Hello Everyone
Samraong is such a noisy place that we are not easily distracted by loud noises so it was only when Carol was woken at 4 am by the crackling of wood and people shouting that we got out of bed and saw a fire on the other side of the road . A large wooden house had flames soaring up through the roof and the upper part of the structure was crashing down. A large crowd had gathered and our landlady was soon banging on our door asking us to switch off the electricity to the house as they thought it was an electrical fire. The family were very frightened and were visibly shaking. We headed up to the roof for a better view and saw that people were doing what they could to put the fire out but had only buckets and pans to work with. Most houses do not have running water.
About 15 mins later, just as we were beginning to think there was no fire service in the town, two water trucks arrived and sprayed water over the heads of the spectators onto the fire. We wondered whether the house in question belonged to Tee, an employee of Malteser and one of my students. We discovered later that it was the house next door and the water trucks arrived in time to prevent the fire from spreading. It was our landlord who rang the police station where the fire service is based and the response time was 20 minutes. We think that they had to go to the lake to get water before turning up.No crowd control, cordoned off areas, police prescence, or safety helmets but it worked, and all that there was left next morning was a smouldering heap and no one hurt. Health and safety has yet to be introduced to Cambodia - just poor people helping each other!
Another drama this morning -we awoke to see the preparations for a 100 day funeral right outside our house. A green, pink and yellow marquee, lots of plastic chairs and tables, and a huge sound system. Even the family came to warn us about the noise! From 4.30 am tomorrow there will be unbearably loud plinky plonk music with monks adding the vocals. And its the weekend! We are moving out to stay with our friend Emma, another VSOer who has almost become a second daughter, and lives just up the road so that we can at least wake up naturally. The huge cauldrons for the cooking have arrived in the compound.
We arrived back home this morning to find the funeral music blaring out but no guests. The compound was busy with women and their children preparing food, including a pigs head and indescribable bits of animal innards adorning the low tables as well as colourful vegetables. We'll head off on our bikes to Samraong shortly for our weekly shop and iced coffee at a little cafe.We no doubt will arrive back home to 100 + guests, the women wearing white silk tops. Tonight will be the 'wake' when there'll be more raucous, loud music and it will all carry on tomorrow.It seems the wealthier you are, the longer the ceremony. The music needs to be loud to drive the bad spirits away and hasten the deceased to the next life! The guests give money as they leave. The going rate in Samraong is $10 and if you invite enough folks you can make money out of the occasion. So it will be another dinner and DVD with Emma tonight!
Other news. I spent some time in UK in January. My mother has made a fine recovery physically, but her morale was low having been a prisoner in her own home owing to the snow and ice. As it cleared, we were able to get out and she resumed her social life. I was also able to meet many friends, staying in Manchester with Win and Brian, and I also caught up with Nick, and Laura and Alberto, whilst in transit in Singapore. Because it was so cold I had no regrets coming back to Cambodia.
I flew back to PP and was joined by Carol . As well as our routine medical check-up with our motherly Russian GP, although we're pretty healthy here, we enjoyed some lovely meals, haircut, pedicure and a different hotel, largely used by business people and NGO workers which was well away from the tourist area and gave a different feel to the city.
Carol now - Work is fine, the good news being that our donor has extended our funding to Dec 2010. So, we have some breathing space, although there's only me who seems to have any sense of urgency or the confidence to get out there and network in order to find a donor. I'm supporting the field staff to conduct a questionnaire and interviews with our recipients - families, village chiefs, health centre staff etc so that we can write up an evaluation of the project so far and come up with a way forward. Its all very slow going as the staff are not very confident in this area and our recipients are largely illiterate. Still, as ever, I've had some heart warming experiences, particularly in the field, when it just feels a real priviledge to be here, regardless of whether I'm doing anything useful!
My volunteer assistant, Vatnak, started to work with me for 2 1/2 days a week in Jan. and is a star. He's employed by VSO and acts as my interpreter and cultural guide. He's clever, warm, friendly and enthusiastic and wants to improve his English. He's also a great moto driver, even with me on the back! On a trip north he wanted me to meet the family of a 20yr. old girl who'd died following the birth of her 1st baby. It was perhaps the remotest village I've been to so far and we drove on sandy tracks through extensive areas of deforestation - slash and burn is common here and there is little awareness of environmental conservation. The baby had been born at home with the help of village women and a traditional birth attendant. She had slowly bled to death over the next 5 days. Traditional belief holds that bleeding cleanses the womb and is therefore a good thing. The road was flooded and impassable as it was the rainy season, the family were afraid to go to the health centre even if they could have made it as they didn't like the HC practice which only allows 1 relative into the delivery room, and they had no money for transport costs anyway. We just sat on a log in their village listening to their story, told largely by the girl's sister who looked severely malnourished. They were sad, dignified but accepting and pleased that we had visited them. Cambodia has one of the highest death rates in SE Asia - 470 /100,000 live births compared to our 9.
On that salutary note we'll close and look forward to Howard and Sue's visit next week - temples, sun and sand!
Hope you have all survived the Arctic conditions at home. Please keep in touch.
Love to you all
Geoff and Carol xx
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Saturday, 9 January 2010
A New Year - What Will it Bring?
Hi everyone and New Year greetings from our 1st posting of 2010
A quiet wkend here as Geoff left for UK yesterday to see his Mum. She has made an amazing recovery from her fall and is walking independently again, although housebound just now like so many because of the Arctic conditions gripping the UK. Hope you are all safe and warm, but guess the disruption caused is becoming a nuisance as the snow and freezing temps. seem to have been with you for ages! Hope it didn't spoil family gatherings and holiday plans.
It is supposedly our cool season when we don't need a fan at night and need to wear a cardy early in the morning. It has been very short lived. This morning I had a bike ride around our lake looking at birds and it felt very hot. Spotted lots of spot billed ducks and purple swamphens, with the help of a great tome on SE Asia's birds, a Christmas present from Geoff. I then had to manage the fruit and veg. market shop alone with my faltering Khymer but was rewarded with an iced coffee in a glass full of ice, sweet condensed milk at the bottom topped with rich, dark Cambodian coffee, which when we first arrived I couldn't stand but now love. That's Cambodia for you! I seem to be getting used to things.......slowly.
