Visiting Old Friends

Today's clinic was going to be one full of excitement and emotion -more so than usual as we were heading off to see our friends in a village we go to every year. We had taken a young boy to hospital last year who had been electrocuted setting traps for rats in the field and required a skin graft. His sister had a hole in the heart and required surgery too and their mum had a gynaecological problem too. We had left enough funds for the family to all receive treatment and we were looking forward to getting an update. 

We had also arranged to meet up with Kay and Helen from Rotary Cairns North who have supported us with trying to secure better hands for Touch -the gentleman we also met last year in the clinic, and after navigating the morning bustle to pick them up we headed north out of the city to cross over the river. 

After a tranquil river crossing and a bumpy van ride we arrived after a relatively smooth 2 hour trip to the village. We were greeted by friendly and familiar faces and the family we had helped were the first in line to see us. The girls who had met this family last year did not have a dry eye amongst them and it was wonderful to see how well each of them had done. The little girl with the heart problem was amazing, last year she was so quiet and was delayed developmentally with very little speech. She was now a different girl, laughing and chatting away and running around the village with her family, it was truly fantastic to see. Her brother came straight up to us to show us his foot which had also healed so well. Considering we had been worried about even if it could be saved last year, he had done well. Mum told us she had had her surgery and was also doing well, had much more energy and was generally better is herself. These wins are what CWC are about, just making a little bit of a difference where we can.

After the catch up the team got organised for what proved to be a frantic day with all types of presentations of coughs and colds.  Kay and Helen were put to work assisting with pharmacy and glasses duties which they both enjoyed (and we were grateful for their help too).

Just before lunch we had a visit from Touch and his lovely family. Touch had been given prosthetic hands from a local TV station but unfortunately they were painful. Kay and Helen quickly got on board and will follow up through Rotary how we can get them either adjusted or replaced. If Touch has functional hands he will be able to work and support his family which is something he is desperate to do.  He was however much happier in himself and now his baby is bigger, he's able to carry and hug her - lovely and so important for this family. We will continue to update on how they are going into the future.

We once again stumbled across a young boy who scored a trip to hospital after crushing his finger at home. If you're squeamish go to the next paragraph hehe....He had completely removed the skin from the end of his finger leaving the bone exposed and this was as you can imagine very painful for him.

We arranged through our translators about taking him to Phnom Penh with us in the van and at the end of the clinic he arrived to be transported. The families in the villages are so poor and the boy and his uncle (who would accompany him to the city) had no spare clothes to take. We frantically rummaged through Beryls trusty supply of clothes and sourced him some shorts and tshirts and soon we were headed on our way.  We dropped the young man at the hospital and hopefully he will soon be treated and headed back home.

The return van rides are always quieter as the team reflect on their day and try to catch a quick nap. For some reason they never seem to take as long on the way home and we were soon safely back in the city to take our guests back to their hotel and us back to our trusty hotel. With preparation for the next day complete and showers finished, we had a simple dinner and all headed off for an early night. Until next time....

Day 3: Oudong Village

What's does 33 C + 88% humidity = ?   10 wet and squishy nurses and four interpreters! Sound like fun?  This morning we journeyed in 2 vans in a north-westerly direction from Phnom Penh for 1.5hrs to Oudong village. Having never been to this village it was a welcome  surprise when our destination was a Children's Kindergarten for 3, 4 & 5 year olds called Bright Education. Just to get things into context, the children attend school from 0700 - 1630 for $5 month for study & food, $3 month for those who have difficulty paying and free for orphans. The salary for the teachers is $150 US a month & $120 for a teachers aide.

We were greeted by a sea of excited, happy smiling faces! 

The morning clinic ran smoothly with three nursing stations set-up inside the school house, along with our interpreter's Socheat, Buntha an English graduate from the University of Cambodia, Sibimol a 3rd Yr Nursing Student and Kith Sorphany who are a part of the team for the next week.  Our beautiful hosts set up electric fans galore to soothe the melting nurses!  The most common presentation of the day was pterygium; damage to the eye caused by the reflection off the water in the rice fields causing vision problems. We quickly ran out of donated glasses and wished we had more!

We were treated to a sumptuous lunch of rice, egg noodles, fried chicken, green vegetables, and ice cold water which was much appreciated! With full bellies and the heat, an afternoon siesta would have been welcome but we cheerfully embarked on and continued into the afternoon. In the afternoon we gifted the children with toothbrushes, toothpaste, vit c, scabies soap, and a worming tablet!  They were all so gracious and beautifully mannered. Caz gave a fabulous tooth brushing demonstration to the children who through the interpreter conveyed how proud and happy we were to see them all at school being educated!  

With THANKS for the many donations of money, toothbrushes, toothpaste and glasses we were able to run this pop-up clinic and provide support and care to over 300 people!

Our road trips are intriguing, where east meets west; the road side is dotted with ramshackled timber huts with rusty iron roofs, years of scattered rubbish, electrical wire precariously hanging, and farmers in their fields tending their crops surrounded by industry.

It's been a pleasure to meet such beautiful people and we look forward to the adventures to come...........!!!!

Bubbles and tears.

Day 2 of Sarorn's clinics and we were at Sarorn's parents village. After an hour and a half van drive, we arrived at the school where we would be holding the clinic for the day. We set up our stations underneath a beautiful big tree in the grounds of the school. We had 3 nurses stations, as we only had 3 interpreters today. 

Our lovely van driver was our interpreter. Some words were a challenge, but he generally did very well. One of the first cases Bianca and I (Gabby) saw was a very cute 6 year old boy who had crashed his bike and hit his mouth into the handlebars. As a result, his top front tooth had come through the gum and into his top inside lip. We gave him some analgesia and we have given Sarorn money for the boy to see a dentist to fix/remove his tooth and look at his other teeth.

Another patient we saw was a man in his 40's who had an accident some years ago, which resulted in him becoming a paraplegic, making him wheelchair bound and incontinent. He came to us saying he had a wound on his hip. For privacy reasons we took him into an empty school room and helped him out of his wheelchair and onto a sheet on the floor. We both felt very emotional about seeing him in such a condition, but when we saw the wounds we snapped back into nurse mode. On examination we discovered that he had pressure sores on both hips and on both his buttock cheeks. We cleaned and dressed his wounds and gave him more supplies, gave him some antibiotics, instructed him and his neighbour on positioning him to relieve pressure off the sores, and later that day we also found him some glassses that made him very happy. We also have arranged with Sarorn to re-pad his wheelchair and make it softer on all his pressure points, as a lot of the padding has gone. 

