Rose Charities - Articles, Thoughts Words and Ideas

2011-09-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

Stand Tall Education - Uganda. Teaching more than just education !!

"Stand Tall Education Network is a non-profit organization composed of a group of educators and social entrepreneurs from Uganda and Canada that have come together through common goals and shared beliefs regarding education. We believe that the most effective education is one that trains young minds to think ‘out of the box’, make choices, and ask questions – necessary qualities for successful leadership and innovation. Our approach follows a style of teaching that is referred to as ‘child centered learning’ which has been widely embraced in the West. It involves interaction between student and teacher rather than the traditional lecture and listen approach".

2011-09-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

African Hearts home for Ugandan slum orphans.

2011-09-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

Rose Cambodia Rehab Director Jo Thomson (Australia)
examines a disabled patient

Report on Rose Cambodia Rehab Centre in Investor Edge Magazine: Philanthropy Edge Section

2011-07-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Malambo Grassroots - Zambia: Program update 2011

Schook kids enjoy donated hoola-hoops

2011 update:

An energetic last visit, from October 2010 to April 2011 is past. Working with donations from our salt-of-the-earth sympathizers, and with Stitchting Mwabuka Zambia, we focus on education, community development, and income generation. We …

… started builting two teachers' houses for our needy local school Malambu Basic, without which the Ministry will not place much-needed teachers. We need to find additional funds to complete the second house.

...located and found funding to pay two temporary teachers to work in a school that was missing two teachers. The students had been coming to class even though there was no one to instruct.

… donated exercise and text books, pencils, chart paper and other teachers' aids to two schools. Funded a computer for a school for child-headed households.

… established the kernel of a library -- 56 new books and a bookshelf in the Malambo Women's Centre. Friends joined enthusiastically, clearing out their children's home shelves, and our local school children devoured them. Needed: a library building and more books, the demand being for science books especially.

… financed a women's workshop on openly discussing issues that are difficult to talk about, or which people feel must be kept undercover, such as orphan abuse, AIDS, spousal relationships and employer/employee relationships. (They called the workshop "Not talking the truth".)

… expanded our chicken business project.

… started a new chicken business project in Mujika village.

… administered funding to support 44 students from Grades 8 to college.

… supported 3 adults in the completion of their education, namely teacher training and tailoring.

… built a toilet for a handicapped woman in Mujika.

...worked with our income generating groups to improve the design of their product lines.

… supported a man to legally secure a land purchase that would ensure a future for his family.

… supported the Malambo Women's Centre with building repairs and to manage large orders.

… helped various people as requested with fertilizer, leaking roofs, transporting the sick (especially children) to hospital, boarding school supplies, the unexpected birth of twins, and a derelict old beggar.

It was a brisk and spirited six months.

New goals:

Our immediate funding goals are to raise funding for...

...our library.

...teachers housing. By 2015, the local government school is required to go up to grade 9. In order to do this, the community, which is very poor, is required to build two houses to government standards, in order to get teacher placements. This is beyond their ability. If the school does not achieve this, the students in the school will be placed at the bottom of the list for available spaces for grades 8 and 9 in other schools.

... our scholarship program.

...funds to cover the cost of shipping a container of medical equipment donated to hospitals, and musical instruments donated to a school.

...a vehicle. Our ancient bread delivery van, which we use to run our programs, is now held together by a lick and a prayer, and is in desparate need of replacement. We thought we had resolved this when a Delica was given to us, but sadly, it seems the Delica is beyond repair.

WHO WE ARE:

Malambo Grassroots oversees a number of projects in southern Zambia, where the BaTonga people live. Our projects assist Zambians as they work toward making a better life for themselves and their families in a drought-stricken part of the country. We focus on income-generating projects, education, community programs, and emergency assistance.

We are a member-project of Rose Charities Canada. Rose Charities Canada is a registered, non-profit organization with the Canada Revenue Agency, registration number: 859442303RR0001.

[caption id="attachment_299" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="Egg cosies made by the Lusumpuko group."][/caption]

2011-07-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Rose Rehablitation Centre - Cambodia

2011-06-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

The Rose Cambodia Rehabilitation Centre

2011-05-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

Acid Violence (Cambodia)

Female acid victi

Acid violence defies any bounds of comprehension. It is a violation born and nurtured in hell itself, a pitiless, hideous evil. It takes away both skin and flesh and the very soul of the victim. And it does so with finality that is often absolute.

As a physician, I saw my first acid violence injury around 10 years ago. I had set up Rose charities as an extension of my previous organization, Project Iris. Iris dealt with eye injury and sight restoration but so many injuries extended beyond the eye to the face and torso. Rose went beyond the eye to facial and other injuries. Word had gone around that there were “foreign doctors” helping the injured and had set up a simple operative and treatment clinic on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

My First Case of Acid Violence.

My first experience with this heinous manifestation of acid violane remains seared in my memory. I came in in the morning and she was there in the waiting area, brought in by a friend. She sat there on the hard wooden bench. I took her hand. She could not cry, she had no tear ducts since the skin fused tightly over where here eyes may or may not lie underneath. She just gazed forward; her skin mottled leather membrane, shrink-wrapped; her face no longer with any elasticity or ability to display any expression. Her name is Vanna.

