Meet Samnang, a 14-year-old boy from Cambodia.
Our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), shares, “Samnang is a young monk who has two sisters and three brothers. He enjoys eating all kinds of food.”
Samnang has been diagnosed with a meningoencephalocele (MEC). CSC explains, “Samnang’s MEC causes brain tissue to push through a bone defect in the skull at the bridge of the nose and causes a pretty severe bump.”
This bump causes Samnang to feel “very self-conscious, even in a place as tolerant as his pagoda. He says he just wants to have a face like kids his age,” CSC reports.
“In addition to looking abnormal, the MEC, left untreated, could cause a litany of medical complications for Samnang in the future.” Some of these potential medical issues involve hindered vision and respiratory problems.
For $390 we can fund Samnang’s surgery. Samnang’s protruding brain tissue will be removed, and the opening in the scull will be repaired with a bone graft. A few months later, he will receive a reconstructive surgery to eliminate any remnants of the bump.
After surgery, CSC predicts, “Samnang’s bump will become much smaller and likely fully go away after minor plastic surgery later.”
Let’s fund surgery for Samnang!