On a lighter note, the other girls had many cuddles with lots of kiddies. Blowing bubbles and having many laughs!! One girl started to brush her teeth as soon as she was given a toothbrush, and the girls tried to get a photo but missed it. They still got a very cute picture of her. ​

​We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Sarorn's parents house in the middle of the day, which sustained us for the afternoon. 

The glasses station was run more smoothly ​than normal, and Athina, Heidi and I were able to find many of the older villagers glasses. It is so wonderful to see their faces when they find glasses that help them. Their faces light up, because suddenly they can see!!!

It is always so nice to go to Sarorn's village, and we look forward to returning again next year. ​

Water, water everywhere...

Our first clinic in keeping to CWC tradition was planned by Sarorn. This was a new village which we were advised was approximately an hour and a half from the city and a very short ferry trip over the Tonle Sap river to a small (tik tik) highland area of land which was very isolated. The village was called Piam Pich and is located in a commune of eleven villages in total. Our journey there took an unexpected turn due to the very wet weather and on 2 occasions Sarorn needed to walk the road through water and ensure we were safe to pass. Our canny van driver negotiated the tiny, slippy roads to make sure we arrived at the ferry stop safely.

Our bus on the ferry

When the ferry arrived we were surprised to see it was really just a wooden platform and we all looked a bit hesitant as we boarded. The short trip over afforded us views of the beautiful and lush riverside with a scattering of small buildings along the way. The local fishermen had platforms constructed close to the riverside and many acknowledged our presence as we made our way over.

A helping hand from one of the locals enabled us to take our supplies to the local school on foot (due to the road condition this was a must) and after 3 long hours of travelling we arrived to set up our first clinic. For half the team this was their first clinic so with Caz and Di on pharmacy duty, Heidi rotated between the new girls with Rachael and Gab providing direction to help them find their feet. The new girls found their rhythm quickly and were soon buzzing round helping and connecting with the locals. After a very quick stop  for a local lunch of broth and rice the team continued.

There were opportunities for photos with beautiful children and humble adults all again grateful for a bit of compassion. As we negotiated a finish time the clinic came to a natural wind down and then we were given the news..... our van had been damaged getting off the ferry and there would be no air con for the journey home. Being a gung ho bunch and knowing we could do nothing about this we climbed into the van for what would be a hot and sweaty return trip. The city of  Phnom Penh is undergoing development and as such there are traffic jams every day....needless to say when our 4 kilometer trip took nearly and hour in the van, the team got slightly giddy and were eagerly awaiting the cool air to hit their faces as they disembarked the van.

After waving bye to our hosts for the day we headed to a local restaurant for our staple veggies and rice dinner then slowly walked to our hotel. After prep for the next day we all headed off to bed with air cons blasting away.

Day 1

​Hi friends! Bianca and Alex here!! On day one we started the morning with a sleep in and breakfast for heading off on our different adventures for the day! Di, Caz and Heidi went off to organise the pharmacy requirements for the trip, Rach and Gabby headed off to the shops to find us food (mainly breakfast and snacks) - having the difficult task to try and guess what's what with the labels written in a different language! Alex asked if the girls could pick up some tuna - while the picture on the tin looked like tuna, it was actually ham pate 😂 (This is yet to be tasted!) 

Athina, Abha, Erica, Bianca and Alex ​(being the newbies this year) went off with the lovely Satya as our tour guide for the day. First stop was the Killing Fields.

The killing fields are a number of sites in Cambodia, where more than a collective of 1 million people were killed and buried by the communist Khmer Rouge regime during 1975-1979.

Temple filled with thousands of skulls found in the killing fields. 

Walking through these sites was quite overwhelming and emotional. Multiple mass grave sites were marked out, having had 400+ people burried in them. The stories of the children who were killed (because their parents were being executed) especially sent chills down our spines. 

Such heart wrenching strories.  

After enjoying a fresh coconut and mini debrief at the killing fields, Satya drove us into the city to visit S-21 Prison, which is known as the Tuol Sleng Musium of Genocide. 

Holy Moly! This place was intense. Starting off as a school, S-21 was turned into a prison in 1976, to be a torture, interrogation and execution centre. Of the 14000 people known to have entered, only 7 people survived. Each person that entered the prison was photographed on entry for their records (including children and babies!) Each picture expressed resignation, confusion, defiance and horror. 

While walking through the rooms/hallways that were once filled with such unimaginable hate, anger and dispare, we were confronted with our emotions and overflowing sympathy for the victims of this terrible tragedy. 

A massive thank you to Satya, for kindly sharing these emotional stories from Cambodias recent history with us. 

The next task of the day was to find lunch fit for a vegetarian, coeliac and  "spice innocent" group of people. Satya found the perfect place, which was a restaurant that supported and educated underprivileged women! Not only was this a great organisation to support, but the food was delicious! Money definitely well spent! We met up with the rest of the group, organised 3 Tuk Tuk's to take us into the Russian markets for a shop. We then went for dinner with some of our Cambidia family! 

Back home, after dispensing pharmacy supplies we were showered and off to bed ready for tomorrow's adventures! All in all a successful day! We love Cambodia!!  

Planes and more planes...

The trip is finally here! For us Tassie girls (Erica and Gabby) the travel started earlier than everyone else, with us leaving Hobart at 1230 on October 6th (a slight delay, but we made it to Melbourne). Once we got there, we eventually met up with the Melbourne girls, Heidi, Abha, and Athina, and we checked in. We were 15kg over our weight limit, but the lovely man just let it slide. 

After a bit of a nervous moment where Erica lost her ticket and had to get a new one printed, we were off! We were very impressed with our new airline, Singapore Air, and Heidi and I spent the trip watching Outlander! ​

On arrival in Singapore we checked into an airport hotel, as we had a 16hr wait for our next flight and to meet up with the other half of our group. After breakfast, and seeing the sunflower garden, Erica, Abha, and Athina went to explore the airports many gardens, and used their free airport dollars for lunch. Heidi and I were already very tired, so went in search of the lounge, but on the way found the massage chairs, and ended up having a 2.5hr leg and foot massage in the massage machine! ​

We waited for the girls from Cairns (Caz, Rach, Di, Alex, and Bianca) to arrive, and shortly after them getting off the plane, we were back on the same plane and heading for Phnom Penh. As we were descended into Phnom Penh, we could see how wet it was. There was a lot of water lying in the fields. I hope we can still get to all the places we intend to go... maybe we'll need a boat!!!