The coffee cafe on a very dusty corner by the litter strewn and grubby market in Samraong seemed a world away from Singapore with its Christmas 'snow' decorations, music and Waitrose/ Mand S mince pies and Christmas cake. Laura as usual had planned some lovely treats - a trip to the Esplanade to hear the Soweto Gospel choir, a traditional Italian meal at a new restaurant on Christmas Eve, presents, smoked salmon and croissants on Christmas morning, followed by turkey and even brussel sprouts with chestnuts for lunch ,prepared by Laura's friend Jen, at their new apartment looking out to sea, well actually the oil rigs, but they looked pretty with their glittering lights and the breeze was just great! We played games, not quite up to the standard of Nic's quizzes and Pictionary but the family will be pleased to know that I performed as hopelessly as ever! A visit to a wetland reserve where we saw a crocodile, and a kingfisher catch a fish, rounded off our trip.
We had New Year back in Cambodia. My organisation had a New Years Eve Party under the stars, again with a roasted ox and lots of beer and dancing. The day was spent preparing with all staff involved - I kept well away from the animal's slaughter in the office garden but couldn't escape the staff lunch, rice and various bits of the animal's entrails. Went off next day to Siem Reap and the Kool Hotel, which unfortunately wasn't as kool as we'd hoped in that the pool looked murky and hot water was in short supply! Still that's Cambodia. We had some great restaurant food and enjoyed the company of other VSO ers who were in town and, as usual stocked up on essentials like bread, cheese and Ricard.
At work, we've started the evaluation of the health promotion part of the project which will end April 2010. I am no longer looking for funds to pay the health promoter's salaries but will support the Project Manager to devise a new project based on the feedback we get from the evaluation. Understandably, no donor will give money just to pay wages. We need to find the gaps in our service, check that we are reaching the most needy of beneficiaries and come up with activities which continue to impact poor peoples health. So I'm learning new skills too and will be very much involved in the writing of the proposal. So, enough to keep me busy for a while.
Thanks to everyone for your Christmas cards and email greetngs. Keep in touch!
With lots of love from
Carol and Geoff, as he wings his way to Manchester. xx
A quiet wkend here as Geoff left for UK yesterday to see his Mum. She has made an amazing recovery from her fall and is walking independently again, although housebound just now like so many because of the Arctic conditions gripping the UK. Hope you are all safe and warm, but guess the disruption caused is becoming a nuisance as the snow and freezing temps. seem to have been with you for ages! Hope it didn't spoil family gatherings and holiday plans.
It is supposedly our cool season when we don't need a fan at night and need to wear a cardy early in the morning. It has been very short lived. This morning I had a bike ride around our lake looking at birds and it felt very hot. Spotted lots of spot billed ducks and purple swamphens, with the help of a great tome on SE Asia's birds, a Christmas present from Geoff. I then had to manage the fruit and veg. market shop alone with my faltering Khymer but was rewarded with an iced coffee in a glass full of ice, sweet condensed milk at the bottom topped with rich, dark Cambodian coffee, which when we first arrived I couldn't stand but now love. That's Cambodia for you! I seem to be getting used to things.......slowly.
The coffee cafe on a very dusty corner by the litter strewn and grubby market in Samraong seemed a world away from Singapore with its Christmas 'snow' decorations, music and Waitrose/ Mand S mince pies and Christmas cake. Laura as usual had planned some lovely treats - a trip to the Esplanade to hear the Soweto Gospel choir, a traditional Italian meal at a new restaurant on Christmas Eve, presents, smoked salmon and croissants on Christmas morning, followed by turkey and even brussel sprouts with chestnuts for lunch ,prepared by Laura's friend Jen, at their new apartment looking out to sea, well actually the oil rigs, but they looked pretty with their glittering lights and the breeze was just great! We played games, not quite up to the standard of Nic's quizzes and Pictionary but the family will be pleased to know that I performed as hopelessly as ever! A visit to a wetland reserve where we saw a crocodile, and a kingfisher catch a fish, rounded off our trip.
We had New Year back in Cambodia. My organisation had a New Years Eve Party under the stars, again with a roasted ox and lots of beer and dancing. The day was spent preparing with all staff involved - I kept well away from the animal's slaughter in the office garden but couldn't escape the staff lunch, rice and various bits of the animal's entrails. Went off next day to Siem Reap and the Kool Hotel, which unfortunately wasn't as kool as we'd hoped in that the pool looked murky and hot water was in short supply! Still that's Cambodia. We had some great restaurant food and enjoyed the company of other VSO ers who were in town and, as usual stocked up on essentials like bread, cheese and Ricard.
At work, we've started the evaluation of the health promotion part of the project which will end April 2010. I am no longer looking for funds to pay the health promoter's salaries but will support the Project Manager to devise a new project based on the feedback we get from the evaluation. Understandably, no donor will give money just to pay wages. We need to find the gaps in our service, check that we are reaching the most needy of beneficiaries and come up with activities which continue to impact poor peoples health. So I'm learning new skills too and will be very much involved in the writing of the proposal. So, enough to keep me busy for a while.
Thanks to everyone for your Christmas cards and email greetngs. Keep in touch!
With lots of love from
Carol and Geoff, as he wings his way to Manchester. xx
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Silent Night?
Hello everybody,
We forgot to mention Angkor Wat in our last post. We were there in early December for the annual marathon which raises money for land mine 'victims' and those affected by HIV/Aids. There are several events and VSO was represented in two of them. Spectators need to leave Siem Reap at 5.30 with the runners in order to avoid high entry fees to the temples but you are rewarded with a beautiful initially misty setting and sunrise over Angkor. Races began promptly at 6.30 and were well organised, with participants from 47 countries. I`m pleased to say that a VSO volunteer from Glossop won the 10k race for women. Perhaps we'll walk briskly round next year! Its whetted our appetite for templing again when friends come to visit in the New Year.
At last there has been a whiff of Christmas in Samraong. Soroth, the son of our landlord, invited us to the service in his "church." There are no churches in Samraong yet so we congregated at the house of the pastor which was decorated with balloons of all colours and shapes. We sat outside in the compound under the house.
