Hi Everyone
Good to say hello to you although you've probably stopped bothering to look at our blog as its such a long time since we last spoke! We're fine, just been busy with lots of work and holidays.
The hot season is still here with a vengeance, and although its begun to rain, its difficult to sleep, our bedding and clean clothes feel hot and we're damp and shiny faced all the time. It drains us of energy too. Not quite the same as Singapore where we are this week - air con, Italian food, the pictures, all a lovely treat. We collected the keys for Laura and Alberto's new condo yesterday, from a Chinese lawyer, and came away with 3 sets of keys for each room and an attache case full of documents! They've bought a 6th floor new apartment, airy and spaceous, with a big balcony for outdoor living. Laura is well, a bit scared about only having 4 mths off work after the baby is born, but hopefully we will be around to help in the NewYear for a while, VSO permitting!
Our Samraong community has grown with 2 new volunteers, Sarah and Anne, and an Australian/Sr Lankan couple with their 2 yr old son Joshua who has also joined us to work on Malteser's Maternal and Child Health programme. We spent a lot of time finding the 2 houses to look at, and advertising for VA's for them, not easy as there are not many peple with reasonable English and houses are often without kitchens, privacy etc. Both Anne and Sarah will work with the Public Health Dept. as Behaviour Change and Nutriton Advisors. As the 1st volunteers with this organisation, their placements will be tough. Emma has also sadly left early, after falling down the stairs at her house, fracturing her wrist and a bone in her heel. It was all very traumatic for her and us. VSO acted promptly though, and got her to Singapore for medical care as BNK was problematic because of the Red Shirt protests. As you will have gathered, Cambodia is not a place to be disabled. We miss her. She was a kind and reliable friend who had a fantastic memory and was very well organised. We're the 'oldest' volunteers now -we've been here 14 mths! The volunter community is so transient. On a bad day, I wonder what we can possibly achieve here as there are such massive cultural barriers, poverty and gross inequalities.
We were recently in Pnomh Penh - I ran a session with another volunteer for the 2nd time, on how to work with a volunteer assistant, for the newly arrived volunteers. They were well received, so hopefully that was useful. I enjoyed it too. There is a great camaradie here and it still feels good to meet so many can - do people with a great variety of experiences from all over the world. Work is still good but things move slowly. I'm part of the place now and the staff are more confident to practice their English, thanks to Geoff's efforts. My VA Vatanak is a joy to work with, enthusiastic, quick, smiley and always willing to have a go. He has a great rapport with village people. However, CHHRA has very little vision or forward planning. I've spent a lot of time supporting Hing and the Executive Director to write 2 proposals which would bring funds to the organisation. One would bring funds from a Dutch International Organisation, International Child Support, to support activity in several schools whereby children would learn the value of boiling water and cleaning their compounds with our health promoters supporting both their parents and teachers to change their behaviour. The other is for EU money, lots of it, with our donor as partner, to tackle dengue fever by teaching school children and their parents to distribute 'bugs' which eat the dengue parasite. This would ensure CHHRA's survival for the next 3 years.
We had a trip to Laos for Khmer New Year, Vientiane and Luang Prabang. A country poorer than Cambodia, nominally Communist, still a French influence, and very laid back. Not quite our experience, as they were celebrating New Year too, so it was noisy, busy, with lots of water being thrown around! All a bit disappointing. We should have researched things a bit more carefully, but it was great to see forested hills and Laotian silk is beautiful. Geoff didn't like not being able to communicate and was pleased to get back to Cambodia. We've also had 2 more sets of friends to visit, Barbara and Tom and Win, Brian, Lucy and Michael.
So, we've been tourists too and really enjoyed showing them around. It felt good to re-connect and feel reassured that things have not changed very much at home, although this was all before the Election of course.Back to reality next week for us! Hope all is well with you all. Whilst in Singapore, I'll try to catch up with emails. Meanwhile, keep in touch.
With lots of love
Carol and Geoff xx
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
So who are you saving?
