Battambang shenanigans

Buffet breakfast this morning - what a treat nearly continental but not quite!! Consisted of boiled rice or fried rice accompanied by eggs and some sort of bacon.
The hotel is very nice and we still are finding it hard to believe that the rooms are $15 a night. An hour massage will cost you $7. So everyone is enjoying the down time. We travelled to a village today that was just about on the Thailand border , very pretty views and about 350+ people waiting to meet us. This village used to be laced with land mines until 1989. There were approx 20 people in the village who had lost a limb due to them.
Caz was first to rate the toilet which came out at a minus figure - so rice paddy field it was.
Lunch today was some sort of chicken soup and rice. Which I personally thought was hard on the pallet.
Bryony and Toni did some face painting with the kids whilst the nurses worked though the day with what drugs they had left. We also gave out numerous mozzie nets and sleeping mats to these lovely people. The village pastor today was such a beautiful man his smile contagious and his joy so obvious. He revelled in the fact that his people were being helped. If only we had the funds to build him a church. They hold all their church meetings and services in his back yard!!
Long two hour trip back to Battambang with Bryony singing her rendition of "we are pharmacy" in the style of sister sledges "we are family" very amusing lyrics that consisted of all the shenanigans of the past couple of weeks.
After passing a man on a motorbike with a live pig that probably weighed in excess of 100kgs on the back of it, we arrived safely back to our hotel. Dinner and relax time after a very busy clinic day. One of our beautiful translators wasn't feeling the best today, so she ordered fried frog with basil for dinner ...? Andi tried this. I don't think she will again :)
All ready for our long road trip back to the city tomorrow

Cor & Toni ~ our pharmaceutical Extrordanaires

Today we have 2 very special guest bloggers who are very much apart of the team. Cor & Toni are here in Cambodia and are from Tasmania.
"dear medical team
What a privilege it has been to spend time with such wonderful people with just one mission. Dedicated, compassionate, all inclusive, all wanting to serve all with one vision.
Right from the start we felt as one, just like Rodney , the translators and drivers would have done. At each clinic you worked tirelessly to relieve pain, prescribe medicine and give advice. And yet you roils stop for a photo as the baby cuddle desire would arrise.
You would bring a smile to a child full of fear or in distress, simply with a sticker, a piece of fruit or a can. You were able to reassure and bless.
Even in pharmacy with the trivial help we could provide, your appreciation for that you did not hide.
You came to bring medical blessing for the Cambodian poor and you go back to Australia having done so much more!
You gave yourselves , your love, your smile, your touch.
When the tiger balm is empty and the tablets are gone, that will still mean so much.
As some of you are already planning to come next year again, we wish you well and great success in the fundraisers and all the fame.
We'll be watching the blog! Toni & Cor.

the road less travelled... by andi n rach

*todays day started with... yep you guessed it...OMLETTE !!!
took a van ride to the village called "ummmmm" because nobody seems to know whats its called, only that it is pastor sythes village. we travelled into the village on a motorbike track . Our translator Lina had to get out and measure the front of the van with a stick and then measure the space in which we had to squeeze thru, we only just fit and nearly took out the mango plantation on the way! (oops)
*We set up our stations in record time as we now have this down to a fine art. The villagers appeared in reasonable health in comparison to previous clinics. Lots of gorgeous children to play with, juggling, wizzy dizzies, hairbraiding, nursery rhymes and stickers with lots of cuddles and giggles. and one particular old lady with the gummiest smile won over our hearts, we dont think she had seen a picture of herself in a photo before , her reaction was priceless.Lots of large families of seven and eight children presented today, about 350 people seen today. Didnt seem so much though as our environment was so beautiful and the people so jolly. Carly made the mistake of not urinating pre clinic today and was the first to visit and rate the facilities 1/10.
A wonder around the markets when we got back today "fried frog anyone" ? i think we have found the cambodian childs freddo frog!! A few of the girls had skirts made by a local taylor. The tailor was quite happy to give her gorgeous baby away to Simone who thought that a skirt and baby was a food deal for $9.
some good video footage was taken of them doing traditional cambodian dancing, although this quickly turned into the 'Nutbush'.
So as we  get ready to lay our weary heads down to prepare for our 3 hour trip to Battambong tomorrow, we bid you farewell and wish you all well. Until the next exciting installment of the NKIC blog

Morning Ladies...... and Andi

By Mick
Day 7,  Pastor Touche's Village.
Luckily today was a late start,  Heidi and Caz had to take one of yesterdays kids to the clinic, which allowed the rest of us more time to recharge from yesterdays marathon clinic. Our schedule should be less hectic from now on with only 3 more clinics.  I'm sure we are all feeling the physical and mental fatigue.  However, after a good breakfast (omlettes again) and 2 cups of cambodian coffee you soon feel ready to face the day. -- cambodian coffee consists of strong black coffee with a shot of condensed milk,  the combination of caffiene and sugar soon has you bouncing off the walls.

