Nurse sows seeds of support in Cambodia

A Broome nurse is crafting new ways of support for Cambodian women in need by aiming to donate up to 100 sewing kits.

Nancy Kennedy and her husband Maurice O’Connor have been travelling to the South-East Asian country for the past seven years with Awareness Cambodia — a not-for-profit overseas aid organisation that works in partnership with local communities to assist some of the poorest people in the country.

Each year, they devote a week of their time working in the Kampong Speu province, lending their skills to important projects.

Mr O’Connor works in an orphanage carrying out maintenance work, while Ms Kennedy works alongside a medical team which runs health clinics.

The pair also head out to remote areas visiting villages and run medical clinics with Cambodian doctors and medical students to support some of the most disadvantaged families in the area.

Ms Kennedy said the clinics offered vital care to the villagers.

“These villages are really poor, they don’t have ways to get into the towns,” she said.

“Sometimes we can’t see everybody who’s there, hundreds of people show up for the clinics and sometimes when we’ve only got a day.”

As part of their annual trip, Ms Kennedy said she usually packed essential items to donate to families, such as toiletries and second-hand children’s clothes.

This year, Ms Kennedy said she planned to make up to 100 small sewing kits and donate them to local families.

“It occurred to me that sewing kits would be a really useful thing ... it might be something the mums can teach their daughters and it might be useful because they still do a lot of craft and handwork that they can sell at the markets.”

To reach her goal, Ms Kennedy appealed to the Broome community to support the cause by donating any unwanted needles and thread.

“Any donations would be gratefully accepted.”

For more information or to make a donation, contact Ms Kennedy on 9192 7059 or via her Facebook page.