Sihanoukville

So we are now in Sihanoukville , the girls took a taxi down to meet me. We sat on the beach and drank and chatted all day.

In the evening we found a peace of paradise (it looked almost Mediterranean) and we sat outside under the twinkling lights, with the gentle lap of the crystal blue sea as music. Grant would have loved, loved, loved it and it made me miss him allot, bad, sad.

Drank stupid yet delicious cocktails,  which I know gives me a banger of a headache, but what can you do.....when in Rome.

Chamaap (midwives) enjoying some down time

Sihanoukville

"you come, you come"

Was awoken early to "emergence", "emergence", which I took to mean emergency. When I asked what had happened, the reply was only, "you come, you come". So off I went, galloping across the beach (I'm getting quite good at barreling into these unknown situations).

What I found was our beloved Nai ye (the local midwife) feeling very unwell with symptomatic hypertension.  For those of you who don't know, by the time you feel unwell (headache,  dizziness, blurred vision) with hypertension,  you are in trouble. She took some anti-hypertensive drugs and then I waited the longest 20 mins of my life so far for them to start working. The pressure was so high for her little body that she burst the blood vessels in both eyes.

I decided to make her rest the whole day and sleep next to me at night, so I could keep a close eye on her.

I am so relieved to now be off the island, with access to hospital if I need it. Her blood pressure is now stable but she is still headachey & doest look 100% well to me.

We have been sitting on the mainland beach this morning drinking fruit shakes and having a massage (Nai ye's first time), I thought she could do with a bit of a treat and relax,  she loved it:-)

Waiting for the other girls to meet up with me. Looking forward to bbq on the beach tonight.

PS: have advised her to go to the doctor but she doesn't  want to and I don't blame her. I am just worried about cerebral haemorrhage,  stroke, heart failure, dvt, etc.......aaaaarrrrh, shut up Western brain.

Sunset at Koh Rong

Waterbuffelo

My beautiful island

Jetty off Koh Rong

Song Saa from Koh Rong

Entrance to staff compound 

Staff gym.....too hot, hot, hot

Staff compound view from outside my room, a bit if alright hey:-)

Up and Running

Hooooraaaay, Tabby is aliiiive. The managing director's wife has an iPad and although her charger didn't fit in dear Tabby the pug was usb, so I could use my charger with her plug and hey presto we have lift off.

Museum on the way to temples

So, not much going on still. Went to the village this morning and found an excited hub bub of bustling people. Turns out that an Italian aid NGO has landed on the island and was giving away free medicine. They are de-worming all the children and giving Hepatitis vaccinations, apparently they come every 6 months and do this.

Hence only 1 taker this morning. An old man with puss oozing out of his ear all nice, think and yellow. Poor thing must have had one hell of an ear infection. Anyway he wanted the barung (that's me) to look at it, which I did and promptly sent him to the NGO for antibiotics. To be honest the stuff we see here is so extreme,  half the time I don't even know what I am looking at. The STDs don't look like anything I have seen before as often they have been left untreated for years and years. This is one incredible education I an getting here.

Sardines and luxury

25.03.13

So, unfortunately my faithful Tabby has died, I hope and pray it is not a permanent death and with some tender ministering Tabby may be resurrected once more, but until such time, no more pictures I'm afraid.

So I left early morning on Monday and got a "taxi" with Nai ye the local midwife to the port, from were we hitched a ride on a speed boat to the private island and then took a slow staff boat from there to Koh Rong island.

The taxi rides are always entertaining and terrifying  There were 8 of us in a car, we were lucky as we got to share the front seat, which although uncomfortable meant we didn't have people on our laps. About 20 mins into our journey the taxi driver decided he would stop as he could maybe squeeze a few more in, so we pulled over at a seemingly nondescript stop (later I learnt this was a cross roads leading to 4 majour destinations) here we waited for about 2 hours while he found some more sardines to pack in with us:-) When in Cambodia hey.....

Once nearly at our destination we were pulled over by the police (and rightly so really as we were waaaaay over capacity and the indicators on the car didn't work - although this doesn't really matter in Cambodia as they have a hooting system for overtaking and I notice allot  of vehicles would fail a road worthy). Anyway, I'm thinking, oh my good golly, now we are going to miss our boat and are we going to end up in the slammer..... but of course our good ol driver had some bribery money ready (only 1500r, which is about 0.70p) and off we went with a wink and a smile.