Today started with Andi as the cursed one; despite her insistance that she only had a small spot on her arm she recieved a chorus of cat call such as "scabies girl", "unclean" etc.. she soon realised she'd get no sympathy from this lot, but at least she had functional footwear!

Todays clinic was a short journey away (a 20-30 minute drive) another idyllic county setting which Tanya thought was "simple beautiful".  Rather than being underneath a hot tin roof of a small wooden church we were positioned on a tarp under the shade of a big tree. A few tables and benches later we were ready for business.  There was some debate as to how they were going to rate the loo.  It was truly organic with a wide selection of trees or shrubs to choose from.  There is a definate advantage to being a male when it comes to the rural ablutions.

The pharmacy team had to "hit the ground running", with most of the bagged drugs used up yesterday we to work at a feverish rate to keep up with demand. It's easy to identify from the colour of fingers who has been bagging what drug.  Toni and Cor - red fingers - mutlti-vitamins,  Michael - white fingers - panadol.. etc.  Bryony decided to hand out fruit barefoot (?) and caused great amusement to the locals when she prompty trod in the only cow pat for 100 yards, her fingers remained clean but she used plenty of wipes and water to clean her foot, especially between her toes.

The highlight for the nursing team was the projectile puss while lancing a little girl's infected palm. Rachel was unfortunately in the firing line, but trooped on like a true professional. One little boy had a nasty ear infection, again lots of puss.  Thanks to a lot of practice today the interpreters have mastered the word "THRUSH" without getting the tongues tangled up in their teeth.

Cambodia finally caught up with me on the way back to the hotel. The ride back was mercifully quick but felt like an eternity of cold sweats and clenched buttocks.  After 7 days of doling out drugs, at least I know which ones I need.

Happy 21st.... here have some chicken bor bor

Day 6: Boat ride up to 4 square orphanage minus life jackets in an old rickity boat that broke down only once. While the boat was smoking from the seems we were drifting with the current into peoples houses ~ bit scary, but again, came out alive.

Carlys blog:Breakfast consisted of chicken bor bor ~ this is a savory porridge that nearly bought half the team to their knees. Caz originally scored the toilet at a 8/10, but the team consensus was actually a 3/10. there may have been a bar of soap in the loo, but not a bowl to sit on.

Andis blog...And why is it that whenever we come across this type of toilet, that you always need the longest wee in the world!!! Calf muscles will be huge by the end of this trip!
A big happy birthday to Mick Witter, our birthday boy.
Medical checks were a long long day, 380 people visited us today. Main presentation was stomach ache, diareeah(still cant spell that) !, worms, scabies, some very sad cases of depression among these people, which reminds me to tell you about the poor lady at clinic the other day who asked me if I could give her some 'crying' tablets to stop her from crying all the time :0( ... i wish i could have just given her something but unfortunately our pharmacy didnt carry anti depressives.
One particular patient today absolutely broke my heart with her sad story of 'mistreatment'.
So half way through clinics we stopped to distribute the water filters to the villagers and watch Rodney deliver an education session on how to use them, although i did get distracted by the amorous goat trying to flirt with Cor !
The team were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day and finished up with showers, an early dinner and a dodgy movie on the tv, scooby doo is todays flick !
over and out from me, Andi. Good night x

Still farting in confidence... Just :)

Day 5: the day started like any other - omelette with cheese - or scrambled egg if you so desired.
First stop for the day a village near the slum area - this area was near to wear we did the food drops for the children last night. We were still setting up the pharmacy in the back of the tuk tuk when a little boy aged 9 or 10 was pushed to the front of the que. it was quite obvious that his arm was broken. He had fallen out of the tree above us 2 days prior, we quickly found a makeshift sling to support his poor arm, gave him a dose of pain relief before sending him in a tuk tuk to hospital.
I felt so sad for him knowing that he has been struggling for two days with no pain relief.
Lots of Cute babies and children today presenting with coughs and colds, as well as adults with joint pain, headaches and sore backs. These poor people dont have a great deal of access to clean water, this is the main issue that contributes to their poor health.
Next stop - new smile orphanage - lots of smiles as we gave out toys and wash packs. Such beautiful well mannered children! Such a pleasure to go and spend time with these beautiful people. After medical checks were done and dusted at the orphanage, it was time to pack up and head to Kampong Cheneng - a 3 hr drive northwest. Tomorrow we shall head up the river on a boat to the 4 square orphanage where we shall see 45 children and give them some much needed tlc.

slumming it !

