CSI-Phnom Penh

No, it’s not what you think it may be. CSI stands for Cooperative Services International and it’s a clinic based in Phnom Penh. We had the pleasure of visiting this clinic today to see what’s being done to meet some of the needs of the Cambodian people. It’s a small clinic, but the workers have large hearts.

Though the clinic does see approx 60 patients per day, the larger goal is to educate and train medical professionals. During the Khmer Rouge regime, we were told that all of the educated people were collected by Pol Pot and executed. This included government officials, teachers, professionals and entertainers (to name a few). As a result, there has been a huge void of qualified teachers across the country over the last 30+ years. According to our guide, World Team’s involvement in the clinic is to help equip the next medical professionals inside the country. Basically, they’re training the people of Cambodia to care for their own people. They do this, though, with the foundation of the gospel. I was encouraged to hear the story of a woman from a distant Province outside Phnom Penh who knew of the clinic due to an earlier visit. When she recognized a man visiting her town from the clinic, she said “I remember you. You’re from the Jesus clinic.”

I’d ask that you all consider praying for this clinic. They’ve apparently lost some funding over the last few years and have been unable to run at full capacity. The result of the reduced funding prevents them from caring for additional patients but more importantly, reduces their ability to train new medical professionals. Full capacity would require a monthly budget of $6-$7,000 per month. Today, they’re operating on half that amount. I was encouraged to hear that in the midst of tight financial resources, God also seems to be putting things in place to begin a new work in the clinic. It reminds me of Jesus’ words to Peter when he said “Upon this rock, I will build my church…” He’s building His church. :-)