20 March 2015

Today started out much earlier then most would of liked. With a 0630 am departure we were off to Preak Tar Sor. This is Hai's (one of our amazing interpreters) home village. Prey Tar Sor was approximately 50 km from Phnom Penh. 50 kms doesn't seam far, however, when you factor in Combodian "peak hour" morning traffic and the road conditions, you may remember the mud fest from the last trip (yes same village)- thankfully its the dry season, it actually took us 2 hours with a 20 minute ferry ride across the Mekong river to get there. When we finally got to our destination we had the best welcoming party anyone could ever hope for. Stepping out of the van and being bombarded with hugs from the children egerly awaiting our arrival. Followed by the heavenly harmonys of the childrens choir. We were all overcome with emotions, it was so beautiful,  some of us were bought to tears (myself included).  

Team on the ferry crossing the Meekong to the village

As we were setting up for our clinic, the local police showed up to inspect what we were doing. It was a little touch and go for a brief moment. The offices gave us the okay to commence, in exchange for some soap, tiger balm and some wound care, which Heidi was only to happy to oblige (she loves her wounds). Thinking about it now, i belive we we were shaken down for our services, which is kinda cool in a weird way. We saw around 200 people today, lots of coughs,  colds, dry eyes, mucky ears, beautiful babies and lots more delicious wounds (Heidi and the Melbourne ED girls were in there element), including a knife injury to a little girls leg while farming. Burns were cleaned and dressed. Abby the master plasterer, set a brave little boy's broken elbow in a back slab cast (the girl has skills, just saying).

One of the lovely families who remembered us from last trip

There was even time for a sneaky game of soccer with the kids out the back of the church beside the happy pig in his mud pit. Claudia once gain was fly paper for kids, taking their photos and playing hide and seek in the jungle. This village and it's people are so special they touched each and everyone of us deeply.  When it was time to leave there was tears all round. The kids didn't want us (especially Claudia) to leave, they even chased after the van as we left. We have to thank Hai for taking as to her amazing village. We all feel blessed in so many ways for the opportunity to be apart of the Prey Tar Sor family for the day. xxx

Rachael

20 March 2015 - Abby and Caitlin

Day 3

Another day, another half hour earlier awaking and we were on our way to Preak Routhe village to visit Pastor Roth and his locals. whilst our first challenge of the day was quite the obstacle..... a crater in the ground large enough to fit our mini van, we had multiple options we could choose from.

A) attempt to take on the hole with the mini van and jump it
B) give up and swim in the river
C) walk the remainder with supplies balancing on our heads
D) turn back and find a bumpy, off road, dusty detour

Despite the minority vote off going for the jump, the early morning decision to wear our best support paid off because it sure was a bumpy detour to the village.
On arrival to the village we were welcomed by the wide eyed little grins of around 50 local children singing us a cambodian song. The space for us to set up our stations was limited however everyones improvising skills came together to make the day run smoothly. The day saw Abby and Gabby break records seeing and treating over 250 people solely, Heidi also breaking records with exceptional flexibility and balance whilst attempting to save the fall in the drop toilet in the tin shed. She failed of course.

A particular highlight noted by Caitlin and Rachael was when a young intellectually disable girl arrive withoutna parent. With severly infected ears and an array of medications/supplies being given to her, she struggled to understand what they were all for. It was wonderful to see so many people from her community come together and offer to assist and relay the messages back to her parents.

An afternoon at the russian markets is always fun, bartering and eating lots of local food. To continue on with the trend of the trip, giving to the cambodian people, it was meant to be that we had dinner Rodney and his good cambodian friends at the resturant Jars of Clay. A resturant that supports Cambodian women that have struggled in their life in some way, shape or form. whether this be giving the women a job to cook, clean or waitress.

What a lovely and exhausting day it was, but eagily awaiting the half an hour earlier start tomorrow morning. Catch ya later aligator!

Abby and Caitlin

Sarorns village and more.

Our first morning started with a quick brekky.  We boarded 2 vans and travelled out to Sarorns Village in the outer Province of Phnom Penh.

Word was out weeks prior to our arrival and over 300 patients made their way to the clinic which we quickly set up at the primary school.