Day 4:Blog by Andi... Medical checks in a village church. SHOPPING and night time feeding program in the slums.
Today saw the team doing med checks on about two hundred people in a village where the people are very poor. When I say poor I mean poor, but what a beautiful bunch of people they were.
 Main presentation today was dehydration, diorreah (how do you spell that word)? malnourishment. All were given a bar of scabies soap each, some multi vitamins, worm tablets and pain relief if needed.
Some cheeky little rascals visited every medical station so they could get something from each team !
I remember I couldnt quite concentrate on my particular patient at one point because I could overhear a lady telling another medical team that she was so hungry, she couldnt afford to eat because she had lots of mouths to feed at home. She was exhausted, tired, hungry and just generally unwell. They packed her an extra big bag with extra vitamins and soap for her family and also some fruit and a bar of "lux" soap just for herself, you would have thought she had just been given a gold bullion :0(
 All in all a very well organised clinic today, that could not have run the way it did without Cor and his lovely wife Toni, and Mick and Bryony Witter our wonderful pharmceutical team who worked so hard to ensure our supplies were always stocked and pills were dispensed into their little bags and medicines were decanted.
This afternoon the team were given a very well earned couple of hours off to do some shopping at the Russian Markets... we shopped up big . I do believe I got the barter of the day award, a pair of converse bartered down from $25 to $10!
The night time feeding program took us to the poorest part of the city,the slums to distribute 400 food packs to the children in the village. These people used to work on the rubbish dumps until the government closed them down for being too smelley and off putting for tourists, they now have no work and no way to feed their families They were so hungry, I can honestly say I did not enjoy this experience at all especially as we had just been treated to pizza and pasta for dinner then had to see these people just starving. Words cannot convey this place. It was dark, dirty smelly, and really quite scary, I dont even want to think what I was treading in. But on the upside, we did feed 400 very hungry little mouths and each one said "thankyou and god bless you". As I sit here writing the blog tonight, I am so thankful for who I am and what I have.
Over and out from the bobsy twin !

Chom Reap Sou

We were treated to a Full Cambodian breakfast this morning - noodles and unidentifiable meat - definitely a test for our stomachs but we made it through with our bumholes intact! The three hour trip to the Bari Village, Kam Pong Tom was spent bagging up tablets for the busy day ahead and learning some good phrases to use when we arrived at the village. We tried some lovely lotus flower pods and custard apples from the stalls on the road, emptying the stalls to take goodies for the children in the village. We were a lot more prepared for the medical clinics today, armed with fantastic interpreters and replenished medical supplies we got straight to work.
Another fulfilling medical clinic - it is so rewarding to see the smiles on people's faces when they put on a pair of glasses and can see properly again or relieving the pain of these hard working people. Everyone is so gracious and thankful, it is a truely wonderful atmosphere and experience.
The people that stand out today are the lady that fell out of a coconut tree, the gentleman that only gets a headache 5 days a week(but not on weekends??), all the beautiful and well behaved children and babies and when a heavily pregnant lady turned up we did worry that we would have to put into practise Denise's midwife skills - thankfully not, although Andi and Tanya had their baby catching plans quashed!!
A key lesson has been learnt today - do not apply tiger balm without gloves before applying eye drops! Photos to follow fellow bloggers.

Highs and lows

Day 2
We were all up by 6am with lots of jobs before heading out to a village 2hrs out of the city - we travelled to the village with 10 of us in the van + a driver and surann - the village pastor + 10 bags of rice + medical supplies , so mno seat for Carly - just a bag of rice . Imagine bumpy roads pot holes , but still smiling :)
On arriving at the village the van got bogged and all nurses on deck to push it out !! The temp was at 37 degrees on arrival and we set up camp in a shady shed - so many sick people whom were very in need of our help. If I take one thing out of today's medical clinic - it's never to underestimate the power of panadol!! - lots of men women and children given some much needed tlc. We gave out bags of rice , went to the school and gave out pens pencils etc and then to the oldies and glasses - what an amazing feeling to give a person back their vision - the smiles were endless.
We left the village and started our 2 hr trek back into the city , next stop new smile orphanage to celebrate a a very special mans birthday. We were welcomed by all the children with open arms hugs and love. It was a truly humbling experience to play and chat with these beautiful people. To know some of their stories is heartbreaking. But the resilience in them is just remarkable. - great day with lots of smiles and tears x

Day one: thank goodness for a good tuk tuk driver !

