Mission to Cambodia 2013
from Paige Nunnelley

Our last day in Battambang was very bittersweet. We are all excited about the upcoming return home, but we have all fallen in love with the people of Cambodia. Personally, I also fell in love with the Handa Emergency Hospital in Battambang. People in Cambodia ride “motos,” or motorcycles almost all the time. And the traffic in Cambodia is terrifying. Because of that combination, there are way too many moto accidents. As we walked into the hospital for the first time, we saw many legs in traction, head wounds, broken pelvises, etc. Trauma injuries. Unfortunately, we also saw some children who had found something in the ground and began playing with it, only to find out it was a mine. As an earlier blogger mentioned, the rainy seasons bring old mines from the 1970s back to the surface, and can even wash them into new areas. Somebody can be walking the same path for 20 years, and one day there could be a mine waiting for them. I can only imagine how it must feel to know that there could be bombs beneath your feet at any moment, just waiting for someone to step on it. Continue reading →