Hi Everyone
Sorry its been a while since we were last in touch but we've actually been busy! So, we'll start with the best of news, and then Geoff will tell you something about our holiday. Laura and Alberto are expecting their 1st baby in September, so we will be grand parents in Asia! We are thrilled, as are all the family in the UK. And only a 1 1/2hr flight away. We'll see them in Singapore in May and look forward to making plans then, as to how we can best support them once the baby arives. All well so far.
Geoff - Howard and Sue arrived in Siem Reap on the 9th of February and with Carol taking annual leave we were able to have a holiday together. We moved from resident mode to tourist mode and really enjoyed the experience.Our friends had decided to make the most of the temples in Angkor so they had a 3-day pass which allows you to get a real feel for the place.
We stayed at the Golden Banana which is a lovely boutique hotel to come back to after a day's templing. In the evening we took them to restaurants where they could try our Khmer cuisine and where the menus would test Sue's ingenuity. They later said that Angkor Wat had been the highlight of the trip. Perhaps it is best not to describe Angkor too much as some of you are, and some might be, visiting the temples. Come with no preconceived ideas and prepare to be amazed.
If Siem Reap was the site of the ancient civilisation, then Phnom Penh representst more recent history. Howard and Sue went out to the Killing Fields and also to Toul Sleng, the school which the Khmer Rouge converted into an infamous prison and torture site. Living in Cambodia you are constantly aware of the Pol Pot legacy. Tourists rarely see the despair and trauma behind the constant smiles of the Khmer people. Few families were left unscathed and Carol and I have listened to many agonising stories about the destruction of family bonds and the disappearance of family members. Toul Sleng and the Killing Fields are a stark reminder of the tragedy that befell this country.
On a much lighter note, we toured the capital on cyclos, the traditional method of transport here. The men who operate these cyclos are generally quite old, but they pedal along behind you while you sit back in a deckchair with overhead cover and enjoy the fun of Phnom Penh traffic. They are a dying breed, used less and less by Khmer people, but attracting a new tourist clientele.
Sorry its been a while since we were last in touch but we've actually been busy! So, we'll start with the best of news, and then Geoff will tell you something about our holiday. Laura and Alberto are expecting their 1st baby in September, so we will be grand parents in Asia! We are thrilled, as are all the family in the UK. And only a 1 1/2hr flight away. We'll see them in Singapore in May and look forward to making plans then, as to how we can best support them once the baby arives. All well so far.
Geoff - Howard and Sue arrived in Siem Reap on the 9th of February and with Carol taking annual leave we were able to have a holiday together. We moved from resident mode to tourist mode and really enjoyed the experience.Our friends had decided to make the most of the temples in Angkor so they had a 3-day pass which allows you to get a real feel for the place.
We stayed at the Golden Banana which is a lovely boutique hotel to come back to after a day's templing. In the evening we took them to restaurants where they could try our Khmer cuisine and where the menus would test Sue's ingenuity. They later said that Angkor Wat had been the highlight of the trip. Perhaps it is best not to describe Angkor too much as some of you are, and some might be, visiting the temples. Come with no preconceived ideas and prepare to be amazed.
If Siem Reap was the site of the ancient civilisation, then Phnom Penh representst more recent history. Howard and Sue went out to the Killing Fields and also to Toul Sleng, the school which the Khmer Rouge converted into an infamous prison and torture site. Living in Cambodia you are constantly aware of the Pol Pot legacy. Tourists rarely see the despair and trauma behind the constant smiles of the Khmer people. Few families were left unscathed and Carol and I have listened to many agonising stories about the destruction of family bonds and the disappearance of family members. Toul Sleng and the Killing Fields are a stark reminder of the tragedy that befell this country.
On a much lighter note, we toured the capital on cyclos, the traditional method of transport here. The men who operate these cyclos are generally quite old, but they pedal along behind you while you sit back in a deckchair with overhead cover and enjoy the fun of Phnom Penh traffic. They are a dying breed, used less and less by Khmer people, but attracting a new tourist clientele.