On arrival at the beautiful Koh Rong, Nai ye said I should stay in the staff compound and she didn't have to ask me twice.......real running water, electricity and air con...........luxury. I do feel a bit of a stinky rat though as I know the other girls are boiling alive under the tin roof at the health center.

Alsolutley bugger nothing going on on the island, I think the health needs of the indigenous population has been dramatically overestimated. There are not that many poor people and those that are get a letter from the village chief confirming there financial situation at which point they are transported for free off the island and treated for free (well not free, a local NGO pays for it) at a hospital on the mainland. Most women ferry themselves a week or two before their due date to the mainland hospital and have no need of us. So.... I'm having a holiday for a few days, not so shabby I tell ya.

As I am not needed I have had some time to read. I devoured Somaly Mam's "The road of lost innocence"  in one sitting. It you want an in depth understanding of human trafficking, the sex trade and what really is going on behind the beautiful smiles of the Cambodian people, this is the book for you.

Killing Fields

A memorial of sculls from the mass graves (7 stories high).

23.04.13

What a heavy lumpy throat  day! At the killing fields we listened to the history and absolute horrors of the Khmer Rouge on head - sets.We then had a welcome escape by vanishing into the labyrinth of steaming, chaotic, stalls that is the Russian Market.  Bartering is the name of the game, although I admit I am rubbish at it. Louise if you are reading this, you would be in your ELEMENT. Everything of course was "cheap cheap for you lady!' In the evening we went to the night market, which is the same sort of thing, just a bit smaller and whole lot cooler, with some live music and a surprising absence of white faces. Of course you do see the occasional disgusting old "barang" (that's what Cambodians call white people), with very your girls, and it just makes me want to cry.  

I had not released that Pol Pot got a seat on the UN council for the 20 years after the genocide until his death! The fact that he enjoyed life with his family in American (funded by the UN) until a ripe old age is utterly repugnant to me. I thought the UN were the good guys......guess maybe I was wrong.We were going to go to the prison were the people were kept, tortured and forced to sign false confessions (S21) before being transported to the killing fields, but I just couldn't digest anymore - how selfish is that.

24.03.13 Private taxi back to  Takeo, with air con!!!!! Pure luxury!

Bracelets  left in memoriam by visitors to the killing fields.

A Buddhist house for the lost souls of the killing fields

Babies heads were smashed in against this tree and there lifeless bodies  tossed in the mass grave alongside. This spot was the undoing of me.

1 of many mass graves.

Weddings and Roasting

Got invited to a wedding last night. They were very, very keen on getting us doing some dancing Kamer style, which is rather different from what we are used to, it was baking hot and we were sweating like pigs but they wouldn't let us sit down so eventually we had to make a break for it, I had to bolt like a frightened lamb, not very dignified but did the job..... very interesting experience. It is so nice to be treated so kindly in the village and be invited to all the special occasions.

Absolutely nothing going on at the health centre today, everybody at the wedding (they last for 2 days).

Went to do some home visits on the way to Phnom Penh, saw they lady I escorted to hospital, everybody is still very pleased with me and I felt quite the hero walking into their village.

Saw the lady with the  prolonged second stage as well. Everybody well, although this woman was roasting herself and the baby. It was so hot I struggled to do the maternal and neonatal check.  The local midwife was explaining to them how this particular practice can be harmful to the mother and baby due to excessive smoke inhalation but they were not having any of it.

Got another death ride in a "taxi" to Phnom Penh and then found a hotel on the fly. It has aircon which is bliss, what a treat for us.

Cambodian postpartum practices:

Cambodians believe that the woman's body becomes cold after giving birth. They take steps to heat up the body and prevent further cooling or deterioration. A woman is not to take a shower for a few days or a week after delivery, although she can take a sponge bath with warm water. Keeping the body covered from head to toe is important. Cold ice water offered post delivery in the hospital may be seen as unhealthy.

Often mothers lies on a bed above a fire with their babies; this is called ‘roasting’. The roasting starts immediately after delivery and normally takes at least a week to complete. Besides heating up the body, roasting is believed to prevent illnesses after the postpartum period.

A woman is also told to sit on a rock that has been heated in fire every morning, for up to three weeks postpartum. It is believed, as a Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) told a client, “when a woman sits on the rock it prevents the uterus from coming out.”

It is also a common practice to have a fire-warmed rock on the abdomen. It is said to make the uterus shrink, and to prevent the sagging of the abdomen later.

