LDS Humanitarian Services

I must thank the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints for giving me the opportunity to travel and serve the people of Cambodia. I was only one of a group of 100 physicians, nurses, engineers, interpreters, nutritionists and others who were dedicated and great company and travel companions. Many had been on the ship for 3 months and served the people of Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Also many thanks to the Navy and host countries that made the Pacific Partnership 2012 a great success.

Choeung EK Genocidal Center

One cannot go to Cambodia without noticing that there is a missing segment of the population. The 45-65 year olds are gone. Pol Pot ranks up there with Hitler and Stalin and estimates are that 2-3 million people died directly or indirectly from his actions and policies. There are over 300 known "killing fields" in Cambodia. In the mid 1970's Pol Pot drove all the people from the cities into the country side. He killed any one with handicaps, that wore gasses, or had an education. If there was any suspicion, you were killed. This was a somber visit to this site.

Day Off

After 2 weeks on the ship I was able to spend the afternoon in town. We hired a car to take us around. We went to a water fall and traveled the country. There are a lot of shoe and clothing factories in Cambodia. The wage for a laborer is about $3 per day for 10 hours. In one of my clinics I had a woman come in complaining of fatigue and back pain. I found out she had 4 children under the age of 11. She worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year in the rice fields carrying heavy buckets all day. What do you think was the diagnosis?

Home?

After a few days we referred to the ship as home. I was very impressed with the Navy. The food was not bad and there was plenty of it. We often saw it again in a different form at another meal, but at least they were creative. We had to sign out every time we left the ship and were accounted for before we left and when we returned. There was a lot of "hurry up and wait" which is a typical part of military life. I would have to say my experience with the Navy was great and I enjoyed working with them. They were all professionals and our country is in good hands with them on the sea.

Peer Exchange

One afternoon I was able to go visit the Regional Hospital. We first met with the hospital director and then were taken on a tour. The conditions were heartbreaking and I had to hold back tears as I toured the facilities. Patients were on beds in a breezeway. The beds had no mattresses and families either brought a blanket or mat for their family member to lay on. Resources were very few. Families and patients brought their own food and cooked in the rooms.

Painting

With not much to do on the ship, I volunteered to help the Seabees on a project to remodel a clinic. We traveled an hour inland to a remote village. I spent the day helping paint the exterior and interior of the clinic. It was great to work all day and not have to think. I needed to give my brain a rest.

Subject Mater Exchange

The Navy uses a lot of acronyms. It took awhile to get used to them. I had the opportunity to give a dermatology lecture at Life University in Sihanoukville. (SME) Approximately 150 nurses and physicians from the local community were in attendance. Pediatricians and surgeons also made presentations and afterwards we broke up into groups and taught them to stitch and tie knots using bananas.

Rain

Wow! I have never seen rain like this before! The first week it rained on and off all day. Some times it rained so hard you could not even hear the person next to you. We would have to stop and wait till it slowed down to finish speaking. The water buffalo did not seem to mind. The humidity was very high. I had to get used to dripping with sweat all day from the minute I left the ship till I returned. I couldn't believe some of the people were wearing coats and sweaters and were complaining of the cold. They were not even sweating.

Clinic

I had the opportunity to see patients at a school about 50 minutes inland on Monday thru Thursday. We mustered around 5:30am and returned to the ship around 6:00 pm. The majority of patients I saw were general medicine. I treated reflux, diabetes, hypertension and all kinds of ailments and parasitic bowel infections. Most of the rashes were sent to me and I saw some pretty interesting things. The most fun I had was teaching the medical students. I usually had 3 medical students working with me. Cambodian medical school is taught in English. The students were 2nd thru 6th year.

Day 3 (probably 4)

As soon as the Mercy arrived the port became a flury of activity. The ship anchored a mile off shore and helicopters began non-stop flights from ship to dock with humanitarian aid and supplies to set up clinics inland. We were finally taken to the port where we took the "band aid" boat to the ship. It was my first time living on a Navy ship. It was well protected by the Marines and the Cambodian Navy. I spent the next day getting used to ship life and on Monday started clinic at a rural school.

Journey to Sihanoukville

We traveled by van to Sihanoukville. It was about a 5 hour trip. The road was very good but slow trucks and millions of motor scooters were dodged. The most amazing thing about this country is the number and use for motor scooters. I saw entire families of 5 on a single scooter. They were used to haul anything you can think of and many were towing trailers with amazing loads. We stayed at the Victory Beach Hotel and waited for the Mercy to arrive the following morning.

Day 2

The following morning we had a Complimentary breakfast in the dining room. The spread was amazing! Our room overlooked the Mekong River. Pockets of boats like the one in the picture could be seen along the shores. It was evident that this was home to many families. We did not leave for Sihanoukville till 11 am so we did a walking and tuk-tuk tour of Phnom . The hotel was only a block away from the Palace. Cambodia has a King, but the power lies in an elected Prime Minister.

Cambodia

After a long flight through Seoul to Phnom Penh we arrived at the Cambodiana Hotel around 10 pm.
We had an interesting blossom or fruit waiting in the room. We didn't open and taste it till the next day. I think it was "Dragon Fruit".

Wrapping it Up

We finished up staff training on Monday with a review and a friendly competition. The staff was divided into 2 groups and were asked questions pertaining to the material in the health booklet. I was very impressed with their knowledge and could tell that many of them had studied and understood the material well. Our meeting ended with a lively song and dance. As a parting gift I cooked a stew for the staff and fed more than 25 with what I called Mozambiqan Stew. All 4 of the food groups were represented in the stew. Our Director Joao suggested that there were many of the staff who had probably never tasted a more nutritious flavorful meal in their lives. Time and alot of work will bear much fruit in the lives of these beautiful people.

An Amazing Story

The health promoters are already making a difference in the lives of their neighbors. Francesca, a health promoter from Subida became aware that one of her neighbors began labor at around 2 am. She went over to see if she could assist. Complications developed and the woman did not want to go to the hospital. She argued and insisted that she go to the witch doctor. After going to the witch doctor her condition deteriorated, her life was in jeopardy. Francesca, using her quick thinking sent some one to a nearby community to get some one with a car that they could pay the driver to take them to the hospital. This was arranged and the mothers life was spared and the baby is doing fine thanks to the courage and concern for one of the members in her zone. As the promoters in Care for Life villages teach and promote good health practices that they have received training in, I am sure many more lives will be impacted for the better in these poor rural communities

A New Begining

Today we completed the initial health training in our last village, Subida. We feel confidant that we have laid the initial ground work to making a lasting change in self reliant health in Mozambique. This is the begining of great things. We have taught them that children, pregnant women and the elderly are especially vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. We introduced them to the food groups with examples of locally available foods and taught them to insure that they eat varied foods from these groups on a daily basis. We taught them the signs and consequences of malnutrition and breast feeding and weaning guidelines for women including those who are HIV positive. We taught them how to make oral rehydrating solution and guidelines for assessing and treated those with dehydration ( a large cause of mortality in Africa). We taught them the signs of severe dehydration and how to recognize and prevent cholera and dysentery. We taught malaria prevention and treatment along with reviewing the importance of disease prevention related to the vaccines that are available locally. We the observed and coached them as thy role played and taught these principles to each other. They now have a big challenge to learn the information and the take this information to the families in their zones. Some promoters have between 20 to more than 30 families in their zones. This will take months before all families are contacted and years to strengthen and perfect. It is very humbling to be a small part in this process. I admire these people for their willingness to step up and take on roles and responsibilities that are new to them and dramatically different from their ancestors.