A week of firsts for Griffith University nurses

COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Josea Brown, Griffith University

Coming back from the villages we arrived at our hotel and wasted no time in getting to our rooms and having a hot (or for those of us less fortunate, lukewarm) showers! Dinner over the weekend consisted of walking across a questionable, rickety bamboo bridge that looked like it would collapse under the weight of a feather, leaving us to swim in the dark. Fortunately it held all our weight. The rest of the weekend was then spent shopping at the various markets in Luang Prabang, spoiling ourselves with $15 full body massages and treating ourselves to a 'snake shot' (which also consisted of gecko and millipedes)! Sadly, our weekend in luxury was short-lived as we left the city on Sunday afternoon and headed back to the villages for a week of clinic.

A day in the clinic
Our day starts off with a cold open-truck ride to one of the villages. Upon arrival we are welcomed by the villagers and given bouquets of flowers by the children as we walk through a 'guard of honour'. We then line up at the front, facing the villagers and receive an official welcome address from the village chief or deputy. Pride emanates from the chief as he speaks of his village and the people. From the welcome speeches, we have witnessed that the Lao are a very proud people. Proud of their culture, their heritage and their history.

Next up it's our turn to talk as two students present a donation bag filled with toys, clothes and school supplies. The children's faces light up as a soccer ball is pulled out and an excited chorus of 'Ohhhh!' fills the air. The village elders gladly accept the donation bag with sincere appreciation. After the official welcome some of us run health promotion sessions, whilst others set up the clinic (usually in the classrooms). The villagers then disperse into their related health promotion sessions: the women attend the mother's and bubs/maternity sessions where breastfeeding, antenatal care and birthing are spoken about (and they get to witness a student 'give birth' [see picture]), while the men learn about proper manual handling techniques and back exercisers and the children are educated on proper hand washing, teeth brushing and coughing/spitting.

Then, madness begins! Reception/Triage is swamped as a multitude of villagers line up to be seen. In reception the students get their Lao on as we ask them questions in Lao. After reception (and if there's a line) the people sit in the waiting area until Crowd Control ushers them in to Assessment (and from what I've gathered crowd control is mayhem!). At assessment there are 3 students, a translator and a health care worker all working together to help the people they see. Here they tell us what's wrong and after a few questions and some investigating, a diagnosis is made and if needed medications are prescribed. They are then off to Pharmacy, where (as you have probably guessed) the medication is kept and dispensed. At pharmacy, reading glasses (which were donated) are also given to villagers when needed. We're finding that a lot of the people here are needing the lower strength glasses (+1.25 to +2.00) as we quickly ran out of them. In both assessment and pharmacy the villagers are given instructions regarding their treatment regime (i.e. take 1 tablet 2x a day for 10 days) and are translated in Lao in case they forget. They then head home, usually with a look of relief on their faces. :)

This week was a week of firsts for most of us.

- On Monday we saw our first colostomy bag in Laos. It wasn't unlike the ones back at home, however, we were surprised to see one here in Laos (in the 5 years this program has been running we hadn't yet seen such a sophisticated operation out in the villages). Unfortunately, the lady (who is only 23 years old) could no longer afford medical treatment and had to go home with the bag. Therefore, as a group we are trying to see if it is possible to help pay for her next (and hopefully last) operation. Will keep you updated.

- Tuesday saw us eating buffalo meat and fried river weed (actually yummier than it sounds)! There is a chance we may have already eaten buffalo meat on this trip, but this was the first time we had been informed about it.

- Wednesday was one of the group member's birthday (happy birthday Amanda!) and we asked if it would be possible to have something special for her, a cake perhaps. What came out was a pumpkin based/decorated cake with sticky rice. It was delicious (especially for those of us who love our pumpkin) and was a wonderful treat after dinner.

- Thursday night the people in the Pak Seng held a Baci (Baa-zi) Ceremony for us to wish us well on our way. It was unlike anything we had ever experienced. Our home stay family gave us a scarf as a gift and the we sat in a circle, were given a glass of beer to drink and a plate of food (a boiled egg, banana and a packet of chips or cake). After wards white string was tied onto our wrists to symbolise strength and give us good luck on our travels. After the ceremony we danced the night away! :)

- Friday was our activities day. We tried our hand at weaving, cooking a traditional Lao dish and bamboo rafting. With weaving the women make it look a lot easier than it is! It's quite fiddly and hand-eye-foot coordination is needed. After our quick 30 minute session (which was just enough time to get the hang of things...kinda) we had all developed a new-found respect and admiration for the weavers and look at the scarves and skirts with awe-like wonder.

Cooking, on the other hand, was a little bit easier/more manageable. In our smaller groups we each made a separate dish for lunch; pork tomato sauce, vegetable stir-fry, vegetable soup, pork noodles and a potato-based coconut milk dessert (these dishes have Lao names, but unfortunately I have forgotten them). Needless to say, lunch tasted great! :)

Next up was Bamboo rafting in the Suang river. It was beautiful. Sitting on the bamboo rafts (some of which were being made as we arrived) we were able to relax in the serene beauty that Laos had to offer -- pure mountainous grasslands and forests all along the river. Then after some time we decided to jump in (although some of us were pushed) and have a swim. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

After rafting we went back to our village and said good bye to our home stay family. This was a bit sadder than we had anticipated. Despite the little communication we had with our home stay family (due to the language barrier) they had touched us and will leave a lasting impression in our lives.

We're now at the hotel getting some much needed rest. Good bye until next week!

Photo 1. A student (Elise) giving birth during the women's health promotion
Photo 2. A student (Jackie) being taught how to weave by our home stay mother