The morning began with breakfast at Chez Heidi. The limited but satisfying selection of bread rolls,jam, peanut butter and bananas soon had us ready to go (unless you had had your loperamide chaser). This morning we where off to Sambo's School for a clinic of "50, maybe 60 persons", learning from our experiences of Sambo's previous clinics we had prepared for 120. Pharmacy supplies are running low so we need to be careful with our dispensing, but we did have a small amount put aside for New Smile which we would have to use if more turn up.
A quick ride through the dusty soulless streets of Poi Pet and we where at the school, and once again Sambo had everything under control. The nurses set up their stations on the tables laid out in each of the four class rooms while pharmacy had a large table set up at the opposite end of the room from the power points and the fans. It soon became apparent we would have more than the estimated number of patients to see and a quick trip back to the hotel ensued for more supplies.
After finishing this last clinic and saying thanks to Sambo, we headed back to the hotel to quickly pack up and move on out..not before we stopped off on the road to collect two young boys and their parents. These boys had been seen in our first clinic in Poipet and were exhibiting neurological problems requiring further treatment and medication. Unfortunately for them, whilst the Angkor Children's hospital in Siem Reap can offer free treatment and medication, the cost of transport to and from their village, and food whilst they are away from home is the equivalent to just over a weeks wage making this option difficult to achieve for many of the families we saw. The team had decided on seeing these two boys to squash them in our van when we left for Siem Reap and leave them enough money for transport home and food for a week as this would allow them to be assessed and treated more thoroughly. The gratitude the mother and father of these children showed was enough to bring a tear to the eye of many of our group as we left them at the hospital gates and drove to settle into our hotel rooms.
We were all keen for some R and R in Siem Reap which did not disappoint with foot massages and hair washing the order of the day. The hotel kept us on our toes though with two out of three days several rooms were without water and power intermittently ensuring the bounds and openness of our friendships continued to be exposed . The highlights of our time in Siem Reap had to be the visit to Angkor Wat and seeing the Apsara dancing. Both experiences showing off the immense culture evident in many areas of this beautiful country. The Apsara dancing dates back many centuries,however the Pol Pot regime killed the majority of these talented dancers and it is only within recent years that the few surviving artists have been able to rekindle the education and teaching to new generations.
The visit to Angkor Wat left all of the team wanting more....we only had time to visit three of the many temples at the site. All the team commented on the magnificence of the temples and a few even managed an elephant ride...WAT an experience.
The last day was spent quickly catching up on buying souvenirs and gifts to bring home. I am sure every member of the team will remember the trip with great fondness and humility.
Mick