Vanna had been beautiful, and for many poor, oppressed Cambodian women it is their only possession of value. Before becoming a victim, she had a low paying job in a restaurant. She had a boyfriend. The story goes: One day Vanna refused the advances of a much older man, a government official of some importance. Later that evening two men were waiting for her. They held her down and slowly poured the acid on her beautiful face. And then they continued to hold her while it did its work.

That’s the thing. Simply throwing acid in someone’s face might give the person time to rush to water and prevent much of the damage. But when the victim is held, the acid will continue working. It can be poured onto specific areas; the eyes, the genitals, the breasts and there are cases where large quantities, like a bucket-full, of acid is simply flung at the victim. If the victim can then get to a source of water very quickly she can limit the amount of damage – though it may still be severe, irreversibly damaging her eyes.

It is hard even now, even as a physician who has seen many physical horrors in a lifetime to think back on Vanna’s face and body. It was as though the world had brought out a being so alien, so mutated that no one would ever recognize it.

What We Know About the Problem

Now, some 12 years later I have seen so many victims of acid burn attacks at our Rose Charities Surgery and Sight Centers. Although statistics are scanty and subject to the inaccuracies of translation it would seem that around 50% of attacks are the consequence of real or perceived extramarital affairs or other aspects of life leading to seeking of revenge. This is an extreme and tragic consequence of men seeking to control women. But attacks in Cambodia are not restricted to women. Some 15 - 20% of attacks are of men on men, or women (with or without the assistance of a male collaborator).And there are more victims. An additional 15% are secondary victims, usually a child, who have gotten in the way of thrown acid. The rest, not the result of gender-based violence but rather arise from civil disputes, such as over land and other property. Cambodia’s history of conflict and succession of imposed governments has ensured an enormous uncertainty in land ownership, resulting in claims and counter claims.

Historical Influence

Cambodia’s conflicts of the last 50 years have been extreme and brutal. Despite attempts to keep neutral, the country became heavily involved in the Vietnam war, its people first being hit by both sides, before eventually succumbing to one of the most genocidal regimes of human history, that of the Khmer Rouge. In this period, some 2 million persons were slaughtered, tortured, starved, or worked to death. Women were forcibly married to strangers, forced to watch as their children were taken away or their babies bayoneted in front of them.

The injury and illness of conflict and post-conflict can be discussed in three broad categories; primary, secondary, and tertiary. There is ‘primary’ injury that is mostly associated with wars; bullet wounds, blast injuries, etc. Then there is ‘secondary’ victimization, which is the disease or untreated trauma caused by the conflict and the induced breakdown of infrastructure. Third, there is the ‘tertiary’ category, perhaps the most pernicious, the most long-term, and an injury of the mind where the control of others is linked with violence, fear, and terror. While sadly, as we know from global prevalence data, control and abuse of the vulnerable is not only restricted to post-conflict scenarios, however, it may well be one reason why it remains rife in Cambodia.

The throwing of acid is particularly linked with the second and third categories above. A very weak and allegedly corrupt legal and law enforcement system means that the control by physical abuse is rarely punished, or prevented. The direct injuries can be inflicted with almost no fear of being apprehended by the legal authorities, and in the event that this does occur, it is easy to buy immunity with an appropriate payment to the right person.

Long-term Consequences and How Rose Charities is Helping

Rose Charities has been dealing with the results of violence against women in Cambodia since 1998. Over this time the range of acid injury has been very wide indeed, from a few superficial injuries covering one or two isolated areas to up to 60% or more of the body covered with deep penetration, even down to bone. The eyes, ears, and nose may be partially or entirely burned away.

Acid burns create a spectrum of disabilities for the survivor ranging far beyond the terrible disfigurement and physical disability. Livelihoods are ruined; there is social stigmatization, and breakup of families, marriages and relationships. Full time care is often needed and in a country such as Cambodia, this care is not provided in any way by the state. If the victims have no family or friends to look after them then they will be utterly outcast. So often the attack takes from the victim the only real asset owned in a quagmire of poverty, her physical beauty, which in many societies is the only way for a woman to advance. So the damage is also both psychological and social.

Dr Nous Sarom of the Cambodia Surgical Center (Operation First & Rose Charities) is now one of Cambodia's leading rehab surgeons having had years of experience working in the area both on his own and with various generous international organizations and specialists who have come to assist. Donations and gifts of equipment and transfer of expertise have improved treatment ability but there is still a long way to go. Rose Charities employs many treatment specialties in its arsenal, from direct eye and body surgery through physio and other therapies to give a 'holistic' approach to each case. Where possible specialized education and vocational training may also be provided. Counseling is always needed, though sadly can be hard to find.

The injuries are often so severe that complete recovery is impossible, even with the most sophisticated methods of treatment. Thus the aim is rather to alleviate as much of the trauma as possible both mentally and physically and then lead on to try to help the victim return to life with quality.

Male acid victim

William Grut, MD, Rose Charities

Contact@RoseCharities.org

(Revision and update of an original article written 2008)

2011-05-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

'Not just a free school': Stand Tall Uganda Education...