Although we did not recognise any of the carols it was a delightful afternoon with many familiar features. The pastor prayed, the youth choir sang, the small children danced (Khmer style, mainly with their hands) and American evangelists preached with a Khmer translation provided. I was asked to introduce Carol and myself so I made my first speech in Khmer. It was warmly applauded, but whether that signified approval or relief that I had stopped I do not know. There was, of course, a lot of local colour. Small children,toddlers,babies,chickens and dogs wandered bemused among the performers and at the end of it all trestle tables were erected and the worshippers were treated to a wonderful meal. Khmer hospitality at its best!
Speaking of dogs,Khmer people do not have pets, but all families seem to have dogs. They do not name them, train them or walk them. They feed them but do not interact with them. The dogs rarely leave the vicinity of the compound and at night they bark and howl. Sometimes, (full moon?)you think that every dog in the village is howling. Nobody ever tries to shut them up.
Last night was a case in point. The dogs barked and howled from 3.00 for a good half hour. When they stopped the cocks began to crow, 2 hours too early. Then a baby screamed. Finally at 4.15 day 2 of a nearby wedding began. They play music through speakers that a large gymkhana would be proud of, and continue to play it till late at night. You can hear wedding music 200 yards away - it`s a sign of wealth so we're told, that the families of the bridal couple have sufficient resources to enable them to party over several days!
So Carol said, "Do the blog today, call it Silent Night." And I did.
We're packed and all ready to 'escape' to a very different Asia and can't wait to see Nic and the family over Christmas via our new toy, Skype. Mincepies and Christmas cake will hopefully come back for a Samraong Christmas tea. I'll forget about our funding problems for a few days and we'll return refreshed and enthused for a new year here! I've found a lovely Phillipino guy with lots of experience of proposal writing who has offered to help me, so it won't quite be the blind leading the blind. On that optimistic note , we'll close. Thanks for all your Christmas greetings. Have a lovely time, wherever you are, and good health and fun in 2010.
Our love and thoughts
Carol and Geoff xx
We forgot to mention Angkor Wat in our last post. We were there in early December for the annual marathon which raises money for land mine 'victims' and those affected by HIV/Aids. There are several events and VSO was represented in two of them. Spectators need to leave Siem Reap at 5.30 with the runners in order to avoid high entry fees to the temples but you are rewarded with a beautiful initially misty setting and sunrise over Angkor. Races began promptly at 6.30 and were well organised, with participants from 47 countries. I`m pleased to say that a VSO volunteer from Glossop won the 10k race for women. Perhaps we'll walk briskly round next year! Its whetted our appetite for templing again when friends come to visit in the New Year.
At last there has been a whiff of Christmas in Samraong. Soroth, the son of our landlord, invited us to the service in his "church." There are no churches in Samraong yet so we congregated at the house of the pastor which was decorated with balloons of all colours and shapes. We sat outside in the compound under the house.
Although we did not recognise any of the carols it was a delightful afternoon with many familiar features. The pastor prayed, the youth choir sang, the small children danced (Khmer style, mainly with their hands) and American evangelists preached with a Khmer translation provided. I was asked to introduce Carol and myself so I made my first speech in Khmer. It was warmly applauded, but whether that signified approval or relief that I had stopped I do not know. There was, of course, a lot of local colour. Small children,toddlers,babies,chickens and dogs wandered bemused among the performers and at the end of it all trestle tables were erected and the worshippers were treated to a wonderful meal. Khmer hospitality at its best!
Speaking of dogs,Khmer people do not have pets, but all families seem to have dogs. They do not name them, train them or walk them. They feed them but do not interact with them. The dogs rarely leave the vicinity of the compound and at night they bark and howl. Sometimes, (full moon?)you think that every dog in the village is howling. Nobody ever tries to shut them up.
Last night was a case in point. The dogs barked and howled from 3.00 for a good half hour. When they stopped the cocks began to crow, 2 hours too early. Then a baby screamed. Finally at 4.15 day 2 of a nearby wedding began. They play music through speakers that a large gymkhana would be proud of, and continue to play it till late at night. You can hear wedding music 200 yards away - it`s a sign of wealth so we're told, that the families of the bridal couple have sufficient resources to enable them to party over several days!
So Carol said, "Do the blog today, call it Silent Night." And I did.
We're packed and all ready to 'escape' to a very different Asia and can't wait to see Nic and the family over Christmas via our new toy, Skype. Mincepies and Christmas cake will hopefully come back for a Samraong Christmas tea. I'll forget about our funding problems for a few days and we'll return refreshed and enthused for a new year here! I've found a lovely Phillipino guy with lots of experience of proposal writing who has offered to help me, so it won't quite be the blind leading the blind. On that optimistic note , we'll close. Thanks for all your Christmas greetings. Have a lovely time, wherever you are, and good health and fun in 2010.
Our love and thoughts
Carol and Geoff xx
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Ups and Downs of Life in Cambodia
Hi Everyone
Just got back from Sisophon, the provincial capital of Banteay Meachey, the NW province next to us, and as its Human Rights Day and a Public Holiday, I have the day off. Although still dirty and dusty like Samraong, it is a town with a modern hospital, in parts, a large market, a university, wide roads and several reasonable hotels and restaurants which we don't have. Its famous for its karaoke bars as its on the main trucker road to Thailand! Although only 2hrs from us, it felt more modern and part of the world and shows how our region has really suffered from civil war, unrest and a lack of investment. Still, we came home to a surprise farewell lunch for Anne, a volunteer German midwife, who leaves us today after working with Cambodian midwives in health centres for 8 wks and we have had Wanda, a young accountant from Berlin join us for a short while and Pathma has arrived to start her VSO placement. So we enjoyed sweet and sour fish, a beer, and of course, rice, so life feels good!
We met in Sisophon for our 1st NW volunteer 'cluster' meeting and the UK nurses among us laughed afterwards as it felt very much like being back in the NHS - lots of talk about resources, or more precisely, the lack of them - although the setting, a noisy cafe, hot, and with lots of biting insects , I guess was a bit different. The most useful part for me was picking up some tips as to how best to utilise the skills of a volunteer assistant as my best news this blog is that I've appointed Vatanak as my VA. He'll work 2 1/2 days each week from January and will support me with interpretation, translation, teaching and the niceties of Cambodian culture. He starts 2nd Jan.