The nurses stations were kept very busy throughout the day while pharmacy worked to keep up with demand. I was personally very moved when witnessing the care and attention each nurse gave (through their enterpreteur) while diagnosing ànd treating their patients as they presented.  It was very warming  and I felt priviliged to be a apart of it.  The morning flew by and we broke for lunch where we were taken to the Village Elders family home, where we were treated to chicken, fish and rice and duck omelet. 

During the  course of the afternoon our youngest team member, Claudia (who turns 18 on the trip) tok a break from pharmacy to grab her camera. Claudia is a a keen photographer and has a good eye for candid shots.... After taking a photo of a small group of children, she became the Pied Piper after showing them the pictures of themselves taken on her camera.  What a glorious sight children gathered around her from every corner with laughter and giggles all round.

Our afternoon continued in the same busy manner and the highlight for me was dispensing glasses and watching faces 'light up' when they could actually see the lines on their hands or the leaves on the trees in the distance.  Their was one particular old man who made my eyes well, when I finally found a pair of glasses for him where he could look up and actually see. He touched my face and gave me the biggest, toothless smile then hastily walked to the window and looked out at the trees with such excitement and disbelief at what he could actually see.......The warmth and gratitude shown was very heartwarming. 

After the clinic ended the children returned to their classroom which gave us the opportunity to give each child their own toothbrush, toothpaste and cake of soap. They were so excited.  We also presented the teacher with books and stationery. All were gratefullly accepted.  Smiles all round.....

Blogged by karen

17 March 2015

We have arrived safely in Cambodia as you may have gathered from our facebook page. Due to technical difficulties we are unable to post any piccies from the last two days on our blog, so here's a little running commentary. ........ Our journey is never uneventful especially when travelling through Vietnam. Our compadre Vanessa had a disagreement with her passport which was in two minds about making the full trip to Cambodia and staged a sit in on the tarmac at Ho Chi Minh city airport. After some negotiation between the aircraft and terminal, the passport agreed to accompany Vanessa on the rest of her trip and we subsequently arrived Saturday evening as planned.

Sunday was spent by the newbies learning the history of Cambodia and travelling to the killing fields and Toul Sleng prison under the watchful eyes of our old hands Gabby and Rachael. These visits are always confronting but provide a reality into the Country and the lovely people here and the day certainly made an impression on all the team.

Heidi and Caz made the trip for supplies to the pharmacy and the whole team had a late evening in preparation for our first clinic in Kampong Cham province.

Today has seen the team treat over 300 people all of whom were grateful for the little bits of kindness they were shown by everyone on our team. Whilst we are missing the fun of our regular pharmacy boss Michael John, the new recruits took to the restocking and decanting in a flash ensuring all the teams were well supplied.

Karen had her first dispensing duties and the locals were pleased with the glasses that arrived even if it was a tricky system to match glasses to their new owners.

All in all its been a rather busy start to our trip and hopefully despite what will be an intese two weeks, each and every one of us will take away some amazing memories and be proud of being a part of our 2015 team.

NB: Vanessa's passport has requested safe haven with Heidi for the remainder of our trip. This has been arranged. Over and out.

10 March 2015

Melbourne girls busy on the BBQ at Frankston hospital

So the fundraising and preparations have been a bit frantic over the last few weeks, as we get ready for the off this weekend...

Glasses donations packed and ready to go

From posh "do's"  to bake sales, sausage sizzles and garage sales, the team from all round Australia have put their hearts and souls into every event in the hope we can make a difference in Cambodia.  

Heidi, Caz and Mick at the fundraising dinner Cairns

Sunday Sesh, Melbourne

Whilst this side of the trip is hard work, as we've said before there's no one better than us at putting the fun into Fundraising....

Bec, Gab, Rachael and Heidi - team from last trip fundraising again for our next one

Heidi's helpers..

We have sorted and packed hundreds of items that have been so generously donated, many of them made by members of our communities including blankets especially for the sick and needy children, bags for children going to school and many practical donations of toothbrushes, stationery and glasses.

and some more....... Claudia will join us on this year's trip

Jodi - BBQ chef extraordinaire !!

