Mission Statement
Friends Without A Border is committed to care for, educate, and provide for destitute, abandoned, neglected, ill and dependent children and their families of certain foreign countries. We started in Cambodia and will maintain our presence there indefinitely. In December 2012, Friends launched its newest project in Luang Prabang, Laos, Lao Friends Hospital for Children.
Description
Friends Without A Border (Friends) is a not-for-profit organization based in New York City. Started in 1996 by world renowned photographer Kenro Izu, Friends is committed to providing high-quality and compassionate healthcare to the children of Southeast Asia. In 1999, Friends built and opened Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Since that time, AHC has treated over 1.2 million children, trained thousands of healthcare professionals, and is considered "one of only three essential healthcare institutions" in the country as stated by a Cambodian Health Minister.
In January of 2013, Friends and AHC celebrated the long-held goal as Izu handed a green heart-shaped "key to the hospital" to the passionate and dedicated staff of AHC. Friends continues to help support AHC in their fundraising goals.
In November of 2013, Friends celebrated the ground breaking ceremony of a new pediatric hospital called Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC). Slated to open in the spring of 2015, LFHC will include: Inpatient & Outpatient Departments, 24 beds, Emergency Room, Intensive Care Unit, Operation Theater, Laboratory, Pharmacy, Radiology, lecture rooms & library to teach pediatric medicine to the future leaders of the hospital, kitchen & laundry for families visiting the hospital, and a vegetable garden to teach families how to prepare nutritious meals. Utilizing the successful model of Treatment + Education + Prevention achieved at AHC, Friends will also implement outreach programs to teach children and families health promotion and disease prevention.