Another trip away has been to Battambang, Cambodia's 2nd largest city with friends we met on the training course. It is a grand place, falling to bits as usual, but with some wide, leafy boulevards and several beautiful colonial buildings like the Governor's Residence and an elegant and atmospheric hotel dating from the early 1900's which has been sensitively restored to its former glory. The French influence is still evident. Not as touristy as Siem Reap and less cosmopolitan than PP, we really liked it. We stayed at a Khmer hotel - the best shower yet, fluffy white towels, a big pool and of course young, charming staff, all for $30 ( approx £18) per night!
My organisation joined up with a large Cambodian NGO, to organise a community health forum last week in the grounds of the pagoda in Samraong. The idea was that about 350 poor people from some of the villages in which we work would be able to meet with health service providers like the public health and hospital director and ask questions about the quality of care they receive at the local hospital and health centres. The beginnings of accountability I guess, which they call here patient and health provider rights. There was a good representation of women and disabled people which pleased me. There was Emma, the other VSO volunteer, and me up on the pink, green and yellow silk decked stage, with all the' high ranking people' and I couldn't help but smile and reflect on what a privilege it is to be here, well, at least some of the time! We had a great staff post event discussion back at the office and the challenge now is to get them to formulate some constructive feedback which we can communicate back to the organisers.
Another fascinating experience last week was my organisations meeting in Siem Reap at a very grand hotel, with our donors, Malteser, a German international NGO. I was there to support my Executive Director and Programme Manager in their meeting with their partners. The development world is like all others - demands, constraints, project planning. We were given a great DVD on our work in OM Province, which will keep the memory of Samraong alive, should we ever forget this experience!
I've saved the bad news until last - we heard yesterday that CHHRA and its international partners has not had either of its EEC Food Security proposals accepted. We have funding to maintain our community based health insurance scheme hopefully until December 2010 but things look precarious for our health promotion team. So my time for the forseeable future will be taken up trying to support the management team to find a new donor. We don't need a massive amount of money in the big scheme of things as we have a good team, motor bikes and an established office in place. Salaries for 4 health promoters are the major item. People remain cheerful, philosophical and accepting of their lot however. Projects coming to an end and people loosing their jobs are just a way of life here, though an older Cambodian who spent his adolescence in the camps on the Thai border told me recently that he was weary of always asking for money to support basic services. So many services which we take for granted, like a health service available for all, regardless of wealth or social status is just not available here.
On that unhappy note I'll close. We'll be in touch before Christmas and our trip to Singapore which we're so looking forward to. It's hard to imagine you all preparing for Christmas. I don't envy you, but Geoff is missing the frantic activity and the crack amongst great friends at Winos, especially at this time of year!
Please keep in touch and lots of love to you all
Carol and Geoff
Just got back from Sisophon, the provincial capital of Banteay Meachey, the NW province next to us, and as its Human Rights Day and a Public Holiday, I have the day off. Although still dirty and dusty like Samraong, it is a town with a modern hospital, in parts, a large market, a university, wide roads and several reasonable hotels and restaurants which we don't have. Its famous for its karaoke bars as its on the main trucker road to Thailand! Although only 2hrs from us, it felt more modern and part of the world and shows how our region has really suffered from civil war, unrest and a lack of investment. Still, we came home to a surprise farewell lunch for Anne, a volunteer German midwife, who leaves us today after working with Cambodian midwives in health centres for 8 wks and we have had Wanda, a young accountant from Berlin join us for a short while and Pathma has arrived to start her VSO placement. So we enjoyed sweet and sour fish, a beer, and of course, rice, so life feels good!
We met in Sisophon for our 1st NW volunteer 'cluster' meeting and the UK nurses among us laughed afterwards as it felt very much like being back in the NHS - lots of talk about resources, or more precisely, the lack of them - although the setting, a noisy cafe, hot, and with lots of biting insects , I guess was a bit different. The most useful part for me was picking up some tips as to how best to utilise the skills of a volunteer assistant as my best news this blog is that I've appointed Vatanak as my VA. He'll work 2 1/2 days each week from January and will support me with interpretation, translation, teaching and the niceties of Cambodian culture. He starts 2nd Jan.
Another trip away has been to Battambang, Cambodia's 2nd largest city with friends we met on the training course. It is a grand place, falling to bits as usual, but with some wide, leafy boulevards and several beautiful colonial buildings like the Governor's Residence and an elegant and atmospheric hotel dating from the early 1900's which has been sensitively restored to its former glory. The French influence is still evident. Not as touristy as Siem Reap and less cosmopolitan than PP, we really liked it. We stayed at a Khmer hotel - the best shower yet, fluffy white towels, a big pool and of course young, charming staff, all for $30 ( approx £18) per night!
My organisation joined up with a large Cambodian NGO, to organise a community health forum last week in the grounds of the pagoda in Samraong. The idea was that about 350 poor people from some of the villages in which we work would be able to meet with health service providers like the public health and hospital director and ask questions about the quality of care they receive at the local hospital and health centres. The beginnings of accountability I guess, which they call here patient and health provider rights. There was a good representation of women and disabled people which pleased me. There was Emma, the other VSO volunteer, and me up on the pink, green and yellow silk decked stage, with all the' high ranking people' and I couldn't help but smile and reflect on what a privilege it is to be here, well, at least some of the time! We had a great staff post event discussion back at the office and the challenge now is to get them to formulate some constructive feedback which we can communicate back to the organisers.
Another fascinating experience last week was my organisations meeting in Siem Reap at a very grand hotel, with our donors, Malteser, a German international NGO. I was there to support my Executive Director and Programme Manager in their meeting with their partners. The development world is like all others - demands, constraints, project planning. We were given a great DVD on our work in OM Province, which will keep the memory of Samraong alive, should we ever forget this experience!