Mick our pharmacist from previous years who is

unfortunately unable to travel with us this year.

We've had so much help from people who aren't even coming along  it just amazing and we thank you all so much. Every dollar we have raised will be spent on the people in Cambodia be it medicines, dressings, treatments or water filters, bamboo mats or rice.

A special thank you to Sarah and Tim from House of Mojo Cairns

for assisting with our t-shirts and printing- they look great.

As we enter the final few days of prep make sure you book mark the blog and keep up to date with our adventures............hope you're not disappointed !

Preparations are well underway....

WOOHOO first blog for Connect With Cambodia 2015!!!

Now a registered charity, we are madly preparing for our upcoming trip in March 2015!

I'll introduce the team...

Founder Heidi Hindmarsh- me! I work in the emergency dept of Frankston Hospital.

Caroline, a co-founder, is the Nurse unit manager for the Paediatrics ward in Cairns.

Rachel - Nurse in the paeds ward in Cairns- who has been on every trip!

Karen - works for at an optometrist in Cairns- a newby to the team

Liz - also works in Cairns Base Hospital! also a newby!

Claudia Hindmarsh - Heidi's daughter, from Frankston

Kathy -  a nurse at Frankston ED, as well as a school nurse - newby!!

Caitilin - also a nurse in Frankston ED!  also a newby!

Abby, who is also a Frankston ED Nurse! and a new team member! 

Vanessa - yes, another Frankston ED Nurse, and also a newby!

Gabby, our nurse from Tassie, is coming on her second trip with the team! 

Seanna, a newby, is a nurse who works with Gabby in tassie!

each team member will be updating this blog throughout our preparations and our adventure in Cambodia! 

We look forward to updating you with our adventures! 

We will also be posting photos regularly to our facebook page 

https://www.facebook.com/connectwithcambodia

For any further info you may want about our Charity- please contact myself, Heidi at 

connectwithcambodia@gmail.com

bye for now.....

4 September 2013

Thank you! Gracias! Merci! Danke Schon! But most importantly Aw khun Chran ! The team from 2013 hope that all of the blog followers out there have enjoyed keeping up to date with our adventures, travels, highs and lows in Cambodia this year. We have certainly been honored to spend even a short time with some of the most beautiful and gentle people on this earth, knowing that the small amount we gave made so much to them. Not one person who went on the trip has failed to be touched by their experience. Before you settle down and think that’s it for a while – Have we got news for you………..the team are pleased and very proud as punch to announce they will be continuing to make this trip to Cambodia to provide assistance and support to the many needy families throughout the country. We will be visiting next in February 2015 when the weather is dryer and we can venture out to more remote villages to provide assistance to those areas we’ve not managed to reach before. We are aiming to raise 30000 dollars for medicines, water filters, tarps (for rooves), mossie nets and bamboo mats to sleep on - take 2000 toothbrushes and 3000 pairs of glasses. In order to make this happen we will be formalising our group and continuing our fundraising efforts in Cairns, Melbourne, Adelaide and Tasmania from the near future until when we leave. Keep your eye out for information on our facebook page (nursing kids in Cambodia) for our dinner, quiz night, bake sales and sausage sizzles, and be sure to join in an activity or two – we certainly put the fun FUNdraising.
Caz.

Out Takes.....

so as you can imagine there have been just a few laughs during the trip.......

17 August 2013

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

Scabies and cute babies...

