Living in a house full of people has it’s joys and it’s woes. We have a big beautiful home with a balcony overlooking the Mekong, our own cook and cleaner and a very comfortable home life. A joy! We each have our own ensuite bathroom – another joy. Except for the poor soul who happened … More Crashing With Courtesy
These are a shortened alteration of words written by Martin Luther King Jr, the famous American Civil Rights leader. They are words that have always struck a chord with me. In quoting them here, I researched where they came from and it’s an interesting story. In Birmingham Alabama in April 1963, during demonstrations against racial segregation, … More Injustice Anywhere Threatens Justice Everywhere
My final long weekend is upon me and I am spending it, as usual, in Phnom Penh. We left Kampong Cham early yesterday morning to visit two DRTB patients in their remote countryside homes before the team delivered me to the station and watched me onto the bus. Two hours later I was on the … More An Assault on the Senses
A few weeks ago Paint, the disabled carpenter I’ve talked of, called my number while my translator was on holiday. Conversation was not possible and so upon Win’s return we called him back. A short conversation ensued before a pause for translation. Poker-faced, Win stated “Paint is not home at the moment because he has … More Chasing Buffalo and Other Cambodian Pursuits
An American friend who worked in Hollywood for years tells some incredible stories about the perils of celebrity. Fame and money can play havoc with the human spirit as much as neglect and destitution can. We all develop behaviours matching what we have learned to believe about ourselves. In destitution, behaviours relate to excessively low … More Ambiguous Expectations
Angkor Wat is the biggest of many historic Khmer temples situated near the tourist resort town of Siem Reap in Cambodia. It is the largest religious monument in the world and has been ranked as one of the Seven man made Wonders of the World. Khmer civilisation came into it’s own and thrived here for centuries … More Angkor Athletes and Apsara Angels
When I was about ten years old I used to visit a young mother because I liked playing with her baby. I don’t remember how I came to know her but she lived in a house on a street between my house and St Josephs Primary and I remember stopping in to visit them on … More Imperfect Souls
Coming from a place where this is the normal standard of sharps care in hospitals… …. it came as quite a shock to me when I first visited a health care facility in a third world country and encountered this. Puncture-proof, well designed plastic containers with clear labeling are the basic standard in western hospitals, … More My Cambodian Week
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) defines an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents. Using this definition, they estimate that there are 132 million orphans in the world, but of this number, children who have lost both parents (double orphans) total 13 million – still a staggering number. HIV is named … More An Infinite Learning Curve
This week I met a new patient who was unable to control quiet tears every time any of the staff walked into her isolation room. That’s not especially surprising, being diagnosed with two stigmatising diseases (HIV and DRTB) in a country where the majority are already consumed by poverty-related stress. I knew that as the … More Unequal Exaggerations
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