First of all I must apologise. I was reminded I'd skipped a day. I had completely forgotten; when the dentists are here each day blends into the next one. It'll be out of date order but nobody will notice the difference1.
Anyway.... our first day of work was with the children at the Peaceful Children's Home. It meant a one hour bus ride from the hotel to the home and I was happy to see the dentists on time. Boroith had left the hotel at 5am to set up the tables so everyone was impressed when they saw there were a lot of things they didn't have to deal with.
We work in one of the small classrooms so it's quite crowded but the dentists prefer to be together as it helps them to feel as if they are a group. We did a lot of preliminary work before going for dinner and to bed. The accommodation is mixed so some people found themselves in rooms with bunk beds while others had rooms with air conditioning. One lady was in a room and then the group leader popped his head around the door and said, "Can we join you?" So he and his partner joined her for the night. She was a bit befuddled but took it all in a friendly way.
I was in a room that meant showering in an outside room. I always find it fascinating because there are so many lizards glued to the walls waiting for mosquitoes and ants. In other years the ladies haven't appreciated using a "shower" that involves dipping a ladle into a large tank of water and chucking it over oneself. They insisted on using the showers in other private rooms. I told them the water was the same but it didn't encourage them to have a go. This year the group didn't mind so it makes my life much easier.
This year we had only 27 children to see because each year 1/3rd of the children must return to their home base. It's a totally insane idea by the government. Many of the children are orphans, some come from destitute families so there's no one to take care of them. They get poorer health care, education, food, clothing etc., so it's very sad. There are two special needs people at the home - one is 27 and the other an older teen. They are uneducable but there's no one able to teach them anything. We are now trying to get them into a centre where they will learn basic skills. One of them has a family but they don't want her.
We had a great day; people came from the village saw we saw around 76 patients. Some of them need a large amount of work done because they've never been to a dentist, so it kept the group busy. Many in the group this year are new to Kindness in Action so I'm happy it's a positive experience for them.
In the evening we went back to Phnom Penh so the group was happy to be in a room with air conditioning and a proper shower. We took them for a boat ride on the Tonly Sap and Mekong River. While on the boat, one of the older ladies came to me and said, "We've been trying to figure out how old you are; are you older than I am?" I looked at her and knew she was far younger than I was - she was 71. It was nice to know that she thought she was older than I am.
The group kept thanking me constantly for giving them a variety of experiences so it's a great relief. I now know all their names and lots of information about their past lives. I'm hoping they spread the word that Cambodia's a good place to visit.