After collecting all our bags (5 trolleys worth) we were greated by members of our lovely extended Cambodian family! Once all the bags were in the van (thanks to Korn and his magnificent packing skills), we headed for the hotel, where we only dropped our bags off before grabbing a bite to eat for dinner. Of course we went to our favourite local place just down the road, where the food is still very good! After a quick meeting and some well needed showers, we were in bed! 

So nice to be back in this beautiful country!  

Preparations, preparations

​Not long now until we leave for Cambodia, only 5 weeks and 2 days! I love Cambodia, and going there always feels like home. 

We have all ​been busy collecting donations and holding fundraising events in our respective states around Australia. The group in Cairns just held a barefoot bowls event and a bake stall. The Melbourne group are about to host a fundraising ball which should be great fun! And the Tassie group have had a very successful quiz night and have had lots of lovely groups collecting donations for us! 

The countdown is on and we are starting ​to do some final preparations, such as finalising flights, visas, vaccinations, and packaging up our donations of glasses, toothbrushes and toothpaste etc. 

Looking forward to meeting the new group members this year! More blogs to follow in about 5 weeks! Watch this space... 

Day 10 - Wat should we do today?

A well needed rest day in Phnom Penh, allowed a chance for sightseeing, replenishing stocks of pharmaceuticals and groceries and a bit more retail therapy for those of us who cannot get enough of markets.

Half of us headed to Wat Phnom, which is the main temple in the city. Situated by the Mekong river, legend has it Madame Penh found four Buddhas on the banks of the river and put these on the nearby hill and the temple was subsequently built on the site. This majestic structure is surrounded by a lovely parkland. The Wat was initially constructed in the 1300's, it has been rebuilt four times, the last face lift in the 1930's, and it is clearly showing a bit of wear and tear. The parkland was lovely and was home to a few monkeys, which of course intrigued us tourists. The site also had an arts and craft centre, which had beautiful homemade traditional wares, made by people from villages throughout the country.

A couple of the group stumbled across a Raffles hotel, and partook of a little luxury. The hotel boasts Jackie Kennedy as a previous guest, so clearly we were hobnobbing with the rich and famous.
The group dined at a favourite - Jars of Clay - with most licking their plate of schnitzel and mash clean. Early to bed as the anticipated pack up and departure in the morning was set for the crack of dawn. Goodbye Phnom Penh, you have treated us well.

Breezy Dream

Day 2 at Sarorn’s village was another busy day, with us seeing easily over 400 people!

It is such a lovely drive out to Sarorn’s village, with rolling rice fields of bright vivid green against a blue sky. For a nice change at Sarorn’s village, our clinic was at a community centre that had many open sides that allowed the breeze to flow through, keeping us relatively cool, which was fantastic!

We saw a mix of things from the common cold, to ear infections that had pus running out of the ear, to chest infections, to using wound glue to close a laceration on a woman’s hand. She was amazed how so quickly all of a sudden her wound was closed, and so was I! It was my first time using it, and I am now converted! In the time it took Caz to go to the toilet, I had the wound cleaned and glued together! Terrific!

 

Bad teeth and toothaches were another sadly common sight to see. So many young children and teenagers have very rotten and broken teeth, right down to the gum due to poor diet and access to drinking water. To think that these kids will be missing many teeth as adults is such a sad thought. For this reason, donations of toothbrushes and toothpaste is so important to us, so we can provide dental hygiene education to prevent the loss of teeth for the young generation who are soon to be adults. Our toothbrush supply is never quite enough, but we did however manage to give a toothbrush to every child we saw!

Once we grouped all the kids together, we were able to educate the children on how to brush their teeth. Caz did a great job at demonstrating the correct way to brush, while Sarorn translated. Everyone had a bit of a giggle at the facial expressions Caz pulled while brushing her teeth!!

Another interesting but heartbreaking case was a young lady, 26 years old, who explained that during or after the birth of her first child she had some sort of complication with her heart. The women explained that the doctors had since warned her not to have anymore children. She came to us to ask why and wanted more answers. The women explained that doctors had urged her to have further tests done through clinics, however, she explained that she just could not afford to have these tests done. This was a very sensitive and difficult case as in Cambodia it is normal to have many children, and family is very important. I spent a lot of time with her and gave her a lot of TLC but couldn’t help but feeling so heart broken for her.

For lunch we headed back to Sarorns dads house. Another fabulous meal provided by his beautiful family. There was chicken, rice, omelette and a delicious soup of fish, shrimp and bamboo shoots. After lunch while we were all gently slipping into a food coma, we were spoilt with some incredible sweet steamed puddings with coconut flakes and some jelly slice. We all thoroughly enjoyed them.

To finish our time at Sarorns village, we handed out 75 packs to village ladys. The ladys were absolutely thrilled to have even the simplest things like a face washer. Was so beautiful watching them.

We ended the day with a lovely dinner at Mekong View Skyhigh Restaurant, with Sarorn, our translators, and van drivers. We watched the sun set, while enjoying delicious food, which was the perfect end to two very busy days. 

Sweaty Mayhem

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• Starting our 2 hour journey at 8 am meant a relative sleep in. We headed ~70 km north of Phnom Pehn to Saron's villages - Trayong Pong and Praysot Kor. A farming community where generation after generation has toiled for long long hours producing crops for sale. The ride was smooth and highlighted many large apartment complexes being constructed on the outskirts of the city, which are in demand due to the influx of rural people coming to the city for education and work.
  Trayong Pong's clinic was held at the local school in the morning and in the afternoon Praysot Kor clinic was at the community building. 100's of people waited "patiently" for a few minutes of our time. I say "patiently" but there was a number of cheeky women that pushed in line, I was onto them lol, however was chuckling on the inside at their tenacity and the acceptance of others when they did this - can you imagine that happening in Australia? No, not me either.
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• In contrast to the previous days I was overwhelmed by the number of elderly people that we saw today. In a country where the average lifespan is in the fifties, so many of these women and men surpassed this, with the eldest of the day being a beautiful 92 year old who said she was healthy but wanted to get some medicine so she could live longer - (as Caz would say "oh bless"). Despite their longevity the people were relative healthy. Most complained of blurred vision, aches and pains, headaches, dry eyes, and a few had indigestion. These ailments were managed by a small supply of paracetamol, antacids, eye drops, multivits and the obligatory worming tablet, tiger balm and scabies soap. The small stashes again seemed like a precious treasure for them. 