March 26th, 2011 | Author: nicole

This was a month of accomplishments. Below are only some of the value additions to our very special school. Stand Tall is much more than just a free school with nice buildings. As we grow, we continue to add educational programs that are designed to enhance and individualize the learning experience. Our children continue to grow in confidence, creativity and academic ability. Guided by our well-trained staff of teachers, these children are blossoming into their own. As one student wrote, “I love Stand Tall because it has made me what I am”. How exciting.

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRINCIPAL, SSIMBWA KAYONDO
In less than a year of operation, Stand Tall Training Centre has attracted diverse groups of people from within and outside of the country. The relevancy of an education that enhances Teacher/Student interaction and creative learning practices is being continuously appreciated. We acknowledge with thanks the many resource persons with various skills, teachers and volunteers who have come in to work with us.
At Stand Tall, we cherish practical skills alongside academic education. We call upon you to join hands and support the disadvantaged children as we cannot do better without you. Any contribution counts, however humble it may be.

WELCOME, GERALD KIKOYO
Gerald is our newest member of the Stand Tall team and our financial consultant. He is an accounting wizard and organizational expert and we are all grateful to have him here once a week monitoring our expenses and keeping us on budget.

CHEEP CHEEP

Our one -day-old chicks are adjusting to their new surroundings.
They will ‘brood’ for two weeks in a heated box before being let loose in the coop.
We bought the local variety of chicken for its superior resistance to disease. The children will be learning the process from vaccinating to feeding from our neighbor and our experienced Principal.

: chicken rearing lesson

HEALTH CARE DAY

Many thanks to Festus, Nurse Maria and Josephus for presenting our children with an afternoon worth remembering. The children were completely focused on the short film about Sexually Transmitted Disease and Festus, the presenter, had just the right mixture of humor and facts to keep the kids engaged and listening. We are grateful to him for presenting a difficult subject in a most accessible manner.

Festus guides STD talk

Nurse Maria teaches technique

our dental kits

lining up for kits

Josephus continued with the theme of HIV prevention and warned the children of the dangers of STDs.

Nurse Maria ended the afternoon with a demonstration on tooth brushing and dental health care. She also did a stellar job of keeping the children attentive and smiling.
The afternoon ended with the distribution of dental kits to each child. Dr. Angelina Loo of Vancouver generously donated the kits. There was so much excitement as the children lined up and waited their turn to receive a kit.

FRUIT TREE SEEDLINGS

ready to plant

Thanks to a generous donation from Claudie and Gary Snarch on behalf of their newborn nephew, we have purchased 41 fruit bearing trees.
They include papaya, orange, mango, avocado, macadamia, and guava. With a two-year maturity date, we can expect our grounds to look like a garden very soon, not to mention the benefit to our bellies

WELCOME TO THE BOARD, JOSEPHINE
We are very happy to announce that our Uganda Board has a new member, Josephine Buruchara from Kampala, Uganda. She is highly skilled and is sure to be a valuable asset to our Board. For more information on Josephine, visit www.standtalleducation.org.

WE’VE GOT A REAL COMPUTER LAB
Hello generous donors! You have made our computer lab a reality.
Our next purchase will be a projector as soon as we get the funds and then we are really on our way! There are so many educational DVDs we want to show them.

computer lab

We’re really getting there and the children are totally fixated on learning computer language. We still need more equipment but we are much closer to our goal. Now, how to keep them from discovering the app store.

SKYPE CALL TO MOLDOVA

skype call to Moldova

Wow, Wow, Wow – the kids got to talk to children in Moldova thanks to PEDN, a Ugandan organization that focuses on improving education and administers the world wide Aflatoun program here in Uganda. Among many other things, Aflatoun promotes chlld saving , child empowerment and global interaction among fellow Aflatouners. So where is Moldova, anyway? Moldova is a small country bordering Romania and once a part of Russia but now independent.
The children were enthralled and so were we.

ART AND MORE ART
Art always speaks for itself…….

making books

painting a mask

proud of my envelope

PENPAL LETTERS

letter from Stand Tall learner

Nootka Elementary in Vancouver sent 36 pen pal letters to Stand Tall learners and now Stand Tall has answered. Among the questions asked “Do you have snow in Uganda?” and “Do you have computers at your school?”. The dialogue continues…

IT’S A PARTY

birthday card

Sweet hugs from the children of Stand Tall to my wonderful mother, Cely Schouela, who donated a big, creamy and very chocolaty cake for our school party celebrating my birthday. I was truly spoiled by the songs, dance, speeches and the wonderful presents. I received fruits, eggs, vegetables, bead necklaces, bags, a gorgeous penholder, money, a wallet and a live rabbit! Thank you!

my rabbit

ZANZIBAR

And finally Zanzibar….. What does Zanzibar have to do with Stand Tall? Absolutely nothing but I couldn’t pass up posting some photos of this incredibly beautiful and exotic place.

P E A C E

2011-05-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

Womans meetings, debates, and bus rides - Sri Lanka

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for us at the Rose Charities Sri Lanka office. The Women’s Sports Meet was a great success as women’s groups from Kalmunai, Pandarippu, Natpaddiumunai and Karaitivu came to participate in a fun day of team building games, skill competitions and social activities. Prizes were handed out to winners while everyone enjoyed a fun-spirited afternoon at the Rose Sri Lanka Head Office.