Steaming is another postpartum practice. Steaming causes the mother to perspire which removes impurities. The steam is made by the boiling a mixture of herbs, usually in a clay pot. During or after the steaming, some women apply a pounded mixture of galangal root and/or turmeric root all over their bodies. (Galangal and turmeric are like ginger, and are ingredients for cooking) These practices prevent illnesses and improve the skin.

Although all this sounds ok, the fires are usually make from green wood as it is cheaper and so lots of babies die from  smoke inhalation. The local midwives have also seen many bad burns from hot stones and roasting. As an alternative, we advise then on a healthy diet with an emphasis on ginger (so they still get the "hot") and plenty of rest, but some people still prefer to roast which is very frustrating for the local midwives.

Maybe I should have been a vet?

Clinic,  clinic, clinic, hot, hot, hot.

Tried to buy some mange treatment from the "vet" to treat the village animals today. The vet doesnt seem to understand what I need, not that I would trust him anyway, his training was a whole1 month and he proudly displays his certificate on the wall.

He let me snoop in the drugs cupbourd but I dont know what I'm looking for, I found Iodine but most of the animals are so bad that they have weeping open wounds and I am worried that it will burn them.

Have bought spray bottle to apply mange treatment when I figure it out as the animals are feral or farm animals and I dont have the facility to dip them so will run around spraying them all as best I can, well....thats my plan any way.

Feeling better today, spider bite looks miraculously healed.

Blessings

Hot, hot, hot, I recon easy close of 40 degrees in the sun. Dusty, dusty, dirty, praying for rain. Sometimes the clouds come but no rain, they just tease me and move on.

Feeling super dodgy today, spider bight red and full of puss, no fever so will wait and see.

Clinic, clinic, clinic.

Emma doing night duty, so I am looking forward to a good sleep as it is impossible to sleep under the tin roof were we are staying during the day, its like a sauna.

All the midwives and local women who know are very concerned that my gorgeous Grant and I dont have a baby yet. Last night the lady who looks after us said that when I go home I will get pregnant and the baby will have the spirit of Cambodia. It was very strange and felt almost like a blessing and I felt so emotional. These women who have so little are so sweet to worry themselves with me.

Emma had two deliveries in the night....

Night Duty Adventures

18.03.13

First night shift, am on my own as now there are 3 of us at the health centre we are trying to spread out a bit. Am with midwives who dont speak any English.  Our conversations include wild gesticulating, lots of laughing and giggling but its amazing how the language of birth is universal.

Am enscounsed at present under a barbie pink mozzie net, they are so sweet at looking after me

One labourer
Gravida: 1
Para: 0
Cervical dilatation: 4
Membrains: ruptured
Obs: stable although BP high 140/100 as she is in pain.
FHR: 134bpm no decels heard

And that was all she wrote untill it all went a bit crazy....

BP continued to rise, maternal complaints of epigastric pain, although only 1+ of protien. The local midwives decided to transfer the woman to hospital,  and the family was very worried and granny was crying and asked me to go with them to the hospital. So off I go with emergency box in case of delivery in transit and jump into a taxi (a bit like some scap metal held together with tape) with a whole bunch of complete stranger who dont speak a word of English and we shoot of rattling towards to the nearest hospital wich is about 1.5 hours away.

Then it all became clear why the family was scared, the "hospital", is I guess third world, I dont even know how to descibe it. They made us wait outside untill money had exchanged hands, then we went into the maternity unit, which is dirty although looks ok. A very rough and horrible hospital midwife examined the women and then took her away into what looked like theater, I felt so responsible being the only qualified midwife escourt and worried about the attitude but I didn't know what to do, when I turned around and looked into the frighted faces of the family I knew I had to do something but wasn't exactly sure what, so I made  a snap dicision and walked bold as brass into theater and said I am the womans midwife and I intended to stay with her. It turns out they were only doing an internal but so rough and it was very painful for the woman, I wante to slap that hospital midwife.

Then they said she would need a cesarean section, why exactly I still can not fathom, but before they do it they want money, the family were desperately scrabbling around trying to cobble together the funds and I could tell they didn't have it and thank goodness I had my wallet so I just paid it. They didn't ask me for money and were so so greatful and granny thanked me with such emmotion she nearly made me cry.

Apparently this is common practice in hospial and they wont give you your baby untill you pay up......it makes me so sad.

