Poverty often means people have no access to medical care, so many die from easily preventable diseases.

The World Gifts Health and Care (including HIV and AIDS) Fund supports healthcare, disease prevention, and the care of the most vulnerable people in poor communities.

By supporting this fund, you give people who are in desperate need of medical attention, the chance of a safe recovery.

Even the most basic healthcare comes at a price in Cambodia. Despite often appalling conditions, hospital patients must pay for the care they receive, and many sell everything they own to fund their treatment.

When Thy Heng found out she was HIV positive she collapsed. “I couldn’t believe this was happening,” she said.

She travelled the long distance to Phnom Penh to find treatment but, when she arrived, she couldn’t afford the hospital fees and was too ill to travel all the way back home. That night she slept on the hospital floor.

“I had run out of options,” she said. “I was completely alone.” Heng describes what happened next as "amazing".

Maryknoll, an HIV support charity funded by CAFOD, heard about her situation and offered to help. That day, Heng was admitted to their hospice and treated for tuberculosis and dehydration.

"The treatment I received renewed my spirits and saved my life," she says.

Since it opened in 2000, the Maryknoll hospice has treated more than 1,000 patients, despite having only nine beds. It was the first of its kind to offer free treatment for Phnom Penh’s poorest communities. “I’m not sure where I would have ended up without Maryknoll.” says Heng.

Heng is now much healthier and has even started working in the hospice where she was formerly a patient. She takes great pride in her job, “I feel like I’m doing good – that my kindness is making a difference.”