In the traditional English class, staff are learning how to construct an argument, an important skill in all languages. To display what they have learned, we conducted a class debate between women staff and men staff. The topic was “Women need to have a profession, participate in the work force and the duties at home should be shared between husband and wife.” The girls’ team supported the statement while men were against. It turned out to be a heated debate, demonstrating strong debating skills on both sides. The men of the office stated safety is an issue for young girls and women, especially after dark, limiting a woman’s working hours and freedom to leave the house. On the other hand, the women argued that the more women become professionals the more likely women’s safety will become a priority in society. It was clear that this debate is an important issue among young people in Sri Lanka. Many of the women staff members voiced strong opinions on this issue, attitudes that were certainly formed well before the debate assignment.

Sonia and I spent the weekend at Arugam Bay surfing, swimming and enjoying the beautiful Sri Lankan beach. On our way home, we opted to take the public transit to Kalmunai. About a half hour outside of Kalmunai, a woman boarded the bus with bags of flour and many supplies. She had gone to a neighboring town to purchase ingredients and supplies. As she turned around and saw Sonia and I on the bus her face lit up as she recognized us from the Rose’s Women’s Meet last week. She then exclaimed to the entire overcrowded bus that we were from Canada working in Kalmunai for Rose Charities, an organization that had lent her money to start her small business. As soon as she said the word “Rose” we could see that many people recognized the name and looked at us with gratitude and excitement.

As a token of her appreciation she handed us two small bags of kurakan flour, a type of flour used to make string hoppers and puttu (my favorite Sri Lankan meal). She then quickly jumped off of the moving bus with her luggage and gracefully placed the heavy bags of flour on the crest of her head. As the bus pulled away we watched her balance the bags, weaving in and out of street traffic and into a side street.

The last week has demonstrated the strength, generosity and intelligence of the Sri Lankan people, especially the women. Whether at the Women’s Sport Meet, in the office among the staff or on the bus, we can’t help but appreciate the independent spirit of all of the women we meet.

2011-05-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

No bees, no honey; no work, no money (proverb)

To bee or not to bee:
As Bill and I were heading off to Cambodia to work with Rose Charities projects in Phnom Penh, Josephine (de Freitas) put a bee in my bonnet about looking into beekeeping  while we were there, lamenting that on her last visit to Cambodia she had noticed that Cambodians frequently burn the hives to take the honey and larvae. I promised to look into it.

As luck would have it my son's roommate's sister, Bryn, runs a large honey operation (8000 hives)  in Alberta with her husband, Hendrick. I contacted her to ask if she would be willing/able to help set this up. She replied immediately to tell me that they would be very interested and had, in fact, been to Sudan on a similar mission.
Armed with this encouragement I launched a search for a suitable partner and venue a few weeks after our arrival in Phnom Penh.   A six-hour bus ride took me to Siem Reap (happy for an excuse to spend more time in this lovely town located in eastern Cambodia, close to Angkor Wat); however, my meeting with a charismatic, if somewhat eccentric, beekeeper, Danny Jump, was discouraging.
Stung but resolute, I bumbled along. Some research on the Internet proved more fruitful. An Atlanta-based NGO, Helping Hands, which supports a Children's Centre in Battambang for the families of poor villagers and local farmers, had tried to get a beekeeping project going a few years ago but ran out of funds. An email exchange with Christine Wagner at Helping Hands confirmed that they still had a buzz on for this project.
The next step was finding out exactly what is involved in beekeeping. An email to the British Columbia Honey Producers Association elicited a prompt and positive response from John Gibeau at the Honeybee Centre in Surrey. John is with the Bee World Project, a not-for-profit organization that sends commercially-trained beekeepers to third world countries to teach beekeeping. They already have a presence in Cambodia and are interested in expanding into Battambang.
So off Bill and I went for another six-hour bus ride to Battambang. We visited the Children's Centre (immediately falling in love with the children) and explored the village. In truth, I had no idea what to look for but we took many photos and were motivated by the obvious poverty in the area. Producing honey here will help more than the bees!
Back in Canada we met with John. I will confess I was getting a bit nervous by now. Everything was moving very quickly and we had no idea how much money it was going to take to launch this project. You can imagine my elation when John said that Bee World had a budget and would sponsor all expenses! Since then he has been busy as a bee organizing kits, funding and a rekkie of the area to ensure the success of the project.
One final piece of the puzzle had to fit: I mentioned to John my communications with Bryn and Hendrick and asked if they could be part of this project, given their interest and support. It transpires that John knows them well (it is a small world) and, if all goes according to plan, Bryn and Hendrick will be taking their three children to Battambang for three months this winter to introduce beekeeping to the local farmers. Plans are for 30 farmers to have 10 to 15 hives each.
The bees will be saved, they will work their magic on the local agriculture, the honey will provide nutrition for the villagers and the farmers will enjoy some much needed extra income ... Bee-at that!

2011-04-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Early Childhood Education Program - Rose Charities Sri Lanka

The more we visit Rose’s programs, the more we realize how far-reaching Rose Charities Sri Lanka really is. Since 2006, Rose Sri Lanka has directly supported isolated and marginalized Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim communities. In 2011, Rose is addressing educational needs in 9 different districts, covering a large part of not just Kalmunai but the Eastern Province.

