Partners in Health was formed by Dr Paul Farmer and some peers including Roald Dahl’s daughter Ophelia, in the late 1980s after Farmer became determined to make a difference to the people he met in Haiti as a medical student. The success of Partners in Health in places as far flung as Haiti, Russia and … More Pessimism and Privilege
This working week while visiting Baby 1 at his home, it transpired that another baby (Baby 2) who I had been looking for without success, was known to Baby 1’s family. When I explained that I’d been reliably informed that Baby 2 is not in town, Mum 1 argued with me. Amusingly in hindsight, I … More My Privilege
A few blogs ago I said I would share some of the essays I write as part of my post graduate study in Child Health. I failed my first essay, in the main for not writing it in an academic style (which requires writing in third person; using evidence from the literature; NOT using personal … More On Breastfeeding
There are about 7 billion people in the world and there is roughly US$223 trillion. The richest 2% of people own more than half of this money. Most (if not all) of us in the wealthy world sit somewhere near the top, where another 40% of the world’s money is owned by around 20% of … More We Are All Part of This Picture
A garden with only one type of flower or flowers of only one colour is no good. This is a reminder that our strength, growth, survival and very existence lies in diversity. It is however, a message of courage as well. For a flower does not ask for anyone’s permission to bloom, it was born … More How Not To Be Ignorant About The World
Back in Australia I am enrolled in university studies and short courses, working in a small remote Australian town with not a lot of news and not a lot of spare time. This blog will take a back seat for the next six months or so, but I will share some of my essays as … More Free Lunch Kid
Kung Future is a tiny NGO working in Phnom Penh off the smell of an oily rag, with landless Cham people who live on their boats at the conflux of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. This week Kung Future reported the death of a two year old boy who fell off the boat he … More Every Time I Go On A Plane
Near one of my work locations a 3 year old girl sits in grandad’s tuk tuk with him everyday for the six hours that grandma spends at work as a cleaner. It is a busy road and I have always joked that I think this is the road where I will die. Phnom Penh’s footpaths … More This Week’s First World Problem
~ quoted in Born to Love As an expat living in Phnom Penh it is perfectly easy to ignore the poverty that the people surrounding you are immersed in. Two nights ago I walked through a crowded Night Market making my way towards colleagues at a Sky Bar above the market. A detached bystander weaving … More An Epidemic The World Needs
Recently I discovered Birdy, an English folk musician with the most unique and dreamy voice. Assisted by Birdy, the dulcet harmonies of Ed Sheeran, a good book and good friends, I enjoyed a week off with neighbours from Australia at Siem Reap and Battambang. I must have listened to Birdy’s Not About Angels a thousand … More It’s Not About Angels
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