Mission to Cambodia 2012
from Amelia Brown

Today our group split up and did different things. Most of the group helped with nursing check offs at the hospital. Once a year the nurses are  required to take an oral exam where they must produce the steps to basic procedures used in the hospital. The goal is to explain the steps in English. Our group was therefore quite useful in administering the check offs. Apparently the check offs were largely a success since most people passed!  These nurses left the hospital today feeling relieved and reassured in their skills.

Cameray and I went on HIV home visits today. We accompanied a social worker, Chhavelith,  to the countryside to check on HIV families that are waiting to move into new homes built by habitat for humanity.  The first couple we visited lived in a one room hut made from wooden posts with tarps as the roof and walls. The woman not only has the HIV virus, but also just finished treatment for TB. The tarp serving as the ceiling had a hole in it and was leaking. Since it is the rainy season in Cambodia, this couple was consistently wet.  They were still extremely cheerful because they are expecting to have a house built for them in a couple of months. Cameray and I decided that we wanted to get this couple a tarp so they could be dry their last few months living there. After we visited two more HIV families in this village, we rode 45 minutes back to the city. Once we got back, we went to the market and bought a tarp for the first couple we met. We assumed the couple wouldn’t receive the tarp for a few days, whenever Chhavelith went back for another visit.  Chhavelith called the couple and told them we bought the tarp. They were ecstatic and said they’d ride a bike in to pick it up today. Continue reading →