Tuesday, Day 17: First Day of HOPE

Today was the first day working with the Home Care Team at Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE. Sothida and I were teamed up and I was glad to have the company for what was a very intimate day of meeting with staff and patients. First I will say that the whole team has been so warm and inviting - "you are a member of the family..." was said more than once. And what a family to be a part of - they are doing such impressive work and maintain obviously strong relationships as a staff. We started the day following Chhavalith (Cha-va-leet) for a tour of the main hospital. We peeked in the emergency department before spending heading over to the HIV clinic where patients are assessed and provided with their ARV medications. Outside we spoke with a few patients who are actively followed by the HCT which basically provides outreach and support to newly diagnosed HIV/TB patients, high risk patients including pregnant women, and prevention support. One woman shared her story of testing positive for HIV only to be beat almost to death by her husband who then kicked her out of the home and then attempted to sell their children whom he did not want to take care of himself. She was able to get them into protective custody with a local NGO but does not foresee a means to establish herself that she might hope to regain custody. She carries photos of her daughter, now a teenager, and her son, nearly 10, and wears a smile when talking about how well they are doing now though her eyes are more telling of how painful it is to be separated from them. 

We then stopped into the acute care department for HIV/TB patients and spoke with a couple of doctors about their work. We visited with a patient briefly who we shortly thereafter assisted with a transport by ambulance to a hospice facility on the north side of town run by a Catholic order of nuns. The ride was long and hot but we were joined by a peer volunteer of the home team who spoke to the patient though the whole ride. The volunteer tried to be encouraging, explaining to the patient that she too had been exactly in her position just a few years before but is now healthy and happy. She gave her tips on what do expect and what to do once she arrived - how to get settled and make friends. It was very sweet. At the facility, we were given a quick tour which included a stop upstairs where the children with HIV and no caretakers live. A 3 year old who looked 1; another child limp and barely taking food in the arms of a volunteer. HIV rates have dropped in Cambodia from over 3% to just 0.6% since 1992 - days like this remind you how hard it still is for the 0.6%. 

Sothida and I came back to HOPE to break for lunch which we took with her pal Sochia whom she has known for at least 10 years from various other work with her old NGO and Foundation. He runs the patient services department at HOPE but, after 15 years working there, will be leaving now to be principle of a school! He started a school and library in his home village years ago and has a passion for education. This is a chance for him to dedicate his full time work to educating tomorrows leaders of Camboida. We had an amazing conversation about the influences of the Khmer Rouge on the sense of collectivism traded for a sense of survival and familial protection, now influenced by domination of Western political and economic individualism. We also spoke about the hidden stories from the Khmer Rouge as people around the world still do not know about the mass killings of nearly 2 million Cambodians in the 1970's - nearly 1/4 of the population. Even children and young adults in Cambodia don't know many of the real and heartbreaking stories of the ear as politics clouds the truth and when some families simply do not discuss such deeply traumatic events. To help remedy this, Sochia undertook an oral histories project that captured the stories of hundred affected by the regime - similar to work that has been done with Holocaust survivors. It is in a post production phase and should take some shape of public presentation in the near future. I was honoured to meet Sochia.  

Back to HOPE for an afternoon of home visits. The first to a woman with HIV and a 4 day old baby (all of her children negative). She was very emotional - happy to have the new child in her home and very concerned about money. She had a successful business but her various issues made it hard to keep it going and now the family relies on the $120/month her husband makes as a police officer. Her mother who lives with the family now did have a great story to tell between tears about going to a wedding, all dressed up, when her son-in-law got a call for a break in that he needed to attend to and left her at a cafe on the side of the road. There is a lot of spirit in the Cambodian people who often look to the joy and the humour in life amid the struggle. We then met a paraplegic man and his wife - Boo and Chhavelith talked a lot with them about self advocacy in seeking necessary services and support. Social Work in action! Last stop, a jeweler who is going well and is no longer an active client. The whole day was a privileged opportunity to be invited into people's homes and businesses and lives and to see a side of people and communities I wouldn't otherwise. However, while we had purpose in being with them, there remained a feeling of voyeurism too that requires some work to reconcile when you don't have more immediate help to offer than the hope of a future project. 

After a long day, Sothida and I headed to a cafe on the water where she was interviewed by HOPEs Special Project Director, Shelly, who is worker on her PhD dissertation related NGOs. I sat and ate candied banana and looked at the river between emails. We left in a downpour - the kind that drenches you the moment you step into it and floods the streets in a blink. It was a lovely addition to the atmosphere having drinks with Tracy and the gang later and while sipping on a fresh coconut at restaurant on the corner typing notes from the day. There is something so refreshing about the rain, anywhere in the world. Here, is sometimes seems to hold space for life to feel more contained and manageable in a world otherwise filled with movement and a thick haze of humidity that permeates every inch of air. It holds you in, asks you to retreat. It reminds you that you are subject to things you cannot fight. It does not apologize but washes you indiscriminately. I welcome the rain.   

View from the river - a storm is coming...