• Sadly there was a surprisingly large number of people with extremely high blood pressure and diabetes (high sugar). Many had been on medication for their blood pressure at some point in time, but the small supply they can afford soon runs out. There is nothing we can do for these problems - it's kind of sad, as so many westerners are non-compliant with their medication or diabetes management yet I believe these people would gladly take their medication if they had the opportunity.

• Most of the adults had pterygium, sign of sun damage to their eyes from the long hours they have spent in the fields. Alas there is never enough prescription glasses or sunglasses to go around. I am always overwhelmed by the people surrounding me, but this is nothing in comparison to the relative stampede that the team face at the glasses table, despite the thousand or so of glasses we have brought over to share between the clinics.
  Between clinics we were treated to a feast at Saron's home. Organic rice, salty fish, spicy organic duck, organic chicken and vegetables and "the best" chicken soup ever. Yummo. The break, and a bit of time in front of a fan was much needed.

• Before we started the afternoon clinic we had the pleasure of making a very special home visit. Akoo is 13 years old and has severe cerebral palsy. His parents have died and he is beautifully cared for by his grandmother and older sister (who has just finished her teaching degree). Despite his severe contractions and limited movement he was in amazing conditions, his skin immaculate and his teeth great. To add to grandmothers burden she is caring for her frail husband. Despite her own frail stature with severely hunched back due to osteoporosis, she carries Akoo down the steep ladder-like stairs (they live in a pole house due to the area being prone to flooding). Even in this country where it's a given that people just do what they need to do, I am filled with amazement and respect by this family.

• Today was particularly draining for most of us and many hit the wall and crashed back at the hotel. To quote our Rach it was "sweaty mayhem". But our hard work is trivial to the physical nature of these villagers working life. But is this the key to their longevity and their relative health? Have I found the fountain of youth?

Singing and more at Prey ta Sor

During our first consultation of the day, I felt a light tug on the back of my shirt. I looked down and there was a beautiful little boy of 10 years looking up at me with huge brown eyes, pointing down at his right foot with both hands. As soon as I saw what he was pointing at my stomach sank. His foot was black and purple, it looked necrotic (dead). Right across the top of his foot was a huge gapping wound, that was also black. The little boy was with his aunty, his mother was on her way to the clinic. Talking with his aunt, we discovered that he acquired his injury in the field which they had layed electric power lines in, to kill the rats, one in which had fallen on top of this foot. This happened two weeks ago. On closer inspection we discovered that the blackening of the foot wasn’t dead tissue but actually paint that they had used to seal the wound. This we found out is a common practice out in the remote villages if they have no access too wound care or medical centres. He had good movement and capillary refill (circulation) in his toes, but lacking sensation.

The foot was promptly soaked so it could be properly assessed. The paint took sometime to be removed, soaking his foot for about 15min. During the soaking his mother arrived with his little sisters (his sisters we will get to later). After cleaning his foot and wound with iodine multiple times the paint was finally removed, well mostly removed. The wound appeared pink (which is good) and as Caz was cleaning it he began to flinch (which was also good) meaning he had a little bit of sensation. It became difficult to clean due to his discomfort. It was at this point we decided that the wound would most likely need surgical debridment and assessment under sedation. Our translator informed us that this could be done for free at the children’s hospital in Phnom Penh. We discussed the situation and his need for further treatment with his mother. His mother became upset and ashamed as they hadn't been able to attended a clinic and have his foot treated sooner. Reassurance was given, but this wasn’t the only hurdle that this family had to cross. The boy’s mother was unable to go to the hospital with him as she had a 4 month old baby girl that was still breastfeeding, the hospital wouldn't allow to stay with the mother, and a 6 year old sister that appeared to be developmentally delayed. The father couldn't take time off work as the family couldn't manage without the income. This was a problem we needed to solve, as if this foot was left unattended he was going to lose it. Our translator asked around if there was anyone (a family member or a village leader) who could go with him. The boy's aunty who brought him to our clinic, agreed to take him, but had no money to get to and from the city. We informed the family that we would drop them off at the hospital and leave them money for food and their return trip home. The whole family was overwhelmed and overjoyed with our plan.

His foot was cleaned and wrapped up securely, and covered with a pair of funky socks donated by Elise, as the little man had no shoes. Aunty then took him home to prepare for their big trip to the city, which was his first time going to Phnom Penh.

His 6 year old sister was next to been seen. She was tiny. It was hard to believe she was six. She weighed 10kgs, and although Cambodian children are small, this was different.

She didn't/couldn't speak yet. She communicated by grunts, groans and other cute little noises but no speech. Mum informed us that when she was 4 years old she was diagnosed with a hole in her heart. This explained her size. We didn't even have to listen to her heart with a stethoscope to confirm her status as a cardic kid, you only had to touch her little chest to feel her heart pumping abnormally. I personally have not felt anything like it in my 6years of nursing. Our fabulous doctor Dy confirmed that it was most likely an Atrial Septal Defect and would require heart surgery. Unfortunately they children's hospital in Phnom Penh won't perform this procedure, however, the free children’s hospital in Seim Reap would. Once again it was the issue of financial hardship and transportation that had stopped them from getting her the surgery she requires. We decided that she had to get this surgery and we were going to pay for the whatever they needed to make it happen. She had stolen all of our hearts and we wanted to fix hers. Her cuddles and aura were divine as was her laughter and cheeky smile. There mother whom was also awaiting surgery for a removal of a mass in her abdomen agreed to take her to Seim Reap as soon as her youngest stopped breastfeeding, as she knows she will have to be away from her baby for awhile. Plans were made to support Mum and the little girls surgerys ASAP.

We then examined the 4 month old baby sister, who was thankfully perfect. She weighed 5.4kgs, which was more than half of what her older sister did. Mum gave birth to her on a little fishing boat by herself, unassisted and weighed her on the fish scales. Mum was very pleased and somewhat amused with how impressed we all were with this amazing story.

After the clinic was finished we were met by the family to see the brave little man off on his journey to the big city. There were a lot of firsts for him today; first time in air conditioning (in the van on the way to Phnom Penh), fisrt time to Phnom Penh, and his first time to a hospital. Of cause we couldn't help but spoil and feed him up along the way. His face was priceless when we arrived in the city, he had never seen anything like it, so loud and busy. His eyes were wide open, he didn't want to miss a thing. We delivered him and his Aunt to the hospital and got them checked in.

Health Promotion!