We spent the final part of the holiday on the coast at Sihanoukville. This was our first visit to the main tourist destination on the Cambodian coast. We stayed in a centrally located small hotel not far from the sea. Two of the beaches there are very attractive but quite different. The one in front of the Sokha Hotel is reserved for residents and outsiders who pay. For 4 dollars a day you get luxury, Khmer style, white sand, no litter or hawkers, access to the pool, the beach, loungers, towels and a sunshade.The other beach, open to all, is lined with simpleKhmer bars and restaurants built of wood, white sand and local fishing boats. Rumour has it that this too has been bought by a rich high up person and will soon be privatised. Sadly, this seems to happens all to often here.
We stopped one evening at a cafe run by an elderly English ex-pat. We ordered 4 coffees much to the dismay of the owner who seemed less than happy to serve. Although we ordered simultaneously, the drinks were delivered sequentially as if we had asked him to perform the labours of Hercules. Four times, with a Mrs Overall shuffle, he made the journey from bar to table. Having delivered the final drink, a latte, which, to quote him, had been ordered by the awkward member of the group, he was too tired to make the return journey to the bar, so he stayed to chat. Hearing that Carol was a volunteer in Cambodia, he asked,"So who are you saving here then?" We couldn't help but like him, and laugh! People here have just the same variety of takes on aid to the developing world as at home.
Carol - Work continues to delight, inspire, bore and frustrate me in more or less equal measures! I've just had a great week with a visit from Suzanna , a VSO volunteer working with behaviour change in village communities and with health staff in Kratie, an attractive town on the Mekong. We had a field trip with a health promoter who had gathered a group of 5 older women to talk about how they might reduce the incidence of abdominal pain in their families by building latrines. They sat for 1 1/2 hrs on a hard,concrete floor. Suzanna, a former GP from Nottingham and about my age, and me, sat on the usual plastic chairs, and as we laughed and shared water melon at the end of the session, one of them said that we weren't so different from them after all, apart from the colour of our skins. Such a simple but powefull statement. This was in a poor village which had seen heavy fighting, as the Khmer Rouge guerrillas retreated in the 90's towards the Thai border and has forested areas yet to be cleared of landmines. I can only imagine what they must have experienced, but like the majority of women the world over, they just wanted a peaceful life and good health for their families. We also visited households who were motivated to improve their families health by beginning to boil water and clean up their compounds and others who seemed to have almost given up - children recovering from malaria, elderly grand parents who looked malnourished and said they were always tired and a chaotic compound full of litter and animals. This all provided great material for our staff training on Motivation - how do we motivate ourselves, and others who are hard to help? Just like being back in the NHS! Suzanna also gave some First Aid Training to staff - choking, drowning, burns and snakebite!
Today 2 new folks, Anne and her partner Stevie, arrived for their placement week. They are Glaswegians, her working with behaviour change and him a musician. I have the task of introducing her to the Public Health department, helping them to find a house, open a bank account etc in the hope that they will go away with a positive view of Samraong, ready to join our VSO team in late April.
To end, I've succumbed to the encouragement of the girls at CHHRA and bought some Khmer silk which I have had made into a long skirt and top by the seamstress across the road. It had its first outing yesterday, when the 3 volunteers went off all glammed up, and Geoff ,on a 5hr round trip in an old beaten up taxi with minimal ac. on the dustiest road yet, to one of Geoffs' students' wedding. There were 1000 guests over 2 days, we barely recognised Leap with the makeup, hair do and eye lashes from an Bollywood movie and of course there was the loudest live band and food and beer aplenty. We were made very welcome. This is such a country of contrasts!
Really good to hear that Spring has arrived at home - we're melting here in 35 -40c temperatures, as the hot season lives up to its name. Sorry that we've also fallen behind with personal replies to those of you who email. We will reply eventually, so please keep in touch!
With lots of love
Geoff and Carol xx
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Drama in Samraong!
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
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
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
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