutrition, child survival, agriculture, and chicken raising in my community. In 2013, PfD selected and trained me as Mobile Malaria Worker where I gained the knowledge and skills to provide malaria health education, diagnosis and treatment to my community members.

I am so proud to do this volunteer work.

I have gained a lot of recognition and respect from the community members, my family, health center staff and the local authorities. I was so impressed with the malaria education activity; it informed and educated me and the community members on how to protect ourselves from malaria and where we can seek treatment when we are infected.  Because I live in a malaria endemic village with lack of clean water, I am particularly passionate about malaria and WASH program of PfD’s work.

Our work saved our lives.

I think others should join the PfD family because PfD is the oldest NGO in Kratie Province in Cambodia  and is implementing community development work to improve the quality and save lives of community members, particularly the vulnerable ones.

Throughout all of December we will be sharing stories from our staff, board, partners, and others from around the globe. We can’t wait to share all of the hopeful, engaging, and positive stories from our work. We will be using the hashtag #IamPfD on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Be sure to share the posts that you find engaging and inspiring with friends and family and don’t forget to donate and take an #unselfie of you making a donation and share it with us and use the #IamPfD for a chance to win prizes from PfD.

Ms. Nub Chin and her family currently live in the malaria endemic forest village of Chhour Krang in Thmey commune, Snoul district, Kratie Province. With her family she lives in a village impacted by deforestation and climate change. Many of her fellow villagers are smallholder farmers who work on their farms daily in order to make a living. Malaria significantly impacts their work-life when it goes untreated.

Although malaria is easy to treat, it is a problem for many, like the Chin family, who do not have access to health center or health practitioners. Like many in her village, Ms. Nub Chin has personally experienced dealt with malaria. Ms. Nub Chin and her daughter frequently got malaria in part because they didn’t understand the causes of it nor did they know how to prevent it. They believed that a spirit caused malaria and sought treatment from a traditional healer (Kru Khmer) leaving their condition un-treated.

When they got sick with malaria, Ms. Nub Chin and her family were left with two options: 1. Spend a lot of money on transportation to reach the public health center dozens of kilometers away or 2. Seek treatment from the private health provider which is closer, but more expensive.

Ms. Nub Chin was motivated to change this!

After attending the malaria health education training provided by PfD, Ms. Nub Chin learned about the cause of malaria infection and treatment options. After the training, she expressed interest in volunteering to help her village. With training and support from PfD, Ms. Nub Chin became a Village Malaria Worker. As a Village Malaria Worker, Ms. Nub Chin has not only helped protect her family from malaria infections, but she has helped all the villagers, particularly the vulnerable ones, from malaria infections. In addition, she is able to save the money that she would have spent previously on malaria treatment.

Ms. Nub Chin is not only a trained Village Malaria Worker who provides malaria education, diagnosis and treatment in her village, but she has also offered to take her motorcycle to other nearby villages to provide education, diagnosis and treatment to other key affected population such as forest workers, seasonal migrant workers and smallholder farmers.

In the simplest of terms, Ms. Nub Chin is saving lives.

Her motivation and dedication have helped prevent and treat hundreds of malaria cases. Because of women like Ms. Nub Chin, families in her village and surrounding villages are able to continue farming and save the money that would have otherwise been spent on malaria treatment to help feed their families and educate their children. Per month, Ms. Nub Chin provides health education to about 20 villagers on average, conducts around five blood tests among malaria suspected cases to screen for malaria, and provides treatment to all confirmed malaria cases.

Only with the leadership and dedication of local volunteers will we be able to tackle some of the biggest health challenges facing our world today. PfD strongly believes that Ms. Nub Chin is an example of the dozens of other local volunteers in Cambodia and around the world.

Throughout all of December we will be sharing stories from our staff, board, partners, and others from around the globe. We can’t wait to share all of the hopeful, engaging, and positive stories from our work. We will be using the hashtag #IamPfD on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Be sure to share the posts that you find engaging and inspiring with friends and family and don’t forget to donate and take an #unselfie of you making a donation and share it with us and use the #IamPfD for a chance to win prizes from PfD.