LIVING in the poorest country in south east Asia, families in Cambodia often have to do almost anything to find a source of food.
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That could mean scraping the very last bits of rice from the bottom of the barrel and living off the very last pieces of food available.
Unfortunately, this rice also carries a risk.
An enzyme found in mouldy rice causes a debilitating birth defect for newborn babies, causing them to be born without a properly developed face.
Between 2500 and 3000 children in Cambodia suffer from Meningoencephalocoele, or MEC, which causes their brain to grow out from between their eyes.
The chances of survival are low.
The Rotary clubs of Bendigo Strathdale and Bendigo South have been raising funds to support a Rotary effort to provide life-saving surgery for these children.
The president of the Rotary Club of Phnom Penh Peter Gray, who has combined with a free children's surgical centre in Cambodia, visited Rotary clubs in Bendigo during the week.
He has lived in Cambodia in six month stints for almost 10 years.
Mr Gray said $800 would provide one child with surgery to remove the protruding growth.
"It happens when the baby is in the womb and the mother eats rice right at the bottom of the pile. It releases an enzyme so the body doesn't develop properly," Mr Gray said.
"This is something that is becoming prevalent in Cambodia. The levels of poverty are incomparable to anywhere else in Asia."
The MEC fund has set a goal of $40,000 in Bendigo to help save at least an additional 50 children, having already performed surgery on 27.
Rotarians head out into villages and counsel the people there, bringing the children back to Phnom Penh for surgery. All money raised goes directly to the Rotary cause.
Mr Gray said the surgery had a 99 per cent success rate.
"The key is to get them into school," he said.
"One child we found begging on the side of the road. The parents often use their children to beg.
"All of the children we need to help have been identified, we just need the funding to be able to give them surgery."
The Rotary Clubs of Bendigo Strathdale and Bendigo South are selling donation gift cards to support the cause.
To purchase a donation for a friend of loved one, contact any Rotarian from the two clubs or call Greg Penno on 0419 003 359.
