written by Cooktr188 on 06/01/2019
The public health project, by Projects-Abroad was very rewarding. A typical day would involve a stock check, cleaning childrens' ears, cutting nails and teaching hygiene lessons at a school in the morning,then taking blood pressure/glucose and giving medication to adults in the afternoon. I loved the hands on approach (taught how to do everything during an induction) and being able to teach prevention rather than just treating them. At times it was difficult due to communication barriers and there only being 1 supervisor there to talk to patients. I loved being given a small allowance to spend on them - I chose toothbrushes/toothpaste, pencils and books. A little money can buy a lot there.
I stayed in a volunteer house, sharing a room with another volunteer. Although not a luxury room, it had everything you needed. The humid heat took getting used to but rooms were air conditioned. There were a couple events a week to get to know other volunteers and we ate together. There was a lovely cook and you could request more/less of specific food - noodles/rice with beef/chicken was common. Staff regularly checked on us and we had many numbers to contact in case of a problem.
Cambodia has lots of public holidays, but this meant more time to have weekend trips away to explore the country. I learnt some Khmer, made friends around the globe and helped improve the health of many.