On Thursday morning P. Latha, the sports coordinator and P. Kanalakannan, the health and nutrition coordinator took us to Chalambaikrany, a dominantly Muslim area. We visited three preschools, Zahira Preschool, Iemam Hasal Preschool and Mega Preschool where we were welcomed by teachers, parents and children. At Zahira Preschool we met a teacher that had won the ‘Best Preschool Teacher’ award from Rose in 2009. She seemed to take pride in not only her award but her children’s progress. The children were lined up in a semi circle around the teacher, some of the most well behaved 3 year olds we’ve ever seen.

At Iemam Hasali Preschool, we walked in to find children playing with red paint and crayons. There was red paint on their hands, faces and uniforms just as much as their papers. It was exciting to see the children given so much creative freedom and thoroughly enjoy their extra-curricular activities. Rose provides the preschools with art supplies and encourages teachers to balance behavioral development with fun, stimulating activities like art and singing. While in Kalmunai, Sonia has been spending time with preschool teachers to share teaching methods and improve English skills. Singing songs like “Eyes, ears, mouth and nose” and "The Hokey Pokey" has not only been fun but is an effective way to teach 3 year olds about anatomy.

We got to Mega Preschool at around 11:00 am, just as students were getting ready to go home. While the children were gathered together with their Rose backpacks, mothers and fathers came to collect them. The teacher at Mega Preschool shared that parents are increasingly supportive of early childhood development and extremely helpful to the teachers inside and outside the classroom. A mother was practicing the English words that her child had learned in class until he worked up the confidence to come up to us and introduce himself in English. I've never been more pleased to be asked "Hello, how are you? What is your name?"

We also learned that the Sri Lankan government has recently agreed to contribute milk packets to each preschool child as a snack. This contribution is the start of a cooperative relationship between Rose Charities and the Sri Lankan government to improve early childhood education in the Ampara District.

Early childhood education is one of Rose Charities’ central programs, with 14 preschools running across the Ampara District. However the program does not only improve access to early education, Rose is constantly working to improve the quality of education in each preschool. Now with government support, perhaps Rose’s model in Ampara can be applied throughout Sri Lanka in future years.

2011-04-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

Sonia and Amanda – Rose Sri Lanka Volunteer Update

April 8th, 2011 | Author: Amanda | Edit

On our first day in Kalmunai, Anthony took us to the village of Malwatha where we saw a preschool class in progress. We were greeted with many good mornings from the children who were dressed neatly in their uniforms and Rose Charities ties. Next door, the mothers of the children were also in school, learning their own trade involving design and sewing. The preschool gives many of these young mothers the opportunity to not only educate their children but to develop useful skills. The most significant impact of this program is the importance of education which is instilled in both mothers and children.
English Classes
We’ve started a combination of traditional English classes and computer classes with the Rose staff. A class in the morning with all of the staff is delivered in the classroom. We then have two separate computer classes with groups of 6-7 in the afternoon using the Knowledge One program. So far, we’ve covered material on phone and email etiquette, practicing phone conversations and reading out loud in class. It took a couple days to determine which staff members were intermediate and which were beginners. One thing is for sure, despite the varying levels, ALL of the staff here are extremely keen to learn and improve their English skills. Sonia has a hard time picking a volunteer in class because everyone puts their hand up! She is excited to teach such eager students. Amanda on the other hand has taken up Tamil; language exchange!

Women’s Micro-credit Meeting
On Wednesday afternoon we attended a monthly women’s micro-credit meeting. Some women wore turquoise saris, representing the village of Natpaddimunai while others wore pink saris, representing the villages of Pandiruppu, Neelavanai and Veeracholai. The sari colors act as a unifying symbol among women of the same village, creating a large support system . At the meeting the women discussed issues around their loans and made loan payments. Many women were eager to apply for a bank loan and used the meeting to find others that were willing to co-sign with them. It was interesting to see women from different areas, who normally would not meet, band together in order to achieve economic independence.

We met a long time successful loan recipient that ran her own fishing business. With the loans she was able to slowly build up her capital and buy a boat and large fishing nets. Unfortunately, her boat and fishing nets were lost in the recent floods, however that didn’t seem to diminish her strong entrepreneurial spirit.
We also met a woman in her early twenties who had enrolled in a sewing class through Rose’s vocational training program. After graduating, she successfully applied for a micro credit loan and bought a sewing machine to start her own business. She now has enough credit to apply for a private bank loan that will enable her to expand her business. Though she is young she is a leader within the women’s group.
On Thursday we attended another women’s microcredit group in Annamalai district. Here, we saw a preschool that was initiated and built by the local women’s group in order to provide their children with a preschool education. We found that this group had similar concerns to the women in Natpaddimunai, creating groups of ten in order to apply for loans. Additionally, the women talked about their concern for their children’s education as their local school was short teachers. One woman volunteered to go and speak to the principal about their collective concerns.
Our first few days in Kalmunai have been very rewarding, we are so impressed at how much Rose is embedded in the community and how micro credit is the driving force of the organization. Most of the women who receive loans from micro credit have children involved in RCSL’s preschool, primary and secondary educational enrichment programs. As a result, these meetings are a place for women to come and not only talk about loans and their business, but also the needs of their children and families.
We are looking forward the girls’ sports meet on April 11^th and will update you on all of the fun activities. Sonia is planning to play her first cricket game!