As those of you who have any experience with health will know, health is not only about fixing those that are unwell, primary prevention and health promotion is vitally important. As you can imagine in this country of extreme poverty where healthcare isn't free and therefore inaccessible to many, this seems irrelevant and unachievable. However as part of our mission, we try to do a little prevention and promotion. All the children that we see are given a toothbrush and toothpaste. This simple act brings a smile to the children's face and so much excitement and our hope is it delays the inevitable tooth decay as a result of basic diet and lack of this basic necessity. We had a wonderful opportunity for health promotion today. We visited a special organisation and armed with water bottles, plastic cups, ventolin inhalers and disposable gloves provided education to a very caring bunch of adults. We gave education about asthma, and taught them how to make spacers (devices to deliver the ventolin) out of dry water bottles and plastic cups. One of our team has asthma so we could actually demonstrate the technique (thanks Gab's). In addition we discussed "universal precautions" of using gloves when dealing with bleeding, vomiting and diarrhoea in little ones. The adults lapped up this education and were so thankful. For us, this simple gift of engaging and empowering, added to the many gratifying moments that we are experiencing.

Days 3 : J10 does it again

Our day began by unloading the delivery of medicine and clinic provisions that the big bosses had ordered the day before and taking them to the designated drug room to be sorted.

The team then split up, one group leaving to go collect the all-important scabies soap. The 2 hour round trip for soaps involved a rather bumpy ride over highway 1 out of Phnom Penh. This road is being resurfaced and most of the team certainly felt life’s ups and downs on the journey.  The road was particularly dusty and good old Mr Rith ( Number 1 tuk tuk driver in Cambodia) stopped to buy us all a protective face mask to keep out the dirt.   Elise and the Doc contributed by cutting blister packs and supervising the proceedings and the team soon had the medicine supplies in order for our first clinic.

The remaining members of the team stayed to make some head way into divvying up tablets. The possibility that this scene could be misconstrued as an underground drug den left our team nervous of a police raid. Whilst these tasks may appear mundane, they have given the team a sense of purpose for their trip. Jess (J10) earned this honorary title for the having the uncanny knack of always being able to scoop precisely 10 tablets, on the other hand, Not so quick Mick – struggled with his hand to eye coordination and most of his efforts ended up across the floor instead.

In the afternoon we went to say hi to some friends who we have known for a few years with the Doc to return tomorrow and offer some medical advice and information around medication and health care management. 

We decided to venture out of our comfort zone in the evening and headed to the tourist area in Phnom Penh. It is noticeable to see the difference not only in the cleanliness on the streets but in the number of restaurants and souvenir shops touting their ways.  Always keen to support a worthy cause we ventured into the White Linen Boutique. This shop is aimed at helping women predominantly escape from situations of abuse, trafficking etc and all their wares are had made. The great thing to see in this shop was that there was also an area for young men -Sons of Cambodia – recognising that it is not only women who are in difficult situations in life.

After we had some retail therapy, the team headed into a local restaurant (as recommended by our tuk tuk driver) and on sitting down at the table we all took in a sharp breath of horror as we realised we had made an unforgivable error – we had left a man behind…….

Rachael ran down the stairs to find our stray team member stood at the entrance to the shop.  Knowing that she had always taught her children to stay at the place where they had become separated, she practiced this technique and soon she was safely back in the fold.  The whole team felt thoroughly ashamed that we had left a man behind and had to offer repeated apologies blagh blah blah.

The restaurant provided colouring for the children and Alex didn’t disappoint with his rendition of the Connect with Cambodia logo which was signed by all and placed on the wall for all to see.  The team headed back with full bellies and an early night was had by all.

Day 4 : Tuk Tuk rodeo

Up again bright and early, the team prepared supplies for our first clinic. With bags and boxes packed and ready and everyone dressed and fed, we headed downstairs with our provisions and piled into the tuk tuks that were waiting for us outside. Our merry convoy zipped through the streets with typical Cambodian efficiency towards our destination in the slums of Phnom Penh. The seasoned veterans in the team who had been many times before noted how nice it was that there was actually a sealed road this time and the noticeable lack of mud was greatly appreciated. Eventually stopping at the church in the slum of Steng Menchay we were greeted by a small crowd who had been eagerly awaiting our arrival. Like a well-greased goat the team slid into action and before long our first clinic, complete with pharmacy and rambutan dispensary, was well under way.

In a mere 4 hours the team tended to over 200 people with ailments ranging from really sore toes to varicose veins to nephrotic syndrome. For what seemed like an eternity the team toiled away in the humid church under the dripping stalactites on the ceiling formed from leaking drainpipes.

Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, the clinic was over and we were packing up before sitting down enjoy a quick and tasty, though questionably safe lunch. It wasn’t before long before we were heading to our next clinic at Sokriths Church, this time split between Sokriths pastor’s van and a tuk tuk.

The drive involved a drive through the countryside down stretch of dirt road, pocked and puddled to the point it resembled a gritty brown Swiss cheese. Needless to say it was an arduous task for even the van to traverse, let alone the tuk tuk that creaked and groaned as it bucked like a rabid Brahmin in the potholes. Yet traverse it we did and finally we pulled into the serene courtyard for our second clinic. The overall atmosphere seemed more relaxed and the setting more tranquil as we were situated in the undercover area surrounded by garden compared to the sticky sweatbox of the slums. Once again our expert team attended to the waiting crowd supplying their knowledge, medication and helping hands. With the assistance of the translators we did our best to address the needs of the many and varied people who came to seek our help.

Before we knew it however we were wrapping up again and tucking into fruit platters kindly supplied by the grateful community. Our supplies loaded back into our trusty vehicles we headed back home, our first day of clinics successfully behind us with many more yet to come.

Day 2: Alex is sleepy and is going to bed

We woke on our first morning to the crowing of roosters, tooting of tuk tuks and the awful stench of sewerage whilst outside people were already busily going about their days. We headed back to the restaurant for breakfast where Heidi and Caz masterfully ordered us omelettes and coffee, the breakfast of champions. Each omelette seemed to be different to the next and the coffee was dark and sweet but it was the breakfast we needed to kick-start the day. After we had scrubbed up and packed our bags for the day the veterans went off to forage for the essential snacks and supplies and spent the day at the local supermarket.