I've saved the bad news until last - we heard yesterday that CHHRA and its international partners has not had either of its EEC Food Security proposals accepted. We have funding to maintain our community based health insurance scheme hopefully until December 2010 but things look precarious for our health promotion team. So my time for the forseeable future will be taken up trying to support the management team to find a new donor. We don't need a massive amount of money in the big scheme of things as we have a good team, motor bikes and an established office in place. Salaries for 4 health promoters are the major item. People remain cheerful, philosophical and accepting of their lot however. Projects coming to an end and people loosing their jobs are just a way of life here, though an older Cambodian who spent his adolescence in the camps on the Thai border told me recently that he was weary of always asking for money to support basic services. So many services which we take for granted, like a health service available for all, regardless of wealth or social status is just not available here.
On that unhappy note I'll close. We'll be in touch before Christmas and our trip to Singapore which we're so looking forward to. It's hard to imagine you all preparing for Christmas. I don't envy you, but Geoff is missing the frantic activity and the crack amongst great friends at Winos, especially at this time of year!
Please keep in touch and lots of love to you all
Carol and Geoff
Saturday, 14 November 2009
November No Christmas
Hello everybody. Although I have been back in Cambodia since October 30th, we have only been home for 6 days as Carol and I met up in Phnom Penh for a few days then went to Siem Reap before returning to Samraong. So the blog was delayed.
Good news is that my Mum is back home and making progress with her walking. While I was there she was using a zimmer indoors and a wheelchair outside. However, in a recent phone call she told me she is walking freely indoors and needs only a stick outside. She is determined to remain as independent as possible.
In PP Carol and I enjoyed the famous Water Festival which lasts for 3 days and symbolizes the end of the rains and the victory of the Angkorian 10th century king Jayavarman VII th over the Chams, a Muslim culture still found in small pockets in Cambodia.There were nearly 400 boats each with 40 or more rowers racing down the Tonle Sap river over the 3 days. With each race having only 2 boats competing, they came thick and fast at 1minute intervals so there was always a race to watch. With over a million visitors PP was heaving and the atmosphere was wonderful. VSO were the only non Khmer boat. They struggled to get straight on the starting line and were well beaten but it was good fun watching them row with the current down the Mekong. They were the only boat wearing life jackets! There was a party at a roof top restaurant afterwards with mostly newly arrived volunteers. We're considered experienced now! Each evening there were fireworks on the river and floating illuminated boats - Blackpool, Asian style. We had a great view from an old colonial building / Tapas bar. The Verdejo went down a treat! On the final afternoon the heavens opened and by nightfall several streets near the river were under a foot of water but apart from that the rains do seem to have come to an end.
We stayed in 2 boutique hotels whilst in PP to decide where to place our visitors early next year. Of course I preferred one and Carol the other. No prizes for guessing where they`ll stay. Both are boutique style and French run, such a contrast to hot and dusty Samraong.
Before finally settling back home we enjoyed a long week-end in Siem Reap thanks to yet another public holiday. Although I spent a pleasant hour and a half with Rhotana ,the highlight had to be the bird-watching trip to Tonle Sap lake. Setting off at 5.30am in a taxi we transferred after 25 minutes to a boat which took us to the bird reserve with breakfast on the way. Here we changed to another boat with a ranger to enter the reserve. It`s not the best time for birds yet we saw a lot, including pelicans in trees, bee eaters, a grey headed fish eagle and lots of Indian cormorants and great and little egrets. We climbed a rickety bamboo ladder up a tree to a hide in the floating forest biosphere area to view a cormorant chick in a nest - quite a challenge for a pair of oldies! TS is the largest lake in SE Asia and at times it felt that we were at sea with a swell and no sight of land. Lunch was provided in a house in a floating village with a Khmer family. We arrived back in SR late afternoon for a swim and smart Khymer/French restaurant.
Here in Samraong there is still no sign of Christmas, yet we are half way through November. Of course you can`t get cards here and we do not have postmen. The shops are no different, nor will they be. This is a Budhist country and Christmas Day is a normal working day. Still, were off to Singapore, where, Laura says, it will be like Florida!
Carol here - work has been busy in that we've had Hans, a Dutch VSO Health Programme Placement Manager to visit. He's resposible for selecting all health volunteers to Cambodia so it was interesting to hear his take on things. We've also had Pathma, a 71 yr old Sri Lankan hospital management advisor, also with VSO, who will come to live in Samraong in December. We've helped her open a bank account - took 1 1/2hrs! - and find a house, a newish 4 b. place full of traditional, heavy Khymer furniture and by the lake, so she'll be able to walk to the hospital.
Its quite nice to have a quiet wkend, though weve spent a fair amount of time sweeping up dead insects in the house which seem to have been much worse than usual - dont know why this should be but we've had 2 incredibly hot days -36c which have really made me wilt. Its hard to concentrate and be motivated when I'm constantly wet! I've organised training on how the field staff can use the stuff they've learned on dengue and malaria in their work with village people and we're now starting to look at facilitation skills to help them deliver health messages to the community. CHHRA have had an extension of funding to April from contingency funds and we should hear soon as to whether our application to the EC for a food security project has been succesful, or not!
C'est la vie - don't feel you have to bother with a Christmas card to us! Carol, our neighbour at 4 Heathfields rd will gather up any that arrive though and save them for Geoff's visit in the New Year. We still want to hear all your news though, so keep the emails flowing.
With love to you all
Carol and Geoff xx
Good news is that my Mum is back home and making progress with her walking. While I was there she was using a zimmer indoors and a wheelchair outside. However, in a recent phone call she told me she is walking freely indoors and needs only a stick outside. She is determined to remain as independent as possible.
In PP Carol and I enjoyed the famous Water Festival which lasts for 3 days and symbolizes the end of the rains and the victory of the Angkorian 10th century king Jayavarman VII th over the Chams, a Muslim culture still found in small pockets in Cambodia.There were nearly 400 boats each with 40 or more rowers racing down the Tonle Sap river over the 3 days. With each race having only 2 boats competing, they came thick and fast at 1minute intervals so there was always a race to watch. With over a million visitors PP was heaving and the atmosphere was wonderful. VSO were the only non Khmer boat. They struggled to get straight on the starting line and were well beaten but it was good fun watching them row with the current down the Mekong. They were the only boat wearing life jackets! There was a party at a roof top restaurant afterwards with mostly newly arrived volunteers. We're considered experienced now! Each evening there were fireworks on the river and floating illuminated boats - Blackpool, Asian style. We had a great view from an old colonial building / Tapas bar. The Verdejo went down a treat! On the final afternoon the heavens opened and by nightfall several streets near the river were under a foot of water but apart from that the rains do seem to have come to an end.