The sights, the sounds, the smells ... Wow what a day! I could sit on a tuk tuk all day and just watch these people. We had such a productive day buying medical supplies . We managed to fit in a visit to the Killing Fields this morning. A beautiful but solemn place that will leave an imprint in my heart forever. I didn't want to take photos because I knew these images would stay with me for the rest of my life , a sentiment that I'm sure the rest of the NKIC team would share also. Finished off the day with amazing food at 'jars of clay' a cafe run by young Cambodian women working to support themselves and their families while profits go toward helping the needy.

All aboard

All sitting and waiting at Brisbane international airport for Thai airways flight tg474 to board ~ hopefully we might be able to catch a few zzzz's on board.

Nurses doing what they do best

  ~We are all bringing out our inner " Florence "... The trip is only a few days away now and we are all beaming with excitement ~ we all can't wait to get out there, get our hands dirty and try to make a little difference in the world.
  ~We all have the general consensus that if we can put a few smiles on a few faces then we will have achieved soo much. The money is already going to where it's needed. $2000 has already been spent - we have purchased 150 water filters - this will help eradicate disease in an entire village, and we are taking a further $13500 with us!!
So hold on tight and come along for the ride x

Out of the mouths of babes

Facing a room full of 5 year olds is very daunting ~ it's what i reckon a stand up comedian would feel like in a room full of foreigners !! so with my power point up on the big screen i was  armed and ready to try and explain poverty to children. Not an easy task i have realised!!
They found it hard to understand why we just couldn't give them some of our food and water ~ seems simple right?
They all came up with a wonderful list of things they would like to donate, then we managed to work through the list and eliminate a few of the larger items!
I took Lilah ( my daughter in Prep D) into class yesterday morning and was overwhelmed with what has been donated already ~ its only been a few days!!!
Am very much looking forward to the class helping me pack all the goodies for Cambodia in the coming week!!

Tick tock tick tock.....

With the tickets all booked and paid for { out of our own pockets i might add} the count down is on. We are all mega excited and cant wait to have our turn in making a difference. We have a huge stash of goods awaiting packaging in a top secret location for our trip away, this includes thongs ( the kind you wear on your feet), soaps, toothbrushes, books, pens , pencils, chalks.... the list goes on.  watch this space.....

Thongs {the kind you wear on your feet}

We are truly humbled by the support shown to us at our fundraising dinner ~ we now have about $9,500 sat in our bank account!!! Not bad considering we had a goal of $5000 The night went off without a hitch. Fun was had by all.

The video cameras from channel 7 news paid us a visit last week. It took a few takes to get it right. Especially when Kendall from 7news  asked me what we wanted donations of, I told her thongs, i then had to clarify foot wear, not underwear :0)

So now we are starting to think about flights...

Time to put on your glad rags

Tomorrow is a big day for the NKIC team. It's the day we officially launch our big fundraiser in front of some important people.

A lot of hard work and commitment has gone into this from the whole team. I am excited to see what lays ahead. This time tomorrow all shall be revealed... Watch this space.

T.E.A.M.

Together everybody achieves more!! ~ No matter what accomplishments we make ~ somebody helped us to make them!
This is something that all of us on this journey will remember. So we again are grateful for every person who is supporting us. From Family members who will help hold the fort by doing school drop offs while we are away, to the generous sponsors to donate to our cause. Together we can do big things.

Getting the BALL rolling

Things are beginning to get a little Exciting.com ~ now 2012 is upon us, it all a little more real.
In the next month we have a fundraising dinner / ball which is going to be quite amazing. People have said to me how inspired they are by what we are doing, but in the past week i am continually amazed at peoples generosity and how they are giving to us hope for these children and families ~ so you know who you all are ~ a genuine Thank you x

As soon as we have our flyer done ( probably the next 48 hrs ) we will be putting it everywhere ~ so watch out :)

Banking details ~ hurrah

We are banking with The Bendigo Bank
BSB ~ 633 000
ACC ~ 14406 9622
Acc name ~ H Hindmarsh & C. Cooper. Please feel free to donate as much, or as little as you like.

Save The Date

Thirteenth of August, two thousand and twelve.
This is the date we will be off and going, that gives us 11 months to do our thing.
Thank you to the generosity of my parents, T~shirts are being organised, and fundraising has begun!
Welcome to our journey