Yesterday I resigned! After eighteen years of owning a permanent position with the same organisation, I bit the bullet. I will soon say goodbye to my salary, superannuation, annual leave, long service leave and an accumulated 34 weeks of sick leave. Those are the benefits I can think of immediately but there are various others, … More Love Your Luck
For thirteen days in Cambodia I was very busy. I visited the MSF project I will be working on from February, a similar public health program as I currently work on here in Australia but with many more issues to contend with. No doubt I will blog on that as and when I become involved. … More Thoughts from Alice Springs
An earlier blog post already talked of my first reunion with Paula and her family. The following Monday her mother had traveled home from Malaysia, where both of Paula’s parents are working as street vendors. I was invited back for a celebratory lunch. Dan drove his tuk tuk with myself and a local nursing friend … More Quick Cambodia Visit: Paula
Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a condition that affects polio survivors years after recovery from an initial acute attack of the poliomyelitis virus. Most often, polio survivors start to experience gradual new weakening in muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection. The most common symptoms include slowly progressive muscle weakness, fatigue (both generalized and … More Quick Cambodia Visit: Joe
So many things happened in my recent whirlwind 13 day visit to Cambodia, only 2 months before I return there to live and work. There was no time to write about it while I was there and I barely know where to start now. I’ll post a series of chapters covering most of what happened. … More Quick Cambodia Visit: Kim
In 2003, days before the Allied invasion of Iraq, Natalie Maine was performing on a London stage as lead singer of the Dixie Chicks. She is quoted as saying to the audience, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that … More Blackened Swans
If I had to pick a pivotal milestone during my daily experiences in Cambodia, I would probably pinpoint the boat trip with Mum and Ruth in January 2014. It was my first holiday, three months into my assignment with Medecins sans Frontieres. Since landing in Phnom Penh I’d been bombarded by sights which did not … More Rocks and Hard Places
Earlier this year on a trip to the city, I drove through inner-suburb tree-lined boulevards, marveling at the rows of sandstone and bluestone villas with their manicured gardens. I once spent a happy few years living and working in this city. At that time I did not consider that it was an especially opulent lifestyle. … More One Degree of Separation
Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high There’s a land that I dreamed of Once in a lullaby A few weeks ago I saw the recent NZ film Hunt for the Wilderpeople at the cinema with Karen. An indigenous teenager from one of Australia’s most remote communities, she laughed loudly and often, sometimes at inappropriate … More The Magic is Always There
In 2013 Angelina Jolie won a humanitarian award at the Governor’s Awards, which celebrate lifetime achievement in film, and form a part of the Academy Awards in Hollywood. Her heartfelt, at times tearful, utterly inspiring speech, started out acknowledging various people including friends and family. She then went on to honour her mother, who had … More The Definition of Success
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