We stayed in 2 boutique hotels whilst in PP to decide where to place our visitors early next year. Of course I preferred one and Carol the other. No prizes for guessing where they`ll stay. Both are boutique style and French run, such a contrast to hot and dusty Samraong.
Before finally settling back home we enjoyed a long week-end in Siem Reap thanks to yet another public holiday. Although I spent a pleasant hour and a half with Rhotana ,the highlight had to be the bird-watching trip to Tonle Sap lake. Setting off at 5.30am in a taxi we transferred after 25 minutes to a boat which took us to the bird reserve with breakfast on the way. Here we changed to another boat with a ranger to enter the reserve. It`s not the best time for birds yet we saw a lot, including pelicans in trees, bee eaters, a grey headed fish eagle and lots of Indian cormorants and great and little egrets. We climbed a rickety bamboo ladder up a tree to a hide in the floating forest biosphere area to view a cormorant chick in a nest - quite a challenge for a pair of oldies! TS is the largest lake in SE Asia and at times it felt that we were at sea with a swell and no sight of land. Lunch was provided in a house in a floating village with a Khmer family. We arrived back in SR late afternoon for a swim and smart Khymer/French restaurant.
Here in Samraong there is still no sign of Christmas, yet we are half way through November. Of course you can`t get cards here and we do not have postmen. The shops are no different, nor will they be. This is a Budhist country and Christmas Day is a normal working day. Still, were off to Singapore, where, Laura says, it will be like Florida!
Carol here - work has been busy in that we've had Hans, a Dutch VSO Health Programme Placement Manager to visit. He's resposible for selecting all health volunteers to Cambodia so it was interesting to hear his take on things. We've also had Pathma, a 71 yr old Sri Lankan hospital management advisor, also with VSO, who will come to live in Samraong in December. We've helped her open a bank account - took 1 1/2hrs! - and find a house, a newish 4 b. place full of traditional, heavy Khymer furniture and by the lake, so she'll be able to walk to the hospital.
Its quite nice to have a quiet wkend, though weve spent a fair amount of time sweeping up dead insects in the house which seem to have been much worse than usual - dont know why this should be but we've had 2 incredibly hot days -36c which have really made me wilt. Its hard to concentrate and be motivated when I'm constantly wet! I've organised training on how the field staff can use the stuff they've learned on dengue and malaria in their work with village people and we're now starting to look at facilitation skills to help them deliver health messages to the community. CHHRA have had an extension of funding to April from contingency funds and we should hear soon as to whether our application to the EC for a food security project has been succesful, or not!
C'est la vie - don't feel you have to bother with a Christmas card to us! Carol, our neighbour at 4 Heathfields rd will gather up any that arrive though and save them for Geoff's visit in the New Year. We still want to hear all your news though, so keep the emails flowing.
With love to you all
Carol and Geoff xx
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Festivities in Samraong
Hi Everyone
Only 1 more week before a holiday in PP and Geoff's return. Hope it won't be too hard for Joan not having him around. She's doing well but is frustrated by how long its taking to becoming independnt again. Nic is in Newcastle too this weekend, so they are off to the match. Hope they win.
My best news is that VSO have agreed to provide me with a volunteer assistant for 2 1/2 days a week. This will make me much more independent as I will have interpreter support when I need it and help with cultural stuff.It is likely to be difficult to get someone with good enough English here, but there will be no lack of applicants as jobs with a regular salary even of $100 are hard to come by.
I've had a quiet weekend although works kept me busy and I've actually brought work home a couple of nights. I've been preparing a days staff training on malaria. I have to educate myself first, get it int a format which the staff can follow and understand how they can best protect their own families, and then I try to come up with some health messages which we can use in village meetings and when working with individual familes. The driver, guards and cleaner join in too - its hard to know at what level to pitch things and with all the talk of drug resistance to the malaria parasite, one of the highest in the world here in our area, there's loads of info. to look at. So many people still go to private clinics or the market to buy medicines which may be fake or not the correct regime. They feel better after a couple of days so don't complete the course and don't have a follow up blood test and remain a source of infection in their communities. Its made me a bit paranoid - tucking in our mossy net, spraying the shower room and closing the house doors in the evenings in spite of the heat!
My last field trip was the best yet. I go off with an open mind and sometimes find it really difficult to see any opportunities to bring about change which is sustainable. I met a great Cambodian midwife at at a health cetre who was keen for our respective staff to work together and Vatanar, the health promoter I spent 3 days with is tryng hard to reach the poorest of families. He introduced me to a young chap who had lost an eye and both arms to a land mine. With the help of neighbours he was able to grow a small amount of rice and had made a fish pond in the hope of feeding his family and having something to sell.With a little bit of financial support from our organisation, he'd built a food cabinet and a hen house. Such families are inspirational and will encourage me to work with the staff on ways in which we can identify and support disabled people in our target villages.I'll also look at some joint training with the HCenre staff.
We have a new volunteer with us, Anne, a young German midwife who is here for 10 wks. It's good to have new people around.Also had a visit from Lonely Planet last week though I don't think the write up about Samraong will be much better than last time! I have to say though, the place is looking better, at least around the lake. The provincial government have spent a lot of money building a park area with grass, shrubs, 2 huge black elephants, a shrine with sparkly lights and surprisingly, no litter. We have a fair here, similar to the fairs I remember as a child, and next week we will celebrate Water Festival, a celebration of Jayavarman v11 over the Chams who occupied Angkor in 1177! Its great to see these ancient traditions flourishing again, after being totally supressed by Pol Pot. Long canoes, brightly hand painted, race along one side of the lake with up to 40 paddlers in each. CHHRA has a boat and we've all been out to watch them practice this week. Our lot are not natural sailors but love it, even the soakings in mucky lake water. Some of the girls from work took me to the fair on Friday night. I think they feel they need to look after me whilst Geoff is away! Went on the big wheel, a bit rickety and of course no H and S rules, ate popcorn and won a bowl at a darts stall.