More chilled out rattle home and I dont know why but was amazed at the amount of sex workers on the street.

So, dear whoever is in charge of these things. Enough with the obstetric complications please, can I please do some nice normal midwifery now.....

Angkor Borei & Phnom Da

20km "motor boat" ride to Angkor Borei & Phnom Da along Canal 15. Skipper was a very nice homicidal duck killer and stopped at an archaeological museum on the way for us. When we were not running over the ducks that are farmed on the edge of the Canal, we had a super hot and sweaty time.

Angkor Borei

For Mighty Mouse

Angkor Borei temple steps

Oooouuummmmmmm

Cooling down

Phnom Da

Back together again

So here we are, all three of us together again for a weekend off in relative comfort in Takeo province.

Plans are to go to market to try and get some goodies for our loved ones back home.

For those of you who have been following my progress of the spot tracker, I apologise for the absence of updates, I have been having some trouble with it over last couple of days. I have put some fresh batteries in it and hopefully we will be up and running again soon.

The plans for next week are a bit tenuous at best, so will update as soon as I know.

Please, please, leave me comments on the blog or email me with any questions and I will do my best to answer or send pictures which may be sporadic as there is no amenities in the local villages were we work.

I am developing such a passion for South East Asia, I just cant wait for my amazing Grant to see it.

Where there is no doctor

Wating for delivery and thought I would articulate some of the things I have learnt from the amazing Cambodian midwives.

Fundal hight + adbo  circumference ÷ 4 = estimated fetal weight (amazingly accurate).

Hight measured in finger width between uterus and umbilicus = days post partum. Not palpable usually between day 7-10.

Worms from anus can enter vagina a burrow in, may cause some bleeding but not painful on V.E.

10iu Synto post miscarriage after 12 weeks gestation.

Viniger diluted 1 part to 3 parts water applied to cervix will show white spots in the presence of cervical cancer.

Synto IM can be given post physiological 3rd stage after 5th baby to prevent pph.

Press just above pubic bone and observe cord lengthening in 3rd stage. If retractes when pressure removed placenta not yet seperated. Otherwise seperation has occured.

Controlled  cord traction while external uetrine guarding can be preformed with physiological 3rd stage once seperation has occurred.

Synto given after physiological delivery of placenta to prevent retained placenta (very clever where there is no theater ans anesthesia).

If fundus is high post delivery, ask women to void. If fundus remain high post void, querie retained producs.

Papaya sap 3 teaspoons diluted in water can get rid of intestinal worms.

Strong garlic tea can get rif of pin worms.

Prolonged second stage is not an obstetric issue if fetal heart remains stable.

For prolonged second stage with acinclitic fetal head, tilt maternal pervis up for a couple of contractions to allow fetus to reposition.

Flying solo

What a crazy intense situation. Was so in love and horrified with my delivery.

Para: 0
Gravida: 1
Obs: stable
Fetal heart: 117-135bpm
Uneventful pregnancy

ARM on perineum, slow delivery of head, local midwife  showing me new techniques to prevent perineal tearing, although I'm not sure it helped as the women still had to be sutured for 2nd degree

This is the horrifying part, local midwife sutured without local anesthesia as the "pharamacy" was losed (at 15:00 on a Wednesday afternoon?)

During labour husbands support, feed and toilet their women with the support of what looks like all the grandmothers, mothers, aunties and female children. During the actual birth he is kicked out of the delivery room, while all the other reletives come in and out as they like. After the delivery he picks up his wife so tenderly and carries her to the post natal beds, so heartrenchingly sweet to watch.

As with the miscarriage, placenta and dirty linin is given back to father all jumbeled in a black back bag and shortly thereafter you will find him outside at the well hand washing the dirty linin... amazing.

These women are incredible they labour and give birth (called, crossing the river) in virtual silance and all just seem to do it, there is no vacume extraction, forceps or cesarean section here, you do it or you die and they do.....

Rumpea Meanchey Health Centre

Spent the day traveling from Koh Rong Island to Takeo province to visit rural health centre. Slow boat to Song Saa, speed boat to Sihnoukville, tuk - tuk to taxi rank, taxi to local midwives house in Takeo. Then tuk-tuk to rural health centre.

Hot, hot, hot and dusty. Ricw, rice, rice. Pigs heads, fish heads and chicken spines delicacy.

Staying ontop of someones house, we have electricity and water, but intresting squat toilets remain.