2011-01-31T21:39:00.000-08:00

Rose Charities Penang Malaysia sunshine !

Rose Charities Malaysia which operates out of Penang is a group of the most wonderful sunshine, welcome and friendship. This was experienced by Mr and Mrs Bill and Jan Johnston of Rose Charities Canada and Dr Will Grut, current Sec. General of Rose Charities International who were entertained to dinners, lunches and meetings by seniour Rose Charities Malaysia members, Mr Lawrence Cheah and Mr Vince Yeo and their wifes. The group had a chance to visit the new office and as well as meet all the members over a delicious steamboat dinner in old George Town - a UNESCO heritage site. The images show images from steamboat dinner.

2011-01-10T14:26:00.001-08:00

Malambo Grassroots Zambia:

The Savory family has been in Zambia for generations. Because of their long history helping the Tonga people of Zambia, they know virtually the entire community. An example of this would be when Tom died and nearly 2000 people came from throughout Southern Provence - both Tonga and and whites to honour him. There were hundreds more Tonga people lining the highway who had hoped for transport to the funeral because Tom and the Savory family have contributed greatly to this community with their long philanthropic history. Many of the people here are friends or are known to the Savory family especially the 600 Tonga people living on the farm. I would estimate that 99% of our current donations are because we know the people in this community and donors like to know where their funding is going.

Money is given out here with considerable forethought, clarity, procedure, and consideration of what is best for the community. The scholarship program is very organized - we have folders and folders of paper work and strict guidelines requirements for receiving scholarship money. Currently the majority of children benefitting from the scholarships live on the farm , however, many of the children here have been sent specifically to the farm from outlying communities to live with their grandparents or an uncle/family member just so they can be eligible for the scholarships. So technically this money goes to students from many surrounding communities.

Money also goes to toward more personal expenses like getting an operation for Hilda who has been suffering in hospital for over a month with a broken femur. She has no money to pay for the operation, nor money to have a family member come with her to Lusaka to take care of here and prepare food as there is no food in hospital. So from personal money Hilda will be receive her operation. She is a pillar in the community and a trained community nurse. She works at the clinic on the farm which is open to all Zambians.

Money has always gone to specific projects - such as rebuilding the grade 5 class room on the farm last year. This school is a government school (not a farm school) and caters to the farm and two outlying communities. The Malambo Women's Society and Lusumpoko are income generating groups for women that also serve three communities - the farm community and two outlying communities. We bring indigenous NGO's for talks and workshops on themes requested by the community. Invitations are sent out to three neighbouring communities for these talks and they are frequently broadcast on Southern province radio in the local language for all to hear.

Last year we brought school supplies to three schools in three different communities - all government run schools. We have fundraised for those schools this year and will be going to visit them in the next few days to see how we can best put the donations to use.

Today we had a young boy from Mujika who is receiving a scholarship from us. This afternoon we are going to Mujika, the next community over, to offer another scholarship to a female student and to see how our fundraising for their school can be put to use.
Our discretionary fund is never given out in an arbitrary way. For example if we budget 350,000 Kwacha for our new chicken project and we go over budget, we would take extra money from our discretionary fund to make sure the project succeeds.

One example is woman who just came to the house from Mujika who has no connection at all to the farm. She has one more exam to write so that she can become an primary school teacher and she needs the fee to write the exam. Our discretionary fund is perfect for this.

Over the last several years, of the teachers trained in Zambia, 50% have died of AIDS. Teachers are one of the most important jobs here.

And lastly, we will be expanding into Siavonga this year - three hours from the farm. We are going to Listu next week - one of the poorest places in the country - we have no connections there and know no one.

2011-01-03T21:27:00.001-08:00

A message from Trish Gribben, chair, Rose Charities NZ

Greetings for New Year 2011 Everyone!
It is going to be a most exciting year with great projects on the Rose NZ calendar.
I have hardly come back to earth since paragliding in late November with the heavenly Himalayas stretching their pure white peaks against the blue blue sky. To be more exact, my flight took off from Senekot, a village above Pokhara, and it was the Annapurna range with the sacred mountain, Machupachare, backgrounding my view……and what made me feel even more airborne that day was quite astonishing news I had just received about Rose NZ’s latest project.
The backstory goes like this: In 2008 Rose NZ brought ophthalmologist Dr Basant Sharma, a director of the Lumbini Eye Institute, to New Zealand for three weeks professional development. He stayed with us in our home and charmed everyone who met him.
Naturally, when I went to Nepal recently in a group of 15 people with Footprints, I asked if a visit to Lumbini could be on the itinerary to visit Basant. John McKinnon who, with his wife Diane, leads Footprints tours, is a retired ophthalmologist so he too was keen to visit the Institute. (The McKinnons were the first doctor and teacher in Sir Ed Hillary’s first Sherpa hospital in the Kumbu and this year celebrate the 50^th anniversary of that pivotal time in their lives.)
Lumbini is in the southern Terai, or the plains area of Nepal near the border with India, and it is also a World Heritage site as the birthplace of Buddha. There was a double reason for going there.
Our time at the Lumbini Eye Institute(LEI), hosted by Basant, made a big impact on us all as we took in the extraordinary “production line” of the outpatient clinics overflowing with people patiently waiting to be registered, assessed for surgery or glasses, then being treated. The flow embraces 800 patients a day, with a dozen ophthalmologists doing 200 cataract operations every day, in three operating theatres, each with four operating tables. In the area where glasses are dispensed, people were thronging as deeply as those on an Indian railway station about to catch a train. Not surprising when you learn that the catchment population for the LEI is 20 million poor people, many of them coming from India. The Nepali government contributes not a rupee to the work.
Still reeling from the intensity of visiting the LEI, we set off on the dusty pot-holed road to Kapilavastu where, about an hour’s bus ride away, a rural outpost eye clinic operates from an unfinished two-storey building, able to give only rudimentary diagnosis and treatment of basic eye problems.

