Healthcare beyond borders
The clinic’s structure was designed by Malaysian architect
Three used containers were refurbished to create the facility.
INSPIRATION: A village in Cambodia still recovering from the destructive rule of the Khmer Rouge finds hope in a community-run clinic founded by two Malaysian doctors, write June Moh and Laili Ismail
ON the northern outskirts of Phnom Penh where Cambodia’s Cham minority have built a life, a villager named Khay was overwhelmed with joy when he was able to walk again and go to the mosque to perform prayers for the first time.
Khay is a patient of Hospitals Beyond Boundaries (HBB). He had suffered from chronic pain that rendered him immobile and house-ridden for a year. The painkillers prescribed by HBB founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohd Lutfi Fadil Lokman turned his life around.
“A simple act of kindness can transform lives significantly. The majority of the Cham community still live in impoverished conditions and lag behind in education and healthcare. The painkiller prescribed to the patient was over-thecounter medication widely available here but not at that village,” Dr Lutfi said.
He drew inspiration from the healthcare system for the underprivileged in Indonesia and India while the operation strategy of HBB was inspired by an American NGO, Partners In Health.
“Although Indonesia is a poor country, they try their best to treat those living
says the smiles and appreciation of patients serve as their motivation.
in rural areas. While pursuing my studies in Indonesia, I got the opportunity to live with the poor Indonesians and I witnessed the medical treatment the needy received,” he said.
At first, he planned to establish an NGO 10 years after his career took off but after an accident that left him hospitalised for two weeks, he realised the preciousness of this fleeting life, which made him determined to live the rest of his life as fully as possible, hence, the idea to set up HBB.
In 2012, Dr Lutfi met a friend and fellow Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia student Dr Wan Abdul Hannan Wan Ibadullah. He knew he had
found the right person to embark on a humanitarian venture and HBB was formed.
“I always had this dream of starting my own NGO and I needed someone to co-found this organisation because I could not start it alone. I invited Dr Hannan to go to India together to get real experiences to learn to help the needy,” Dr Lutfi said.
The hardship and deprivation faced by the slum dwellers in Mumbai were an eye-opener for the duo. They witnessed firsthand that the people living in slums were reluctant to go to the hospital to receive proper treatment.
“Even though we wanted to help them they did not want our help