Supply Healthcare to Floating Villages in Cambodia

1. Introduction

Since 2007, The Lake Clinic (TLC) has delivered free healthcare to nine floating villages on the Tonlé Sap — the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. These communities are entirely isolated from Cambodia's health system. The closest village TLC serves is 30 km from port; the furthest is 100 km. For a family earning an average of $2.50 per day, the $50+ cost of reaching the nearest government health centre is simply out of reach. Without TLC, most of these families would go without any healthcare at all.

This report covers TLC's activities during the first half of 2026 (January–June) and reflects the continued commitment of our GlobalGiving donors to sustaining this essential service.

2. What We Did: H1 2026 Highlights

Between January and June 2026, TLC completed 186 clinical missions across our nine lake villages. Our interdisciplinary clinical team — comprised of Cambodian physicians, nurses, and midwives — delivered 21,095 healthcare services to 6,210 individual patients. Services spanned:

General outpatient care: 9,173 clinical consultations for acute and chronic illness, including respiratory infections, skin conditions, hypertension, and diabetes management.

Maternal and reproductive health: 106 antenatal visits and 180 family planning consultations, including IUD placements, contraceptive counselling, and referrals for high-risk pregnancies.

Dental services: 331 dental treatments including cleanings, extractions, and fillings, with continued emphasis on preventive oral health education.

Mental health and domestic violence support: 99 individual counselling sessions provided across our villages.

Vaccination and preventive care: 484 vaccinations administered, coordinated with Cambodian Ministry of Health guidelines.

Referrals: 26 patients referred to higher-level care — each representing a case that could not be managed in the field and that TLC facilitated access to.

3. A Milestone for Long-Term Sustainability

This year brought a significant milestone for TLC's long-term sustainability. In 2026, we secured the Honnold Foundation Core Fund — a multi-year partnership that will underwrite TLC's solar-powered floating clinics on the Tonlé Sap. Solar energy enables our clinics to operate through the night, power medical equipment in the most remote locations, and eliminate reliance on diesel fuel. This is not simply an operational upgrade; it is a commitment to the lake communities that we will keep our promise of reliable care, regardless of the hour or the season.

As our founder put it: "Solar energy doesn't just power our floating clinics — it powers our promise. A promise that no matter how remote the village, no matter the hour, The Lake Clinic will come."

4. Our Donors Made This Possible

Project #41910 is the cornerstone of TLC's presence on GlobalGiving, and we are deeply grateful to every donor who has contributed to this work. In July 2026, our GlobalGiving community participated in Bonus Day — a matched-giving campaign that amplified the impact of every donation made through this project. Thanks to your generosity, TLC is on track to reach our $100,000 goal, with $79,581 raised to date from 561 donations.

To put this in context: a $500 donation funds one full week of clinical services to more than 200 patients at our lake and river clinics. A $100 gift provides a biosand water filter — clean water for a family, for life. Every contribution to this project is directly traceable to real outcomes in communities that have no other option.

5. Looking Ahead: July – December 2026

In the second half of 2026, TLC will:

—  Complete the installation of solar systems at our moored floating clinics, with the Honnold Foundation Core Fund fully operational.

—  Maintain monthly missions to all nine floating villages, targeting 42,000 or more total healthcare services for the full year 2026.

—  Expand our biosand water filter and floating garden programmes to reach additional families with sustainable nutrition and clean water.

—  Continue our succession planning work, strengthening Cambodian staff leadership across clinical and operational roles.

6. Thank You

On behalf of the nine communities of the Tonlé Sap — and the more than 40,000 people TLC has served since 2007 — thank you. Your belief in this work, expressed through your gifts to Project #41910, makes every mission possible. In the first six months of 2026 alone, our team delivered 21,095 healthcare services. We would not have reached that number without you, and we look forward to continuing this work together through the second half of the year.

Links:

• All about The Lake Clinic - Cambodia