The day began with a 0630 breakfast in Heidi and Bec's room, and what a spread they put on. Bananas, fresh breadrolls with peanut butter and jam, cereal for some, and COFFEE!!! (which was needed by all), how we ended up with so many coffee cups i'll never truly understand. Post breakfast we loaded up the vans up, which is always amusing, its sort of like a game of tetris gone horribly wrong, but somehow have manged to get down to a fine art. Then we were off. Our destination; Soriya village, which is situated approximately an hour out of Poipet. The sky looked suspicious gray and overcast, but that was not to discourage the team. As we turned of the main road and on to a muddy dirt back street, there was one question on everyone's mind, will we be getting bogged again??? The answer was NO, as we are bless with the most amazing drivers Cambodia has to offer, however, at times it looked bleak. The track was bumpy, rivers ran both sides of the road and also through some of the nearby houses. But scenery was breathtaking, green rice paddy fields as far as the eye could see, cows grazing, and children playing and swimming in the river/steams that ran along the roadside. About 5kms down the way we reached the site which we were to run our clinic for the day. To our delight the villages had already set up a lovely area for to work under a brightly colored tent, there were tables and chairs ready to go. the villagers were ready and waiting. We were welcomed by their beautiful smiles and warm hearts. We hit the ground running. There was so many children, which suited us Paeds nurses just fine. So many deliciously beautiful babies to cuddle, glowing pregnant women and cute as a button oldies, one woman in particular was almost 100 years old and had never been sick a day in her life had just come to say hello and get some tiger balm was amazing. The flavor of the day was Scabies, Scabies Scabies, and other weird and wonderful skin conditions. The skin conditions being a result of the damp and tropical surroundings. Bec Fuller stumped/shocked at one point when listening  to the chest of an elderly gentleman with dextrocardio (not sure of the spelling ..which is when you heart is on the right side of you chest rather than the left), this was also was a shock to the gentleman, I believe they all had a good chuckle by the end of it. By the end of the clinic (6 hours later), we had seen over 500 people  between us. The final patient of the day was a 78  year old man with a mass the size of a tennis ball on the left hand side of his jaw. Upon taking his history we found that it was a dental abscess which began to develop two weeks ago. We knew we had to take action. Dr Shanilla quickly lanced the abscess with her trusty scalpel, much to the horror of our translator Jiah,

who almost went green. Feeling almost instant relief as the abscess was drained by a very satisfied Heidi, our dear patient was very grateful!!!  We sent him on his way with an array of dressings, pain relief and antibiotics as well as education for his granddaughter for his care.
The funniest part of the day was the drive through car wash.  On the way home when we stopped in the middle of water flowing over the road we thought we were bogged... Again... Then both of our trusty bus drivers hopped out of the vans to give them a quick wash!  After a sigh of relief there were laughs all round at the driver's expense...

The day ended with a visit to Sambo's (who is our guide here in Poipet and an inspirational man) school at their new premises and a visit to his home where we were greeted by beautiful smiling children.  This visit lifted our tired spirits and was the perfect end to our busy day.  Tomorrow we will be back at the school for our final clinic...  I can't believe our trip is coming to an end so soon!  Some of us don't want to leave.
Written by Rach...

Same, same but different - a new type of poem

Monday the 12th was spent leaving Battambang and hitting up the city of Poi Pet.  Almost with five suitcases short, they were leaving on another bus full of Americans heading somewhere else.  Lucky for Rach who had everything in her suitcase, including her passport, the hotel had a contact number and the bus turned back.  The 3 hour drive northwest to Poi Pet took us to the border of Cambodia and Thailand.  An interesting place that I can only describe as sketchy, or as the lonely planet book explains as the armpit of Cambodia.  Poi Pet is well known for its crime, drugs and human trafficking.

We set up camp at the City Poi Pet Hotel, met our new mate Sambo who is our local host for the next few days and headed to our first clinic in this area.  A relatively short drive found us at Andong Thmor village.  A cute little place that set up a big beautiful bright tent for us.  80 people were on the list however close to 400 people later we were packing up the clinic. Beautiful people once again, lots of caring extended families; aunts, uncles, grandparents looking after the young while their parents are working over the border in Thailand to provide for their family.

That night we hit the casinos in no mans land in between the border of Cambodia and Thailand and attempted to triple all the money from the donations (just joking).  We only had dinner however a good win on the tables wouldn't do no harm right now.

Today, Tuesday 13th, we headed to Olahong village, an hour drive through beautiful rice paddies on a rather dodgy, slippery, muddy road.  Fortunately, we only had to push the bus once this time when we arrived at our destination.  This place is right on the border of Thailand and Cambodia in an area where just 9 years ago nearly every morning Sambo was driving down with an ambulance because someone overnight had either stepped on a landmine and been seriously injured or killed.  This area is also known for their high rate of mortality during childbirth.  On the way  to the village an iron cow was carrying an 18 year old girl to the hospital.  She had just given birth in the village that morning and had not stopped bleeding.  These villages are unlike other undeveloped countries.  Most of their old midwives would have been murdered during Pol Pots rein so these people have not been fortunate to have the teachings passed down the last generation.