The newbies on the other hand went off to learn more about Cambodia, its people and its bloody history. The way to travel is by tuk tuk and nothing quite grounds you in a place than driving through the streets and experiencing what day to day life is like. The driver artfully darted between the traffic, the roads a chaotic orchestra of horns, engines and voices and the air a thick soup of exhaust fumes and aromas from the food stalls. The buildings were a patchwork assemblage of buildings, some new and clean surround by tall walls, others in a state where you couldn’t tell if they were going up or being taken down. Hidden in between them all were various secret places, houses and shops in alleyways, on the roadside and under bridges. Around us thousands of stories were unfolding amongst our own and it quickly became apparent, we weren’t in Kansas anymore. Eventually, we arrived at our first stop, the Killing Fields. For those of you dear readers who don’t know about the Khmer Rouge and its maniacal leader Pol Pot you could do worse than quickly googling it. The Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre that acts as a memorial site for just one of the many mass graves of the violent regime stands in a stark contrast to the streets outside. Once inside the walls of the centre the entire atmosphere changed from an energetic hustle to a solemn serenity. Birds sang cheerfully and the unassuming areas potted with depressions played host to entire families of chickens but the audio tour revealed the gruesome details behind the beauty. Flitting around the flowering plants and trees that circle the graves were hundreds of butterflies and one couldn’t help but think that perhaps they were the spirits of the victims who had found some peace. At the end of the tour we went to the memorial stupa toward the entrance of the centre to pay our respects. The stupa, a magnificent white structure towering in the centre, holds human remains from some of the victims that were murdered at the site. Walking in silence around row upon row upon row of skulls and bones is almost an ethereal experience, as if the things that were done to the people who those bone belong to were too horrific to have really happened. But they did. This was reaffirmed when we reached our second stop for the day, the infamous Toul Sleng Prison, known also as S21, which was a school converted to hold and process the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime. This place of learning was transformed into a place of suffering though now it is a place of memory and healing.  It is here we discovered the brutal torture and treatment that many people endured before being sent to their deaths at the killing fields. Seeing the classrooms converted to prison cells/torture chambers, bars over the windows and the many photos of victims some taken immediately after being violently tortured was difficult to say the least. Even though visiting such places is an emotionally challenging and sobering experience it is important history to know and provides context to the plight of many modern Cambodians. However, regardless of how informative and eye opening the experience had been, we were glad to head back to the hotel and meet up with the others.

The afternoon saw us all heading to the eagerly anticipated Russian markets. There we navigated a humid warren of market stalls sporting clothes, shoes, fabrics and many other miscellaneous wares as well as completely authentic brand name merchandise. It was just as well we had arrived close to closing time as otherwise we may have spent all of our own personal money. Needless to say, with a bit of mercantile skill the team acquired some great bargains, though upon closer inspection Alex discovered his newly purchased pair of boots were not quite right. No wonder they were so cheap! With our haul of goodies we pressed on to the Café Yejj to meet Socheat and Satya and their kids Theresa and Cynthia to enjoy a dinner together. Delicious meals and friendly conversations rounded the day off nicely and before long we were back at the hotel calling it a night.

Day 1 2016: Sticky Situations

Like many great journeys, the 2016 Connect With Cambodia trip began with that all important first step. For much of the team, this meant slogging it from around Australia to chilly old Melbourne where we assembled at the Ciloms Hotel. Following warm introductions for the newbies and a hearty buffet dinner, much of the night was spent reorganising luggage to maximise our supplies whilst waiting for a delayed flight from Tassie carrying our last team member.

Our efficient run to and through the airport the next morning was halted by what was sure to be the first of many unexpected obstacles. Technical difficulties with our plane to Vietnam left us grounded on the tarmac for over an hour whilst the engineers laboured with duct tape and shoe glue to get the left wing back in order. Finally, we were up in the air and on our way and for the next 8 hours enjoyed all the luxuries economy class had to offer.

A smooth touch down into Hoh Chi Minh City to transfer onto the connecting flight saw us chatting to a delightful fellow Australian, a teacher and seasoned veteran of the region. However, the connecting flight itself saw us inside what is quite possibly the most ‘well-used’ aircraft still able to sustain flight. A rocking chair that shouldn’t have been and the pilot strolling mid-flight through the peeling cabin with a low ceiling perfect for claiming scalps, all added a degree of excitement to the brief trip. Once we had cleared the ever so vigorous border control and collected our bags, Sokhan our van man collected us from the airport and drove us through the bustling streets of Phnom Penh to the OV hotel; our home away from home for the next 10 days. Bags were quickly deposited into rooms as the team focussed on the more important task of acquiring dinner. Luckily, the restaurant a short walk down the road from the hotel was still open for business and the friendly staff even remembered some of the team from previous trips. They were quick to make us comfy and soon the table was filled with an assortment of delicious foods and cold drinks. We ate until bellies were full or faces thoroughly melted from the chilies hiding in the soup before heading back to the rooms for a much needed sleep.

Travelling North

Our Journey through Cambodia continued north as we made plans for an early departure from Kampong Chnnang on Monday morning.  With a breakfast rendezvous for 6 30am our plans were slightly scuppered as we were informed the breakfast cook did not arrive until after 7.  It did not take us too long to decide that  waiting and eating was the preferred option to starting our journey and travelling up to 100km before we got a chance to eat - especially when we were't sure exactly what culinary delights would be available for us once we hit the road.

We set off to our next destination slightly later than planned but made it into Battambang early afternoon where a quick turnaround of the vans took place. For those wanting to know more -this involves offloading 20 bags of luggage plus small suitcases and separating our trip and medical supplies into 2 lots - those for the clinic of the day and those for restocking when we've finished.

We had an afternoon clinic planned about 40 kilometers outside of the city and so returned to the vans to get to this destination.  Unfortunately, our directions were unclear and resulted in our team taking a one and a half hour detour albeit around some lovely countryside. When we eventually arrived, time was not in our favour but the team worked well and managed to see close to 250 people in little over two and a half hours.

There were some interesting cases in this village and the team arranged for a couple of the locals to get followed up for more treatment in a clinic close by.

We arrived back at the hotel quite late and ate a quick dinner as many of the team wished to sample the massage menu.  Those who did were certainly pampered and it was a well earned treat as we head into our final few days of clinics.

Tuesday saw us once again on the move as our journey took us up to Poipet.  Most of the team have been affected by various minor ailments from colds and coughs to abdominal disturbances.  The ones suffering most seem to have a condition known as "Dire Rear" !! Hence frequent stops are needed en route but our drivers are only to happy to oblige (as you can imagine).