I've also been to my 1st wedding this week, another colourful occasion and reminiscent of Pakistani weddings in UK. There were about 400 guests and even though I wore one of my 'wedding ' dresses I felt very under dressed! Lots of food and beer, loud music but no dancing,and us each presenting an envelope containing $10 to the bride and groom as we left, seems the typical format. All work staff were invited .The bride was a staff member's sister in law whom I'd never met before! Everyone was smiley and gracious and there were lots of formal greetings and photos.
Must go now as Anne is coming round for tea - pomelo and fish salad with bean sprouts. I'm really getting in to the food, especially since I treated myself to a cook book written by a French chef resident here who gives the Khymer words for the herbs and spices which are readily available and incredibly cheap at our local market.
Please email us soon!
Lots of love to you all
Carol, and Geoff of course xx
Only 1 more week before a holiday in PP and Geoff's return. Hope it won't be too hard for Joan not having him around. She's doing well but is frustrated by how long its taking to becoming independnt again. Nic is in Newcastle too this weekend, so they are off to the match. Hope they win.
My best news is that VSO have agreed to provide me with a volunteer assistant for 2 1/2 days a week. This will make me much more independent as I will have interpreter support when I need it and help with cultural stuff.It is likely to be difficult to get someone with good enough English here, but there will be no lack of applicants as jobs with a regular salary even of $100 are hard to come by.
I've had a quiet weekend although works kept me busy and I've actually brought work home a couple of nights. I've been preparing a days staff training on malaria. I have to educate myself first, get it int a format which the staff can follow and understand how they can best protect their own families, and then I try to come up with some health messages which we can use in village meetings and when working with individual familes. The driver, guards and cleaner join in too - its hard to know at what level to pitch things and with all the talk of drug resistance to the malaria parasite, one of the highest in the world here in our area, there's loads of info. to look at. So many people still go to private clinics or the market to buy medicines which may be fake or not the correct regime. They feel better after a couple of days so don't complete the course and don't have a follow up blood test and remain a source of infection in their communities. Its made me a bit paranoid - tucking in our mossy net, spraying the shower room and closing the house doors in the evenings in spite of the heat!
My last field trip was the best yet. I go off with an open mind and sometimes find it really difficult to see any opportunities to bring about change which is sustainable. I met a great Cambodian midwife at at a health cetre who was keen for our respective staff to work together and Vatanar, the health promoter I spent 3 days with is tryng hard to reach the poorest of families. He introduced me to a young chap who had lost an eye and both arms to a land mine. With the help of neighbours he was able to grow a small amount of rice and had made a fish pond in the hope of feeding his family and having something to sell.With a little bit of financial support from our organisation, he'd built a food cabinet and a hen house. Such families are inspirational and will encourage me to work with the staff on ways in which we can identify and support disabled people in our target villages.I'll also look at some joint training with the HCenre staff.
We have a new volunteer with us, Anne, a young German midwife who is here for 10 wks. It's good to have new people around.Also had a visit from Lonely Planet last week though I don't think the write up about Samraong will be much better than last time! I have to say though, the place is looking better, at least around the lake. The provincial government have spent a lot of money building a park area with grass, shrubs, 2 huge black elephants, a shrine with sparkly lights and surprisingly, no litter. We have a fair here, similar to the fairs I remember as a child, and next week we will celebrate Water Festival, a celebration of Jayavarman v11 over the Chams who occupied Angkor in 1177! Its great to see these ancient traditions flourishing again, after being totally supressed by Pol Pot. Long canoes, brightly hand painted, race along one side of the lake with up to 40 paddlers in each. CHHRA has a boat and we've all been out to watch them practice this week. Our lot are not natural sailors but love it, even the soakings in mucky lake water. Some of the girls from work took me to the fair on Friday night. I think they feel they need to look after me whilst Geoff is away! Went on the big wheel, a bit rickety and of course no H and S rules, ate popcorn and won a bowl at a darts stall.
I've also been to my 1st wedding this week, another colourful occasion and reminiscent of Pakistani weddings in UK. There were about 400 guests and even though I wore one of my 'wedding ' dresses I felt very under dressed! Lots of food and beer, loud music but no dancing,and us each presenting an envelope containing $10 to the bride and groom as we left, seems the typical format. All work staff were invited .The bride was a staff member's sister in law whom I'd never met before! Everyone was smiley and gracious and there were lots of formal greetings and photos.
Must go now as Anne is coming round for tea - pomelo and fish salad with bean sprouts. I'm really getting in to the food, especially since I treated myself to a cook book written by a French chef resident here who gives the Khymer words for the herbs and spices which are readily available and incredibly cheap at our local market.
Please email us soon!
Lots of love to you all
Carol, and Geoff of course xx
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Home Alone!
Hi Everyone
It's late but as I'm away from Samraong for 3 days this week, visiting yet more remote villages, I felt it would be good to be in touch with you all. Geoff left for UK yesterday for 3 wks, to support his Mum as she adjusts to life at home after a long spell in hospital following a fracture to her ankle. She has a good care package in place but hopefully Geoff will be able to provide great company, some trips out and enable Peter and Avril to have a break. He's looking forward to seeing Nic too and might even manage a trip to Winos!
He left here a day early as the road to Siem Reap is flooded - the taxis are transferring their passengers to a tractor and trailer to take them across about a 4oo mtre stretch of water and then another taxi completes the trip to SR. It has almost doubled the journey time. We caught the end of the storm which hit the Phillipines and had torrential rain, no sun and cooler temps for 3 days. It felt strange but it was great to sleep without a fan. Many of the dirt roads around Samraong have been 'cut'-they have deep gullies full of water, there are large holes on either side of wooden bridges where the rain has washed the road away, and there are cars and trucks stuck or keeled over in what look like rivers of mud. The locals take it all in their stride. Nobody seems to get upset or angry and farmers make a bit of extra money towing vehichles out. We had to abandon a field trip last week as our land cruiser ended up nose down in a hole, just before a bridge over a river. We were all fine - somehow, wading through mud in merrell sandals in the heat feels no hardship. We had blocked the road, so children going to school on their bikes had great fun deciding what to do. It was a team effort - school uniforms off and carried high on one arm whilst they swam across the river, somehow managing to hold on to their bikes. Then uniforms on again, big smiles and lots of laughter, and they were back on their way to school.