The road to Kapilavastu winds back more than 2500 years. It was there that Prince Siddhartha lived a royal existence in palaces that are currently being revealed by archeologists. It was from Kapilavastu that he set off, aged 29, in search of the meaning of life, suffering and enlightenment. But it was not the Buddha’s story that captivated us most that day.
We were welcomed at the local eye clinic with kata, the white scarves of greetings, and leis of marigolds by the village District Health Committee, and were shown around the unfinished building. We were told how funding sources had dried up and of plans that money could make come true. We heard how the clinic, which would draw on a similar catchment of 20 million poor people, could offer cataract surgery, how the LEI as the parent body could send more eye surgeons if equipment was permanently there, how the distressing rate of eye problems in young and old could be reduced. We heard how the clinic could become self-sustaining within a short time of its establishment.
The amounts needed for the project are estimated at $US10,000 for the completion of the building and $US20,000 for the equipment needed, including a generator to cope with the major power outages that are standard — about 18 hours a day WITHOUT power.
As Basant translated, we all listened carefully and asked questions. As chairperson of Rose NZ I spoke briefly, saying I would take their story in my heart and mind back to our trustees in NZ, but it was impossible for me to give any promises on the spot. I left with the faces of the district committee, so trusting and hopeful, carved on my mind. Every member of our group was moved and impressed.

Now, Fast Forward to nearly a week later when we were walking on a ridge at Senekot where the morning sun was burning off the mists over Pokhara. My friend Basant tells me that a glimpse of the Himalayas is enough to purify the soul; that day, with the full glory of the mighty Annapurna peaks rising before us, our souls must have been squeaky clean.
As I walked along the mountain tracks, starting to contemplate paragliding, my fellow travellers fell quietly into step beside me. By the time I took to the skies the clinic at Kapilavastu had been promised $NZ10,000 by my generous companions.
The Rose NZ Nepal project for 2011 was taking off! Is it any wonder I was nearly over the moon?
Within a week of my homecoming, Rose NZ trustees formally and unanimously approved the Nepal rural eye clinic project. We will help make it happen, alongside our on-going commitment to the Rose Eye Clinic In Phnom Penh, Cambodia. There are exciting developments in Cambodia too —- but that’s another story: See News from Phnom Penh (pip/will: can it be a link to click on?)

Watch this space for fundraising news as 2011 ticks along.

TO DONATE:
Anyone wishing to donate to the Kapilavastu Rural Eye Clinic should send a cheque made out to Rose Charities New Zealand
c/- Rose Treasurer Jane Midgley
Midgleys and Partners
P.O. Box 3714
Christchurch, 8015

2010-12-31T15:34:00.000-08:00

Rose Charities Cambodia Surgical Center ( RC CSC )

It is hard to be in need of surgery in Cambodia if you are poor. Surgical services are limited and can be far beyond the means of many of the population. The Rose Charities Cambodia Surgical Center (RC CSC) has been meeting this need since its founding at the Kien Khleang National Rehabiliation Center, in 1998 and has since treated thousands needing life saving, or quality of life enhancing surgical procedures.   It is amazing how a relatively simple procedure like the release of an arm fused to the body from an burn, can turn a life around.

The center was started initially as an offshoot of an eye surgery program, Project IRIS both founded by the same Canadian physician. One of the most pressing initial needs was a facility which would provide a surgical service to prepare the limbs of land mine victims for artificial limbs.   The founder - Dr William Grut - saw that, although there were several excellent prosthetic organizations in Cambodia in the early 1990’s the surgical facilities were not adequate to match the demands. It is almost impossible to simply fit an artificial limb onto a stump which has not been surgically prepared.

In addition there was recognition of a host of relatively simple surgical procedures which if carried out would give a huge benefit in terms of quality of life, income generation and self esteem to both the recipient as well as her / his family and community. Examples of such were cleft lip and palate operations, burns, congenital and acquired deformities and even slow growing tumors.

Cleft lip and palate for example will, if untreated ‘sentence’ the sufferer to a life of marginalization, possible malnutrition, low income, no education and loneliness.    Rose Charities Cambodia Surgical Centre has over its 12 years in existence operated on hundreds of cases. In addition the center links with the organizations Smile Train and Operation Rainbow (which specialize in this area) and its staff contribute their time also to Operation Smile missions within both Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Between these organizations, thousands have been given 'new lives' again.