As we drove to Poipet we were blessed with a few short burst of rainfall transforming the dust covered shrubs of the kerbsides into lush and bright foliage once again.  This was a pleasant change to the scenery so far which has been brown and dull as a result of the dry season and harvesting from the rice paddys. The rain also brought a slight drop in temperature making the day a truly splendid one to undertake an outdoor clinic.

Our clinic this afternoon took us back to Olahong village where the team last year met two young boys who were suffering with neurological symptoms.  We had taken them with us when we left for Siem Reap and the boys have been receiving treatment at the childrens hospital there which we have funded over the last year.  It was lovely to see them and their families again and the older of the two remembered us clearly greeting us with the most amazing smile.

We made sure that these and all our patients received much TLC during our clinic and left some extra supplies for the head teacher of the school in case of emergency.

Our evening has seen us enter No Man's Land - an area outside the border of Cambodia but not quite into Thailand hence it's name where we had a splendid meal at the casino and felt thoroughly spoiled.

We have now finalised our supplies for tomorrows clinic- our last for this trip- and hope for a good sleep before we head up to Siem Reap for some culture and retail therapy.

Ciao for now
Claudia and Caz

ps remember to check back to our blog soon as we will be uploading pictures as soon as we are able.

24 March 2015

Today is Sunday 22 March 2015.  We had an interesting night.  We were entertained by local music, we think, most of the night.  I'm not 100% sure, but everytime I woke up, I heard the same tune.  It became a little torturous after a while. In saying that, I had a decent sleep and awoke feeling reasonably refreshed and ready for another adventure in the provinces.  My roomie reminded me of her presence and sent a noisy but confident message packing her suitcase for the day.  We had breakfast at 6.45am.  Some of our team mates were suffering a little, with various ailments: snuffly noses, headaches and bloated stomachs.  The joy of being in a different environment and eating new and interesting food.

Two of our team decided to have protein shakes in mango juice.  We all salivated whilst eating our plain omelets and bread.

I am the chief "looker-afterer" of the money, so dutifully paid in a timely fashion.

Heidi made a comment at breakfast that for the next trip she was going to designate a team member to perform certain tasks during the trip.  For example, the team will have a designated "blog coordinator" who will look after the entire blog including pictures etc, for the entire trip.  Sounds good to me. Personally, I would prefer to have a specific role.  

I decided to wear my "boomerang" hat today.  I have left it in a few places during the trip and it always seems to find it's way back to me.

We left the hotel at approximately 7.30am and arrived at the Kuy Village at 10.30am.  The journey consisted of a van, boat, and iron cow ride.  Let me tell you more about the journey to the village.  The van ride was uneventful, with expert drivers, Korn and Rodney negotiating the traffic with ease.  When we arrived for the boat ride, that was another story.  Apparently the boat from last year was not available so Hi (our lovely translator) negotiated another boat when we arrived at the docks.  Getting onto the boat was a challenge.  We had to carry our clinic supplies down a reasonably steep descent to get onto a long boat.  Jack (another of our translators) informed me that the boat is called a "bala boat".  The supplies were loaded onto the bala boat and we seated ourselves on the floor. We traversed the "Kampongchnang River".

Jack explained to me about the Kamponchnang river flooding during the wet season.  I would estimate that the level of the river rises about 5 metres.  There are many houseboats on the river. I also noticed many buildings below the 5 metre mark.  Rodney (our trip coordinator and great friend to the team) explained that the buildings that are constructed below the 5 metre level, can be dismantled during the floods and reconstructed when the water level recedes. It seems that every bit of available space is useful to the Cambodian people.

Just before we left the docks, Caz and Heidi navigated the markets to find fruit and bread.  They were unsuccessful in finding any fruit, but managed to procure some bread rolls for lunch.

As we cruised down the river, I reflected on my journey thus far.  From my perspective, the Cambodian people are very entrepreneurial.  Every where we travel there are many stalls set up on the side of the road with many different goods for sale.  I was also amazed when I arrived at the way in which power distribution is managed.  Running through the cities are power poles with hundreds of strands of power cables.  I have been told that people who live nearby to the power pole will tap into it in order to get power for their business/home.  Unfortunately, a lot of the villages in the provinces do not have mains power and manage with battery power that is recharged using generators.  Rodney informed me that the battery power is used for lights, fan and sometimes a TV. More on that later.

During our river trip, we passed a cruise boat called the "RV Amaloths" (I think - my notes are a bit scrawly).  Alongside this cruise boat was a similar boat to the one we were in.  I noticed that the passengers were all wearing life vests.  Uh oh!!! Who needs life vests.

I also noticed that alongside the river are many floating lilly-type plants.  Sok Eng explained that the flowers of these plants can be eaten and the roots can be made into Khmer Sour Soup.

There were also sticks sticking up out of the water near the river bank.  Sok Eng explained what this was.  Apparently, this is a fishing technique.  This is complicated but I'll do my best to explain it. The sticks are placed in a circle in the river with fish feed and cow skins placed at the centre in a cage-like structure made of branches where in the fish can enter. When it is time to retrieve the fish, a net is laid around the sticks and three or four labourers will get into the centre and remove the cage-like structure. They will place the branches next to the sticks to use to catch fish next time. One of the labourers will stay in the boat and the man at the centre of the sticks (in the river) will put mud on the net to keep the net on the bottom of the river and to keep it closed. The other men who have taken out the cage-like structure come onto the boat with one in the middle and two on the ends of the boat.  The men on the ends will hold the net high so that fish cannot escape. The man in the middle will slowly pull out the net using a twisting technique so that fish cannot escape as the net is being pulled in.  The man in the water will continue to hold it closed at the bottom. They continue this process until the bottom edge has been pulled out and the fish are contained within the net and can't escape. The fish are then scooped into another boat.  The fish are caught using this process every 3-4 months. A new structure is put into place next to where the old structure was, then returned to the original place in 3-4 months time.  

We also passed fishermen with little boxed shaped pots.  Sok Eng explained that these were mainly used for catching river prawns.

When we arrived at the destination, Hi negotiated for a van and an Iron Cow.  How about that!!  The Iron Cow is like a miniature tractor at the front with long metal arms for manoeuvring.  This contraption then tows a wooden kart. The clinic supplies were put into the van and most of the team climbed onto the kart and went for a long ride to the village. I estimate it took us just under an hour in travelling time.  During the kart ride, we past the mountain called "Korngrey" mountain.  In English this is called The Woman.  Hi provided us with the sad legend associated with the naming of this mountain.

Also, during the ride, we past many village houses.  These were mostly on stilts and made with a variety of materials, such as, dried palm leaves, wood, corrugated iron, bricks and concrete.

