Angkor Hospital for Children's (Cambodia)
As part of our tour around the world we wanted to explore health care in places different from our home. A visit to Angkor Hospital for Children was our first experience with a foreign health care system. The open air registration area was an immediate difference from the typical waiting rooms of the US.
This hospital was started by a Japanese photographer in 1999. Per the website, he was deeply moved by his encounters with the ill, maimed, and malnourished children of the war-torn country. As a way of giving something back to Cambodia in return for the many images he captured there, and as a symbol of gratitude for the inspiration he gained from Cambodia’s ancient monuments, Izu dedicated himself to building a pediatric hospital near the temples. They are doing amazing things here and really working on education in the rural communities of Cambodia with focus on nutrition and general health.
We were able to get a tour of the facilities and see their ER, ICU, operating theaters, inpatient (with 50 beds for sick children- their family squeezing in under and around their cots), an eye clinic, pre and post surgical wards and their outpatient areas. The three most common diagnosis' are diarrhea/dehydration, respiratory infections, and finally, malnutrition. Amazingly, the hospital is able to function without charging any fee to the patients (in fact, they often pay a family's return journey).
The average income of rural Cambodia in the Siem Reap area is about $7/week. The cost to travel down (often times poorly maintained) roads, can far exceed this figure. Families are forced to sell everything (their homes, cows, whatever they own) to make the trip to ACH, in hopes of seeking quality health care for their children (as state-run hospitals are not highly recommended).
It was fascinating learning about their health care, nurses education and responsibilities, funding efforts, medical records, etc.
If you are looking for a good cause to donate to you should check out this hospital. Website: https://angkorhospital.org or http://www.fwab.org/
Sobering history:
On a more somber note (if you can get more somber than sick children), we'll briefly reflect on one of our stops at a museum called the Cambodian Land Mine Museum. The museum was started by a local Cambodian, who, having served as a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge and fought with the Vietnamese, now works to deactivate and recover the astoundingly large number of active land mines in the area. There are over 500,000 mines (they think) which are still hidden around the country, mostly in rural areas, lying in wait. There are many people/children who have lost a limbs and lives due to these mines in the years following (in fact, these mines continue to detonate and cause harm at a surprising rate today). The proceeds of the museum are put towards the children living on site who, either because of poverty or disfigurement are desperately in need of fostering.
Website:
http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/menu.html
Our favorite Buddha:
During our Cambodia adventure, our host family took us up for a day to “the mountain” and “the waterfall.” The “the” here is primarily because we were unable to understand exactly what mountain and waterfall we visited. We'll do a bit of digging and keep you posted.
The park was a few hours drive from Seim Reap and crawling with tourists. Only, the tourists were, by and large, Cambodian (not foreigners). We had a delightful picnic lunch by, what our young host called, “the poor people's swimming pool.” We explored the waterfall right along side the orange clothed monks (my obsessive habit of photographing them at all costs is plainly visible below). We leaped along large slippery rocks, the cool spray of raging water mist seeping into our skin, the wobbling bridge beneath our feet- shaken heartily by the young Cambodian children behind us. Blissful.
After eating our fill, we journeyed along a foot path (and motor bike path- of course) through the jungle, emerging on a small village where a famous pile of gargantuan stones sit like they were placed their by God. One of the larger stones is of particular interest. The top ¼ of the stone has been carved into the shape of the lying Buddha. A set of stairs several stories high take you to the top, where you can my (Katie's) most favorite Buddha of our trip (and we've seen A LOT!). Above our heads flit thousands of colored triangles of cloth. A rainbow of cotton. Beautiful.
Incredible India:
We were warmly welcomed to India by Mishty Varma and the Varma Family earlier this week. For those of you who don't know Kellie, I'll fill you in. Kellie is my coworker and her in-laws live here in Delhi. They are some of the most wonderful people you will ever meet and have taken us under their wing and have opened their home to us.
Some of you may have heard the joke about Delhi belly (a kind of upset stomach tied to a geography never sounds good), but I think we are going to get a different kind of Delhi belly from all the amazing food here. In the past, my relationship with Indian food has been a kind of "okay, I'll have some, but don't expect me to get too excited." I will confess, I am now converted..... dal, chickpeas, kababs I could go on and on and on. These people know how to cook!!
We went to a spice shop yesterday and were bombarded with the slew of masalas (spices) greeting us. An entire store devoted to flavor. I could get used to a place like this.
More to come...
Perhaps we'll fill you in on the past 3 days in a bit... the Cambodia recap took more out of us than we imagined...
But we'll live you with some pics of India so far:
Laxmi Narayan Mandi Temple-a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess of wealth (Laxmi) and the preserver (Narayan).
Happy Easter!
Katie and Mishty doing their food fight!
Tughluqabad Top Models
Street Food... Mmmmm.....
Photos around the Presidents House.
No comments:
Post a Comment