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Meet Step Safe's New Member - Sophie Chung, MD |
Dr. Chung was born and raised in Austria into a multi-cultural family, as her parents are Chinese and Cambodian. Growing up in a German-speaking country with Chinese and Cambodian parents fostered her natural linguistic talents — today Sophie speaks German, Cambodian, Chinese, English, French and Spanish. After numerous conversations with Step Safe Director Craig McMahon, Sophie has officially joined the Step Safe team.
According to Sophie, "I have been excited and touched to see and experience people dedicated to building something so sophisticated and meaningful. As a child of Cambodian refugees who made their way through the Pol Pot regime to Austria, it was a blessing for me to have the opportunity to visit the country where my roots lie and meet partner groups of Step Safe. Step Safe’s work has shown me that there are a lot of good people helping others help themselves, and that people are not left alone. What impressed me most was that Step Safe seeks to build personal and close relationships, Step Safe ensures that help and funding reaches the direct beneficiaries – the people in the field – and that Step Safe's philanthropy model is flexible, innovative, encouraging and 'out of the box.' I'm grateful to be a little part of this great community, and I'm looking forward to assisting as a consultant and medical doctor in the years to come."
Sophie describes her visit to a disabled children’s school outside Phnom Penh, "Brother Terry lead us through the classrooms where there were children with all kinds of disabilities studying subjects such as English and math, and proudly wearing their school uniforms. Children’s big smiles and happy cheers in every classroom greeted us, and for me that was one of the most touching moments of the entire trip. The school children are treated and cared for with respect and dignity, yet are challenged to learn and work hard. The amazing environment at this school is most certainly a unique place for disabled children to prepare for a tough life in a country where 'handicapped accessible' is an unknown term."
The next day Sophie met with our partner, PNKS, a Cambodian-run NGO that focuses on supporting villages with educational and economic development programs and currently serves over 50,000 people in the provinces of Kampong Speu and Prey Veng.
Sophie recounted with excitement her visit with PNKS, "In order to identify the poorest families in the village and to mark the location of streets, houses and water pumps, villagers produced a hand-drawn map of their village. I was moved to see people, who barely own a full shirt and a pair of pants, proudly take an active role in their village. It was clear that by guiding the villagers and assigning clear responsibilities, people feel that they are accountable for what is happening in their own village."
On behalf of the entire Step Safe community, we are thrilled to have Sophie as part of the team. |
