Local Programs
SHE Scholarships
SHE is currently hosting 2 scholarship programs, the #Diversity Scholarship for students from under-represented demographics and the Inspiration Scholarship for students making their way into medical school. Our aim is to support our local communities by helping students reach their academic goals.
Health Fairs
SHE is an organization that is founded on health equity. Local initiatives such as health fairs focusing on health education and mentoring provide our volunteers the opportunity to contribute to our communities in need.
Telehealth
In order to address health inequities suffered by local communities, especially those impacted disproportionately by COVID-19, SHE is producing a year-long series of health education presentations broadcast through a local Khmer TV station in two languages. The content of these presentations was developed by WiRed International using information from WHO, CDC, and NIH, among other expert sources.
Global Programs
Sustainable Health Empowerment customizes its programs to address each country's unique needs. For example, in Cambodia, we focus on four main areas: providing logistical and material support for local healthcare professionals as they provide services to the community—including our well-woman initiative; health education; disability services and referrals; and community wells. In each of these areas, we work collaboratively with local health professionals and citizen volunteers in order to maximize our impact for the specific locale we are serving. Our goal is always to create sustainable impact, not temporary fixes. We are proud and excited to have begun our series of telehealth missions and continue to collaboratively work with young Cambodian doctors recently graduated to train the next generation of medical professionals.
Spirit of Collaboration & Respect
Collaboration, informed by cultural competency, is the key to sustainability. This includes both US/host site and student/professional collaboration. A measure of success is when we don’t need to physically be in our host countries as they are the true leaders creating change and continuing sustainable change in their own communities.
Heart2Heart
Did you know that breast cancer and cervical cancer are the two of the most prevalent cancers in Cambodia today? Heart2Heart matches donors with indigent women to provide them with life-saving exams. We are grateful for the MOUs we have established with local Cambodian clinics to fund their services to women. As part of the well-woman check-up, we sponsor pap smears and mammograms for women all across Cambodia. If cancer is detected, we work through our Cambodian network to arrange for treatment and raise additional funds as needed.
-Lynne Porter, MA, Director of Heart2Heart
Disabilities Outreach
Disability services and referrals are one of Sustainable Health Empowerment's main areas of focus. In Cambodia, the deadly 70's-era land mines coupled with the pandemic of workplace safety hazards have resulted in hundreds of thousands of amputated limbs and other disabling injuries. We are very proud to be able to provide funding for prosthetic hands and referrals for rehabilitation to those in need.
Additionally, many of the people we serve lack knowledge about available assistance for those born with disabilities, such as cerebral palsy and MEC. We work hard to educate people about disabilities and connect them with needed services.
Health Education
“Education is one of our core tenets, for it is only with education that healthcare can become self-sustaining.” Topics such as infectious disease prevention, sexually transmitted infections, oral health and vision care, women’s health issues, first aid, and heart health are addressed. Knowledge is power. In the absence of doctors in certain villages, it is imperative that individuals can save their own lives and others. We integrate education into all our missions. For sustainability, health education topics are taught collaboratively between US and Cambodian medical volunteers to ensure culturally competent delivery.
-Dr. Teri Tan, PhD, Founder SHE
Clean Water
The Health System in Cambodia cannot keep up with the demands of its 14 million citizens. 80% live in rural areas and most have no clean water. We look at health holistically and believe that clean water is a key part of health. We have therefore sponsored several water wells in certain villages.
-Dr. Hanh Nguyen-Clark, MD, Chief Medical Officer, SHE
Ongoing & Upcoming Events
Our Mission
Sustainable Health Empowerment harnesses the power of education, local resources, and cross-cultural collaboration to foster equitable healthcare in underserved communities around the world both locally and globally.
What Makes Us
Different?
• Sustainability is our goal.
• Education is key.
• Rapid Response to local and global needs such as COVID-19 pandemic is our goal.
• Collaboration with host communities is essential (community leaders, healthcare professionals, students & local indigenous people).
• Immediate health needs are addressed through collaboration with local healthcare professionals (dentistry, vision, prosthetics, health screenings).
• Shipment of equipment and supplies are arranged to underserved areas throughout the year.
• Ownership is transferred for sustainability.
• Partners take pride.
At SHE, we are committed to fostering sustainable health care by empowering people—equipping them with the knowledge and resources needed to maintain healthy practices and to access care after we are gone.
This is why we focus on education, collaborative training, and working within a community’s infrastructure.
Improved health equity must continue once we leave a site, or our work is not done.
Testimonial
"While distributing glasses I learned how privileged we are in 1st world countries to have the simplicity of a phone call to get what we need. What breaks my heart is to know that when these people are hurting, they do not have the resources we have."
Kenneth Phin, 2017 / Read Full Blog
Get involved
Are you interested in joining forces to amplify this cause? We would love to include you in our esteemed roster of volunteers, donors, collaborators, and sponsors.
We have volunteer opportunities both locally (California) and abroad.
Volunteer opportunities
Join a mission trip abroad or volunteer with us locally, in Northern or Southern California.
Make a donation
Our organization and the people we serve rely on the support of monetary and in-kind donors like yourself.
Become a sponsor
If you're interested in sponsoring a trip, event, or equipment shipment, we would love to discuss a partnership.