Today's clinic we saw lots of ear infections, infected scabies, TB, gastro and chest infections.  We also saw a few injuries due to trauma, whether it was landmines or farm machinery, which were left untreated and left the patients deformed and in pain for many years.  Denise and Shanila saw a case of mastitis which neither of them would have seen such a severe case before.  The worse cases however were a couple of little boys, each from different families.  They had obviously been exposed to some sort of infection to the brain and were left having convulsions reguarly.  They could barely walk and had tremors constantly.  One of the boys had a full blown seizure a metre away from the clinic.  We are thankful  for those last minute donations that we have asked for while we have been over here as they have given us enough funds to take these kids to Siam Reap with us on Thursday.  There is a decent free children's hospital there which these families can access but do not have the funds for transport to get there or food while they are away.  These boys are very ill and need tests and medication to help them not get any worse.  Diseases that in Australia would have been quickly treated and would have left minimal damage.

These are only some of the patients we saw.  There seemed to be a lot of chronic problems or very sick people in this particular village and after seeing close to 400 people we were physically and emotionally worn out.  We dodged cattle, dogs and various other animals and vehicles to get back to Poi Pet and then it was back to no mans land for dinner which was quite a spicy affair for some!

From Bec Fuller xxx

The City of the Lost Stick

The past two days we found ourselves in Battambang- the city of the lost stick. Saturday was spent driving from Kampong Chhnang to Battambang with a free afternoon/night spent at the markets and relaxing. Sunday was an early morning start travelling through scenic corn and rice paddy fields. Travelling along the village roads was very interesting with various modes of transport. The motorbike is very resourceful mode of travel for people, transfers for animals and shopping, sometimes 4 to 5 people to a bike.

The Clinic was situated in an area which was previously a strong hold of the Khmer Rouge. Thousands of land mines were planted during the reign, and many still exist today, with the rainy season often causing the land mines to surface, causing severe injuries and sometimes death to the local residents.

The Iron cow was a very inventive and different type of transport but was used as stationary pharmacy at the clinic. It's always nice to see people who are so thankful for the little things that the team provided. So many pretty, smiling faces of the little ones who were only too happy to interact with the team. The team got to see so many unusual cases and sometimes very sad. Most of the people in the village work very hard in the rice and corn fields and its amazing how the still manage to work even when they are over 70 years old.

Health care is very expensive and some of the people have never been to a clinic or hospital even when it is urgently needed. A man had injured his eye with a rice husk 6 months ago and has now lost his vision in one eye. Lots of backaches and joint pain from working long hours in the farms. The team got to see people who were on treatment for typhoid, malaria and TB, and various other pathologies.

The afternoon after the clinic was exciting. Deb and I went to the food market and got to try local foods. There was a variety of local cuisine such as steamed fish in banana leaf, steamed eggs, beef with papaya salad and chicken noodles. We visited the Buddhist temple and had an interesting conversation with one of the local residents at the temple. Dinner at the White Rose restuarant was a smashing affair and then the heavy showers came down but still a splendid end to the evening.

