COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Honnie Bilston-Norup, Griffith University
Well what a week we have all had! The trip in the back of the truck from Luang Prabang to Pak Keng, our first homestay village, on Sunday afternoon was filled with a sense of excitement, nervousness and just a little motion sickness! We drank in the beautiful rural scenery as we wound along the rocky and dusty mountain road which hugged the Mekong River all the way. Again we were struck by the contrast of modern road making machinery and the traditional fishing boats on the river and special stick like grass drying by the side of the road in readiness for hand made brooms that we were soon to see in every house.
Each village we passed had us wondering if it was like the one we were going to and we were greeted by the beautiful smiling faces of the local children waving and yelling Sabai Dii (Hello) as we bumped past. Our arrival at the village was marked by children lined up in their uniforms with bouquets of flowers for us, it was such a boost to be made so obviously welcome. The Chief gave a very warm welcome speech and we in turn had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the village and I think they were surprised that students in Australia can come in a wide variety of ages...myself being one of the oldest of the group. This fact was considered quite strange by my homestay "mother" especially once she found out I have five children and a husband!
We settled our luggage at our homes and got down to the business of packing the clinic supplies ready for the next day. That night we were treated to a party in the village hall with lots of dancing and laughter! This really helped break the ice, they love to dance and our group can really bust a move too!
We provide clinics in a different village every day and they are a well oiled machine. Each day after bringing our supplies in boxes we set up all of our desks and waiting areas, but every day starts with health promotion first. The focuses are teaching the importance of hand and oral hygiene to the kids and adults as well as Mum and Baby sessions covering techniques to assist with easier and safer birthing. All of the sessions, although containing vital info, were delivered in a light hearted and friendly atmosphere which really engaged the recipients! Laughter was abundant as it allowed the clown in a lot of us to come to the surface...there are a lot of clowns here ;) These were all well attended and the knowledge imparted will be the thing that will reap health benefits long after we are gone.
We separated into reception, basic obs, assessment and pharmacy to keep everything running smoothly. The interpreters, Lao health workers, facilitators and RN mentors were by our sides whenever needed to help us make the most of our resources and to put our clinical assessment skills, medications knowledge and critical thinking to good use. Each person attending the clinic is like a puzzle, some simple and obvious, others more complex, but we got the hang of it thanks to the amazing teamwork. Other than providing these services, the day that I will never forget was when the group was able to finance 3 people to go to hospital in Luang Prabang. If we weren't here they would not have been able to receive that medical attention. What a satisfying and productive clinic week for all.
The food in the village was excellent and our western origin was not forgotten - this was demonstrated by the provision of white toast, nutella and ovaltine! The rest of the food was traditional and delicious, plenty of fresh vegetable, meat, fish and rice dishes with some yummy sweet sticky rice parcels in banana leaves for dessert.
River swimming: I heard it described as the best shower ever, one person nearly floated away, but was quickly caught by her foot! Our presence in the river was considered quite amusing by the local children...you are welcome kids! Glad we could provide a giggle! :)
At the end of our working week we were given a "Basi Ceremony" by each host family which all of us attended, it was so special as we were blessed by prayers and had cotton blessing strings tied on each wrist by each villager in attendance, each saying an individual blessing for our health, wellbeing and success for our studies and futures and then we would all move to the next house for another...it was a progressive party and was just as exciting each time, however, it did result in a MASSIVE amount of cotton strings. Just when we thought we had had just about as much excitement as we could take we found out that there would be a ceremony for everyone in the village hall that evening. So many blessings, so much laughter, so much dancing and games. I have never laughed so much in my life, I felt so alive and connected to the people I am working with and with these Lao people I had only known 5 days! Talking to my fellow students, it was clear I was not alone. These people have so little but give of it freely in appreciation of us.
After that exhausting week of work and no showers we were keen to head back to town for hot showers and rest...but once down here lots couldn't resist the Elephant Village and Tad Sai waterfalls. WOW! Riding on the head of an elephant down muddy hills and through the river. It became apparent that a nursing student is still a nursing student even when riding Elephants...and where there are elephants, there is elephant poo...lots and lots of poo.. and where there are nursing students and poo (OK I started it) there will be attempts to devise an Elephant Bristol Stool Scale. Enough said. Next, onto a long wooden boat up the Khan river to the waterfalls to see the baby elephants in training and then back to reward our elephants with big bunches of bananas, some education on the plight of these magnificent creatures in this county then a fabulous lunch at the camp restaurant overlooking the river. Unforgettable.
Sex education at a high school is planned for during the week so three went off to buy 150 condoms...this was a major curiosity for the pharmacy staff as you can well imagine...three beautiful young ladies asking for that volume...they first said it was for work and then realised it could have possibly been taken the wrong way, awkward! They finally got them to understand it was for an education session and things seemed to be going smoothly, until they found out you could only get them in strawberry and rose...they just bought strawberry and 450 toothbrushes and left. Well done ladies!
Facebook: there were massive surprises for us there, It appears that our home towns have been copping a beating weather wise whilst we were in our Laos bubble in the mountains! Some of our campuses are shut because of it.
Haggling update: yep, exponential improvement...we totally have the hang of it now. We have perfected the "halve it" and the "walk away" to get fair prices and you never get more than two steps before they say ok!
Oh and we brought some rain with us, it's the dry season here, but we made it rain! Aussie Aussie Aussie! Ponchos have been purchased and we have had some exciting drives in the truck on the muddy roads!
Time for people to stock up on the essentials for the clinics, i.e. chocolate, lollies and chips (to my children who are reading this...not me!). Goodbye internet, hello dust and another 5 days of nursing adventure (this paragraph courtesy of Emma Biggs my roomie).
Until next weekend!
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