This place is going to eat me up and spit me out if I let it. A grandfather brought in a little 8 year old girl with vaginal bleeding and said an insect had done it. The midwives agree by consensus that she was raped, but nobody says anything and she got sent away will him again. Just looking into her beautiful and dead eyes I almost lost it, I had to go out and breath. We have been told this was the second case of child rape this week.

Awareness is building around child abuse and I have seen posters and stickers on taxis with a number you can call, but of course these are all in English, which is unhelpful as Cambodians speak Kamhir and most cannot read or write.

Waiting room

I love the strength and beauty of the women here, life and death exists hand in hand and spontaneous miscarriage is just a part of life. The midwifes in the health centre are quite scared and transfer allot of patients to the big hospital in Pnohm Penn, the local midwives from Life Options are trying to teach them kindness ( which I think is beautiful) and good techniques.

Local supertiction:
Roasting post partum
Mother spirit will take baby (baby will die) if you say baby ia beautiful
Sleeping with sharp knife of scissors next to baby to scare mother spirit away from baby.
Gosts

Helped with spontaneous miscarriage of 3 month old fetus, once delivered it had a big heamatoma of the left shoulder and the midwives told her the miscarriage was due to abdominal trauma and told us most likley from a fall out of a hammock.

Woman bring there own supplies to give birth with (sorongs, food, water) and are usually accompanied by a whole gaggle of aunties.

The miscarried fetus and products along with dirty linin are given to the women and they take it all away with them. This particular woman was pirexual at 39 degrees on initialinvestigation and so was given iv antibiotics and fluids as well as oral antibiotics and iron to take home.

One labourer at the moment, writing this as we wait for cervical dilation.
Obs: Stable
Possition:ROA
Engagement: 5/5
Parity:3
Age: 28
Fetal heart: heard and stable (local midwives do not listen in as there is nothing to be done if fetal distress is detected)

Health Centre

Midwives office

Pharmacy

Last post from Koh Rong Island

Took village kids snorkeling on a reef about 1 hour by boat, an amazing experience to watch them discover the under water world for the first time. People here mostly find it acceptable to through rubbish and human waste in the sea, so this was an ecology education program that we were so privilaged to be part of. After snorkeling we had the most delitious barbicued meat of some kind (best not to ask too many questions about what exactly you are eating) served in big leaves from the tree they were cooking under.

Super viscous sun here, got slightly toasted even through factor 50 sunscreen,  must remember to reaply more often.

40 min walk to backpakers on the beach for sundowners and another bbq. Loooong walk back through the jungle in the dark, but worth it - amazing dinner.

Leaving early tomorrow morning for the mainland, so on to more adventures. I have absolutly no idea what to expect but this is the way in Cambodia.

I feel so acutly acutly aware, that many people on Koh Rong island have never seen a white person and that mearly our presence here affects their society. There is a big drive to change mal practice, teach the children English,  for a better future and I wonder who decides what "better" is. At this point I have more questions than answers.

There is so much to report every day, that I just feel overwhelmed and don't know were to start.

Yesterday someone came to tell us that the woman who delivered felt like she was bleeding so we went sprinting through the jungle in the pouring tropical rain to help. Turns out she was fine so we stayed for quite a long time with her chatting and encouraging her to have some soup. This woman's husband died 3 weeks ago and her father hung himself the night before we arrived so she is feeling very vulnerable and worried about her ability to provide for her small children.

Since being on the island we have experienced a funeral, wedding and birth.

Koh Rong Island

This place is crazy beautiful, rural, 3rd word and raw. Raw being the best word I can use to describe it. The people are amazing, so happy and smily despite having what we in the west would call "nothing".

Huge problem with domestic violence, rape, untreated STD's, AIDS and TB. Very glad for my BCG vacination right now.

Been playing with the children and taught an English class tonight as the teacher didnt show up. Not quite sure how to do that in all fairnesss, so I just played games with them. Hence I now have a gaggle of little girls that follow me ever were and love to hold hands, so sweet.

Our first delivery in this brand new clinic which only opened on Monday went without a hitch despite this being the mother's 8th baby and her being very aenemic. The baby was gorgeous and was deliverd by the traditional birth attendant, who has some unusuall practices but it so lovely, I hope to learn allot from her while we are on the island.