From Shanila  

Boats and Goats at 4 Square

Today we left Phnom Penh bright and early. Earlier for Gabby (4am), no thanks to Rachel who had a cheeky sleep in. We headed off to Kampong Chhnang approximately 90 kms north which took about 2.5 hours Cambodian time. We bypassed the hotel and headed straight to the awaiting boat which took us across Ton Le Sap river. Fortunately the boat didn't not catch fire this time. Another bus and one very full tuk tuk took us through picturesque country side to 4 square orphanage.
This orphanage is located in a remote village surrounded by rice paddies. The surroundings are beautiful, however the condition of this orphanage was quite poor with 50 children sleeping on the wooden slats of old damaged bunk beds.
The children were seen as well as the people from the surrounding village, roughly 300 people in total. This year saw less gastric related problems, we can only hope it had something to do with the 100 water filters we purchased for them last time?? The first patient of Heidi and Caz's day, was a 11 year old girl who happened to cut the top of her thumb off that same morning. She had been prepping firewood for the fire when she cut it, exposing the bone. With a decent clean, compression bandage, pain relief, and a double dose of antibiotics, this little trooper walked away very relieved. A couple of memorable patients for Rach and I was this little old lady who came to tell us how sad she was. She was never married and had no children. She was now getting old and can no longer work and has no kids to look after her. She lives with her friend and feels like a burden as she is very poor. We sat and listened to her story but unfortunately there was nothing more we could do for her except ease her aches and pains, fix her infected ear, give her a hug and a couple of bucks from our own money and send her on to try some glasses to help with her ageing sight. Another was a man who was still getting pains after being blown up with a shrapnel bomb 30 years ago when he was in the army defending his country. He also told us how some men stole his card so they could claim his army pension and how he is now very poor. These are only some of the stories we hear throughout our clinics each day.  
After lunch that consisted of Cambodian style KFC chicken, rice, vegetables, fish soup and this awesome peppery sauce we continued with our clinic fixing infected skin conditions, easing aches pains from hard working rice farmers and listening to their stories. Also discovered a new remedy to fix blisters - lipstick!
Back on the boat we headed back to our hotel in Kampong Chhanag, with an early dinner of pad thai for all and an early night. We are relieved we can finally have a sleep in tomorrow and a free day of travelling to Battambong and some markets.
Bec Fuller xxx

What a day in Stung Meanchey!

Always time for a cuddle

Happy children after feeding packs

The day began with another Bonitar breakfast of champions, sadly (or not so) to be our last one. We embarked on our journey by tuk tuk, headed for the poorer inner city area of Phnom Penh, bordered on the old tip grounds. Litter lined the pot-hole ridden streets, making for a very bumpy ride. Despite the conditions, the community spirit was high and smiles were worn by all. Upon arrival to the local church building, teams swiftly set up at 4 tables, with pharmacy centre stage. Patients arrived in a timely manor, over 400 seen in total, creating a less chaotic scene than previous clinics. Mr Rith (our trusty tuk tuk driver) took on the role of optometrist, assisting those who needed glasses.

Patients ranged from infant to a fighting fit 87 years of age, and the flavour of the day appeared to be gastro. One case that struck a chord with the team was an 18 month old bub with a particularly severe case of gastro. A case that if presenting to Emergency, staff would swing in to action with fluid bolus' and electrolyte replacement, however we had to remind ourselves of the conditions we were working in. Armed with an array of medications, filling an entire box, Mum went on to tell staff of her hardship, having to take time off her 'job' of scavenging the tip heap to find recyclables to exchange for money; a large portion of her families income, in order to care for her critically ill child. Given fluid replacement, clean water, and education, they were sent on their way. Not far from our thoughts, we trooped on until lunch time; clinic stirring to a halt due to torrential rainfall. Packing up in record time, we headed for lunch at Lucky Burger (the Cambodian Hungry Jacks), and further on to the Russian markets where we all stocked up on new shoes after yesterdays muddy madness.

After being treated to a traditional Cambodian feast for dinner, at Rodney and Cheryl's, armed with gumboots, we returned by tuk tuk to Stung Meanchey to commence the Thursday night feeding program with 440 packs in tow. Split into two teams, we handed out individual feedings packs and bottled water to all the children who popped their heads out of their 'homes', which was an eye opener to us first timers. Greeted by smiles at every window, our hearts were stolen! We dispensed until our bags were empty, sadly some children missing out.

Although the most confronting experience to date, we found it the most rewarding to see the excitement on the childrens faces upon our arrival.

Safely tucked up in bed, we are ready to farewell the Bonitar, with a 4am start tomorrow to continue our adventures.