Life here is full of simple but heart warming experiences like this.Last weekend we went about 20kms north of here to O'Smach, a remote and quiet border crossing into Thailand, the place I'd been on a motorbike with Bona and her 2 young friends during the Pchum Bhen holiday. We offered to pay the taxi fare but because we were taking 4 staff, Hing, my programme manager , said it was a team building experience, we should take the organisation's truck, and that CHHRA would pay for the petrol! In spite of awful road conditions - we had to be towed out of a gulley at one point -we had music and laughter, a trip to the Thai market where fruit, handbags and toiletries seemed even cheaper than they are here and then the biggest treat for the staff, a visit to the casino on the Cambodian side of the border, full of Thais as gambling is illegal in Thailand.They are young 20 somethings. Their eyes were out on stalks as they'd never been into a 'posh' hotel before or seen slot machines and gambling tables.They stuck close to Geoff - they looked like chicks following the 'mother' hen! All a bit bizarre but then this is Cambodia!
I worked last Saturday, which is unusual, at Malteser, a German International NGO. It was an inspiring day as I was asked to observe and give feedback to a 'natural' trainer, a young chap from Myamar who led a workshop for staff on facilitation skills.I came away with lots of ideas for our staff training. My next session is on malaria which I don't know a lot about yet, except that its pretty common here and can be lethal. The Dengue fever training, my first, went surprisingly well, in spite of the interpreter going off sick at the last minute.The staff are like sponges, so keen to soak up whatever is on offer, that it is a pleasure to work with them. They treat me, but particularly Geoff ,with great respect and are proud to have a native English speaker as their teacher - they call him, lecrue -my teacher!
All this is such a far cry from your sophisticated world of theatre,art, books and music. All is not lost, however, as I've recently worked out how to access I Player, so listened to my 1st Archer's omnibus on Sunday morning! It's going to be hard to resist Radio 4 but it will be great company whilst Geoff is away. It makes me feel closer to you all, particularly those of you who are Archer's addicts! Must pack my rucksack now for tomorrow's trip and get to bed. Our days still start early with the cock crowing at 5.30 so I need to be in bed for about 10.
Keep in touch -Its important that we don't become country bumpkins whilst we're out here!
Much love to you all
Carol and Geoff xx
It's late but as I'm away from Samraong for 3 days this week, visiting yet more remote villages, I felt it would be good to be in touch with you all. Geoff left for UK yesterday for 3 wks, to support his Mum as she adjusts to life at home after a long spell in hospital following a fracture to her ankle. She has a good care package in place but hopefully Geoff will be able to provide great company, some trips out and enable Peter and Avril to have a break. He's looking forward to seeing Nic too and might even manage a trip to Winos!
He left here a day early as the road to Siem Reap is flooded - the taxis are transferring their passengers to a tractor and trailer to take them across about a 4oo mtre stretch of water and then another taxi completes the trip to SR. It has almost doubled the journey time. We caught the end of the storm which hit the Phillipines and had torrential rain, no sun and cooler temps for 3 days. It felt strange but it was great to sleep without a fan. Many of the dirt roads around Samraong have been 'cut'-they have deep gullies full of water, there are large holes on either side of wooden bridges where the rain has washed the road away, and there are cars and trucks stuck or keeled over in what look like rivers of mud. The locals take it all in their stride. Nobody seems to get upset or angry and farmers make a bit of extra money towing vehichles out. We had to abandon a field trip last week as our land cruiser ended up nose down in a hole, just before a bridge over a river. We were all fine - somehow, wading through mud in merrell sandals in the heat feels no hardship. We had blocked the road, so children going to school on their bikes had great fun deciding what to do. It was a team effort - school uniforms off and carried high on one arm whilst they swam across the river, somehow managing to hold on to their bikes. Then uniforms on again, big smiles and lots of laughter, and they were back on their way to school.
Life here is full of simple but heart warming experiences like this.Last weekend we went about 20kms north of here to O'Smach, a remote and quiet border crossing into Thailand, the place I'd been on a motorbike with Bona and her 2 young friends during the Pchum Bhen holiday. We offered to pay the taxi fare but because we were taking 4 staff, Hing, my programme manager , said it was a team building experience, we should take the organisation's truck, and that CHHRA would pay for the petrol! In spite of awful road conditions - we had to be towed out of a gulley at one point -we had music and laughter, a trip to the Thai market where fruit, handbags and toiletries seemed even cheaper than they are here and then the biggest treat for the staff, a visit to the casino on the Cambodian side of the border, full of Thais as gambling is illegal in Thailand.They are young 20 somethings. Their eyes were out on stalks as they'd never been into a 'posh' hotel before or seen slot machines and gambling tables.They stuck close to Geoff - they looked like chicks following the 'mother' hen! All a bit bizarre but then this is Cambodia!
I worked last Saturday, which is unusual, at Malteser, a German International NGO. It was an inspiring day as I was asked to observe and give feedback to a 'natural' trainer, a young chap from Myamar who led a workshop for staff on facilitation skills.I came away with lots of ideas for our staff training. My next session is on malaria which I don't know a lot about yet, except that its pretty common here and can be lethal. The Dengue fever training, my first, went surprisingly well, in spite of the interpreter going off sick at the last minute.The staff are like sponges, so keen to soak up whatever is on offer, that it is a pleasure to work with them. They treat me, but particularly Geoff ,with great respect and are proud to have a native English speaker as their teacher - they call him, lecrue -my teacher!
All this is such a far cry from your sophisticated world of theatre,art, books and music. All is not lost, however, as I've recently worked out how to access I Player, so listened to my 1st Archer's omnibus on Sunday morning! It's going to be hard to resist Radio 4 but it will be great company whilst Geoff is away. It makes me feel closer to you all, particularly those of you who are Archer's addicts! Must pack my rucksack now for tomorrow's trip and get to bed. Our days still start early with the cock crowing at 5.30 so I need to be in bed for about 10.
Keep in touch -Its important that we don't become country bumpkins whilst we're out here!
Much love to you all
Carol and Geoff xx
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