When we arrived at Village Kuy, we set about unloading and organising the clinic,  We felt very privileged that the clinic was being held in the church/orphanage.  I was curious about the local housing so asked Rodney a few questions. Rodney informed us that kids, parents, and grandparents, all sleep on the floor on a mat.  He told us about the batteries and said that there were no refrigerators. The women use charcoal wood for cooking and will visit the market daily to purchase fresh goods for their families.

Interestingly, he also made the comment that he came to the village only 3 years ago and on the way he saw local people harvesting by hand using bullocks and karts. He said it was like looking back in time.

I have also dubbed myself one of the "dispenser crew".  Whilst the nurses are doing their 'nursey' thing, the dispenser crew will make sure that there are enough medications and supplies ready for use.  Today, we focused on Vitamin C and cutting up medicated soap used for scabies.  We were able to cut up 2 boxes of soap which will be enough for over 500 people.  Pretty good going!

During one of my breaks, I headed over to Caz and Gabby's table.  Caz had just informed me of a sad story.  She described a young girl who was attending the clinic by herself.  Another grandmother (who was looking after her own three grandchildren) was looking out for her. This young girl was living with her great grandmother, who was too frail to come to the clinic. Through the interpreter it was explained that the young girl was caring for her great grandmother, and that the father went to Thailand 15 years before and never returned, and the Mother went to work in the fields at night and one night never came home. The grandmother attending the clinic was cooking for the young girl and her great grandmother.  Medicine was dispensed for the young girl and her great grandmother.  The Grandmother who attended the clinic gave Caz, Gabby, and Satya a blessing. This was a very humbling and emotional experience for Caz and Gabby.

To help reduce the tension associated with such an emotional story, Caz and Gabby took one of the soccer balls outside and played with the kids for about 20 minutes. Sok Eng and Rachel joined the fun.

The village treated us with a delicious lunch.  We had rice, chicken, fried vegetables, mango salad, fried fish (treyroh) and beef (saichkor). For dessert we had longans and coconut milk (yummy!!).

Just after lunch, the team brought out some clothing and bags of goodies for the kids.  The bags contained toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, washer, and coloured pencils. The bags were made by the Tully Ladies Craft Group.  A big thank you to the Tully Ladies. A gift well received.  About 20 children stood in line patiently waiting for clothing. These were made by Deb Hudson's Mum.  A big thank you to Deb's Mum.

The team left a few things for the village.  These included soaps, toothbrushes, toothpaste, washers, tiger balm, 6 soccer balls, pencils and coloured pencils, bubbles, 2 sets of badminton, and donated clothes.

We left the village at 1.50pm and arrived back at the hotel at 3.45pm.

Many of the clinic crew mosied on down to the 2500 riel shop and markets for some retail therapy. The 2500 riel shop is the Cambodian version of Crazy Clarks, Reject Shop and Pound Land (for the Poms) all rolled up into one. I received a gift of a cerated knife in order to continue with my soap cutting duties during the clinics.

It has come to the end of another day.  As Kathy so aptly said at dinner tonight, "I feel humbled by this experience".

Choum reap ea (Goodbye),
Liz Buikstra

By Gabby and Seanna

Our time in Phnom Penh came to an end this morning, with us packing up our rooms and loading the vans (including the roof of Rodney's van) to travel north to Kampong Chnang. 12 suitcases plus carry on, plus boxes of medications and dressing supplies, plus 19 people crammed into the 2 vans for the 2 hour journey  through green rural countryside.

After unloading and some unpacking, we enjoyed a beautiful meal at the restuarant which is attached to our hotel. After lunch we headed to Oreong villiage which is home to 30 families. After a quick song of welcome, the villiage children all lined up single file to get their worming tablets, scabies soap and vitamin C tablets. Our clinic stations were set out in a sandy compound surrounded by jackfruit trees and pink flowering trees, as well as a pair of geese wandering through with their young. The clinic stations were very pleasant and less crowded as it was only a small village. While the nurses were busy seeing patients, Claudia and Liz were busy dispensing drugs and running a very organised pharmacy.

One conversation that stood out was between Rachael and Vanessa and a middle aged lady. She told them about finding a baby in a cardboard box 5 months ago, whom she took in and cared for as her own. As sad as this story started out as, the baby is now doing very well and is healthy and is in a loving home. This generousity in spirit from the lady to the baby, was reflected in the kindness we recieved from the villagers, who supplied us with fresh coconut juice and platters of mango and watermelon. As this clinic came to an end, with us leaving toothbrushes and toothpaste for the villagers, Rachael was meanwhile being chased by the cheeky geese as she was tryjng to get a photo of their babies.

21 March 2015

Thursday night was a relatively early night. Friday morning was a sleep in, up and meet for breakfast at 7.30 Am . Karen the teams incredible mover and shaker of Optical wear, decided to do a quick run down to Cazs room to see what she could do. But alas, our door was locked! I was reasured her that it only needed my muscles. But no, the door was locked from the outside and we were trapped. So of course we laughed until we realised how are we gonna get out? We rang reception who had great difficulty in understanding what we needed. We were told to wait 5 minutes then 10 minutes passed. We rang again, only to be told someone will come at 10am.....NOW we are starting to get really anxious. Sitting up on the fourth floor. We are finally out!

So the day begins now !!!!!! all the medications that had to be taken from the third floor into the vans was already done. It really wasnt a cunning plan. So down stairs we went where everyone was packed up waiting for our drivers who got stuck in traffic. You cant stress about punctuality in Cambodia. There is so much traffic and heat and the very narrow roads all add to its busy lifestyle .

We drove 15 minutes to reach the slums in the city where plastic and dirt littered the narrow road. Our clinic was to be set up in the church and people were sitting waiting for us. These people were very poor but all hard workers. Most of the people who came to the clinic today were suffering with dehydration, scabies and headaches. We would have seen around 200 people today and some told us of how they would drink only 2 glasses of water while working out in the sun.

Although they have nothing they were all warm and friendly and were very grateful for any assistance we gave.

We left the pastor with toiletry packs for the ladies and hand knitted blankets to distribute.

We then went to replenish stock  and pack our things for our move tomorrow.

Karen on glasses duty

Rach and Heidi with the lovely blankets donated from a family in Cairns

Caz with a cutie

One of the little ones saying thank you

Gabby on pharmacy duty

Heidi and Seanna assessing their patient

The busy clinic

Abby and Caitlin with their patient