Bec and Gab

Muddy Medical Mishaps and Technicolour Dream Pants

The anticipation of our first trip out in the vans today had most of the group up and ready to go bright and early.  With the Bonitar Breakfast of Champions on board, we were ready for whatever the day would throw at us.....little did we know what was to come.  After a beautiful van trip out of the city we crossed over the Meekong river by car ferry..a twenty minute trip which showed us some unexpected riverside views. We then drove a further ten kilometers or so through some delightful villages and Rodney shared his tales of getting bogged on the very same dirt road a few weeks back when he visited Prey Ta Sor village.  On arrival at our destination, the children from the village surrounded the van and threw their arms around us as we climbed down. They then treated us to some beautiful singing before we set up shop and started to see our patients for the day.  The majority of our visitors today were younger children and their families and aided by our fab interpreters we aimed to help them in anyway we could. Not only were the children there dressed to impress but a few did a trial run as pharmacists for our next trip.. much to Mick and Debs delight. After a busy few hours , and the tempting of our taste buds from the open fire cooking, the ladies of the village invited us for a traditional lunch. We were provided with a mix of chicken, fish, rice and vegetables served the most "chanang" sauce. Coming down to continue our clinic, my amazing dream pants caught the eye of the villagers who were not reserved in commenting on their brightness and having a little chuckle- or should that be hearty laugh!!  We finished our day with  a final few special patients and left the last of our gifts to the village just as a loud clap of thunder roared through thew skies and the rain started to fall.  Loading the van as quickly as we could we set off on our return trip. Rodney"s comments must have jinxed us as before arriving at the ferry stop, we were completely and utterly bogged in the mud.....both vans that is. After several attempts, ripped pants and a mud treatment to most of the group, the many muscles and the savvy know how of a canny Cambodian  gave us the final umphh we needed to finally move the vans.  We eventually returned to our base two hours late where hot showers were the order of the afternoon. After a fab dinner at Jars of Clay coffee shop ( how funny is that?)...we returned to settle for a restful night, with the team learning first hand how great tiger balm really is. Today has certainly been a day to remember....hope there's more to come.
By Caz

All smiles with New Smile :)

Today was no ordinary clinic day.   Party bags, swimmers and towels were packed along with cameras and sunscreen.  You could taste the excitement in the air.  We were off to  New Smile Orphanage and we were all smiling.  The New Smile Orphanage in managed by Rodney and Cheryl, close family friends of Nursing Kids in Cambodia's founder Heidi.  This is the couple who have organised and facilitated our trip here.
The day began with medical checks on the 34 children that reside at the orphanage as well as the beautiful and kind staff members that work and care for these children.  The beautiful smiles on the faces of each of each child, the energetic play, the hysterical laughter, and the random child dancing gangnam style in the courtyard all made for a very colorful morning!  After a quick lunch it was off the water park... 55 people piled into 5 tuk tuks and the van for the 10 min ride... Very squishy but fun, the children singing all the way (mostly in tune).  And then the real fun began.  The New Smile children were very easy to pick out of the crowd in their brightly colored life jackets.  Mick had a workout throwing children in the air again and again and then again!!!  After all the energy was gone it was hamburgers all round and then back home in the tuk tuks... The trip back was a lot quieter!!!  Back at the orphanage we handed out the amazing party bags that Gabby and Bec had put together... The kids loved the stickers, toys, stationary and even the toiletry packs... It was hard to say goodbye to all the amazing little friends we made at New Smile...

Cheers from Rach and Sal :)

Journey of the G Bag

It was early but G Bag was feeling very full.   The people had made many offerings and GBag was going to the village today to give these to the people there.  The trip was long but G Bag had lots of company in the bus.   G Bag was quiet when his friends had lunch, waiting for his time.
At the clinic there was lots of unpacking, dispensing and talking.  Many children, mothers, fathers and grandparents were seen by the nurses.  The pharmacy assistants dispensed frantically.  They worked very hard.  GBag looked on.
The nurses worked long into the afternoon and then in the evening Gbag's time had come.  500 Toothbrushes, 200 toothpastes and 150 face washes and 15 kg of stationary came out of the depths of Gbag's generous trunk.   The children were happy.
G Bag's job was done.
By Deb

G Bag in Sydney

The gbag has arrived in Phnom Penh

Packing the gbag

Unpacking the gbag

Look at all those exciting goodies!!!