Had a women come to see us with bacterial vaginosis, and she didn't ask for help, she just sat on the porch looking very poorly indeed. She has been treated with antibiotics, had a lie down for a bit and then wondered off back home, its all very informal. Cambodian people dont do mattresses, they pull them off the beds, so they just lie on mats on the bed, we think they think mattresses are too hot. Kids come and wonder around as well and we play with them. We have been told allot of them have never held a penil or crayon before, they love drawing and call us 'barang' which means white person.

We are sharing beds (this is the local way) and sleeping on the deck of the bungelo (dont know how else to describe it). Although this sounds a bit strange, the breez (if there is one will be welcome). Make-up is pointless as there is no mirror and it would probably just melt and slidw off your face anyway. We are fed three times a day by a lovley local lady who looks after us and we have rice, rice and more rice but I really like it. No electricity or running water which make ablutions challanges at times but actually its fine, im just really dirty. It looks like I am developing a tan but I suspect its just dirt.

The island as you can imagine is just beach sand which is great but its in everything as washing it off all the time is just a waste of water which is a very precious reaource here.

Lots of animals on the island including a pack of wild dogs covered in mange, even the chicken are infected and thread bare. Heards of wild water buffelo wander through through village and one scared the daylights out of me when we came through the trees and ended up ontop of them. Mozzies are bad but so far my citronella concoction seams to be keeping then away, although it seams anything else that is insecty and bights has had a little nibble and  these usualy hurt.

Im not sure what tomorrow will bring, we will do a post natal home visit for the woman who delivered today and then we will see. One thing I have learnt that in Cambodia plans and time never run according to schedule and the best this is to take things as they come. So..... I look forward to the adventure that is tomorrow.

Song Saa, private Island

Song Saa island. Costs 1300 per night, not staying here, just a stop on the way to Koh Rong. The kind staff, let us hitch a ride with the laa de da guests.

Journey to Koh Rong

Crazy journey to get to Koh Rong, waited most of the day of the beach for the boat drinking sugar cain juice. Speed boat the private resort island. Most gorgeous place I have ever seen. Cant quite describe were we are now, I think I need some time to settle in. One delivery this morning in the brand new island clinic, still being set up. More of the craziness to come. Still hot, hot hot.

Sihanoukaille

Spent all day travelling  to the coast, pretending to be sardine and trying to ignore near death experiences and head on collisions. Hot, hot, hot, humid, noisy, povity, beautiful children begging. Sea views and not much time to update.

Waiting for the boat to Koh Rong island, lost our guide..... more to come.

Found  our guide, sheeew, having breakfast at guesthouse, boat trip been postponed until 4, now we can explore this gorgeous coastal town....

Day 2 Singapore

Spent the day exploring the meandering waterways, sights, smells and tastes of little India, little China and the marinas here in beautiful Singapore. Got to grips with the MRT underground, which is has very funny announcements, one of which includes something about a "happy happy" platform.

Dinner with Emma's friends and now waiting to Skype my darling. Weather is quite strange, it has rained and shone intermittently all day with no change in temp of 30 degrees night or day.

Plans have changed re: Cambodia, we got an email tonight telling us the charity has just finished setting up on an island (no mention of which one) and we will be staying the first night in a hotel and then a boat will fetch us to the island. Personally I think this is all very exciting, although we don't have any further info at this time.

Will keep you all posted if only by the spot tracker, so please keep checking.

Last night we had dinner on plastic chairs in the street with the locals and stray cats, surrounded by the hum and aroma of the city which hangs like the taste of adventure in the muggy air.

I seem unable to update pictures from my faithful Tabby, which is still the best present ever. Thank you Grant.

Just arrived in Singapore

Singapore airline = fantastic, best airline ever, so much leg room thought I was in business class.

Taxi to backpackers = fantastic, super cheep.

Backpackers = a bit of a nunabaloo but clean and right in the middle of it in little India.

My new adventure

Welcome to my blog! I am a newly qualified midwife, travelling with 2 companions to Takeo, Cambodia. We will be doing volunteer work for a women's charity called Women's Health Cambodia (http://www.womenshealthcambodia.org).

Our fundraising website can be found at: http://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/Angie-Emma-and-Tanya-Midwives-in-Cambodia/39258. I have a location tracker called thee "Spot" tracker - a wonderful GPS device that tracks the progress of our journey (click on the "Location tracker" tab at the top of this blog to see the map.

You can also use the following link to see the map: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=02YaIJl9sgoqyydW1LWbpCPOQTAKWsA1e.

Please visit the blog regularly for updates!
Tanya