Out of gbag's trunk...

come many wonderful gifts!

Gbag can now rest...

Casuse Bec is taking over your job!!!

4 August 2013

Hello all.  Today I have seen, heard, smelt and tasted Cambodia for the first time.  There are so many things to see, so many people... Friendly children waving as we drive past in the tuk tuks.  Dust and grime every... We breathed, tasted it, lived in it...

We flew in from Vietnam this morning after re offending our Vietnamese customs officers at the airport, with our hundreds of contraband glasses.  But after some sweet talking by Heidi we were on our way, with our glasses, to our final destination! Our last flight literally flew!  45 min later we where on the ground in Cambodia with 15 checked in bags, 22 carry on bags and 2 wheelie walkers safely arriving with us!  Our tuk tuk drivers are specialists at making lots of luggage fit into a small amount of space... And then getting it all safely through the 'no rules' driving style of Phnom Penh's streets.  

So here we are at our home for the next five days--the Bonitar hotel.  Caroline and Heidi along with Cheryl have gone to town at the pharmacy and come back with boxes and boxes of supplies for the clinics.  Rach and Bec braved the supermarket to source food, snacks and bottled water.

And all of us first timers to Cambodia got to take the 30 min drive to the Choeungek Genocidal centre: the killing fields... And we took the very sobering audio led walk through the site where once thousands of Cambodians had been tortured and killed under the rule of Pol Pot. This is one story and place I will never forget. 

And on that note good night guys!!!

Sally

Once upon a time in Transit

The hospitality in Saigon is splendid.  It has been a long day indeed.  Checking in 11 passengers and 350 odd kg and their safe carriage to Ho Chi Min City has been a journey to bring out the best and worst of all.  We Forgive the checkin lady, we understand we really made your day with 15 bags and 2 walkers then 22 carry on.  The contraband of hundreds of second hand spectacles offended the Saigon customs.  Felt like we were on an episode of Border Security Vietnam.  Please forgive us our sins.
Heidi enjoyed 4 histamine induced hours sleep. Nine hours in the air, flying into Saigon through clouds and over green and lush landscape.  Watching the cars and bikes navigating through the rain and traffic to our hotel.
And here we are trying to remember this and drinking diet coke, and beer (333).
Including Denise complaining about the flatulent lady nearby.
Looking forward to getting the 350 kgs and a couple of thousand pairs of spectacles the rest of the way tomorrow.

Bittersweet

Blog from Bec...

Today was a roller coaster of emotions. We left Battambang bright and early for the six hour drive back to Phnom Penh. The drive consisted of sleeping, singing, eating, sleeping, eating and some terrible but amusing jokes from one of our translators. Checked back to the old faithful Bonitar Hotel then headed to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
This is the place where an estimated 20,000 people were detained, interrogated, tortured and murdered during Pol Pot's reign. It was previously a primary and high school which you could have imagined to be beautiful place before 1975. Now the wooden poles which children use to use during their physical education class is a horrifying reminder where prisoners were hung by their feet until unconscious and dunked into barrels of filthy water to shock them back into consciousness so that the torturer could continue their questioning.
However, it wasn't this or the classrooms that were turned into tiny cells or the torture rooms with blood stained floors that got me. It was the rows and rows of photos of Cambodian faces, faces which are just like the faces that we have seen over the last two weeks, adults and children alike, that had been taken before and after they were murdered that sent me into a uncontrollable cry. The team all left speechless and with our sunglasses covering our sadness.
After the history lesson we headed back to the hotel then onto Cheryl and Rodney's for dinner with a special young lady who turned 30 today. Same day as a very special little girl called Nyah who turned 7 today. Happy birthday Nyah, I know your mum and Aunty Carly missed you very much today. After dinner we jumped into the tuk tuks and headed off to Cheryl and Rodney's feeding program that happens every Thursday night. Back to Pom Ourissi, one of the places where we did a medical clinic and then to Mr. Rith's (our tuk tuk driver) village to hand out a bottle of water and a bag with a roll and a cake inside to every child.
It's a bittersweet moment tonight, our last night in Cambodia. We have accomplished so much over the last two weeks however there is still so much to do...