Rose Charities was one of the first organizations in Cambodia to recognize and act to assist victims of deliberate acid burns. Both local and international expertise has, and continues to be employed for the surgical assistance of these tragic victims who can be of almost any age, from children (many of whom are caught in-between acid throwing incidents) to adults. The cases can be very severe and can require many different levels and types of surgery. Rose Charities USA assists local groups in Cambodia who try to provide employment and training for the victims once medical / surgical procedures are completed.

Apart from the more routine procedures, over the years more unusual sad cases have been identified and treated. One such of these is a condition known as meningo-encephalocoele where there is an out-pouching of the brain and brain covering out through the front of the skull of the patient albeit still covered by skin. It is seen as a lump on the face of varying degree. The surgery needed will vary according to severity: one tiny baby ’Loy’ with an extremely severe case was sent by Rose Charities to Toronto where surgery was generously donated for his cure. Others though have been successfully treated by Rose Charities Surgeons in Cambodia itself.

Another condition often requiring graft and plastic surgery is that of ‘Noma’. This is a type slowly progressive infection which has a slow ‘flesh eating’ manifestation. Once the infection is halted and eliminated, then surgery must be used to replace or repair the damage which the victim has suffered.

Recently a little 5 year old boy was discovered far out in the country side by another organization Village Health Development who has a completely fused jaw. The birth attendant who helped deliver him drilled a small hole in his gums through which he has been taking in liquid food. He had never seen a doctor.   Little ‘Tot’ is scheduled for operation and rehab follow up in early 2011. Such is the variation of patient conditions, child to adult, that are seen at RC CSC

The Rose Charities Cambodia Surgical Center is a member project of the Rose Charities International Network . This network has active programs in 14 countries and member or interest groups in 22. Focus areas are not only health but span education, micro-credit and other poverty reduction programs, disability assistance, and emergency relief.

Within Cambodia, Rose Charities now runs four project centers. 1) Eye surgery / sight restoration (Rose Charities Sight Center) ,   2) Cambodia Surgery Center, 3) Physical and Holistic Rehabiliation Center   and 4) Education Support Program.   All programs are aimed at assisting the poor and/or those in need of medical/surgical/rehabilitative assitance.    In 2002 , following a major theft and looting, the main surgery component of the project was shifted from its ‘medically risky’ site to a proper Ministry of Health Hospital (Chea Chumneas) under a new name of Operation FIRST,    and linked properly into the evolving Cambodian health system. The eye unit, which has assisted around 90,000 patients since 2002 (the looting affected this component also) remained in its original site.    The Rose Rehabilitation (physiotherapy and holistic rehab center) was founded early 2010 by Rose Charities Australia and supports the surgical serviced with both international and local expertise as well as running an outreach program.

The Rose Charities network is a group of organizations which cover a wide span of project types. One thing though that they have in common is the philosophy of transparency, ground level effectiveness, minimum or zero administration costs, and person-to-person assistance.    Many of the Rose Charities organizers have come from ‘field work’ and know well the gap between reality on the ground and glossy promotions in donor countries. Rose Charities projects are all locally run and, apart from assisting the poor, are focused on helping develop the Cambodian health system. Some projects employ highly paid expatriates who unfortunately often do very to create health projects sustainable into the future by Cambodia.

The Rose Charities Cambodia 'CSC' (Cambodia Surgical Center and Cambodia Sight Center) projects , along with RRC (Rose Rehabiltation Cambodia) and the Rose Education / Disability assistance programs rely very heavily on the generosity of donors world wide. Please see   www.RoseCharities.Org to donate - and thank you.

2010-12-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

From orphans to photocpopiers.....

Here is an excerpt from a message from Marylee Banyard, who is now in Zambia. On a recent trip into the nearby town of Monze, she encounters both old and new, from technology to polygamy to children orphaned by AIDS:

"We have laminating facilities in Monze now. It sort of works, but is a little gimpy. Photocopying too… the page comes out with a dark mass at the top.

"The man there gave me a big lecture about, “Why is it always women and orphans? What about the MEN!” He said he is a grandfather supporting an orphan at Zimba school. He also said that he was born in a hut, not a hospital, and BaTonga culture has good midwives. We foreigners don’t understand Tonga culture.

"I said we should go have a cup of coffee, as he was continually being interrupted and dealing with all sorts of people with issues while he was arguing with me and trying to laminate.

"He also said women bring it on themselves because they don’t have to be second and third wives. They have choice. [ed: Polygamy is still legal in Zambia.]

"From him I went to see Sister Lontia at the St Vincent de Paul Community School in Monze. We discussed many things. Concerning second and third wives, she pointed out their usual circumstances of poverty and insecurity. The children they bring with them into the marriages are often not accepted by the new husband, and the real father has probably died or vanished.

"She has 204 children in the school, of which 123 are orphans, and 77 are “vulnerable”. Sometimes the economic pressure is too great for families and children are abandoned. Although the school tries to charge K5,000 ($1.25 Canadian) per term (3 terms a year ) the school accepts all, even if they can’t pay. They are Catholic Mission funded."

"A student from St Vincent de Paul Community School paints a mural on the school walls. The Zambian flag flies high above."[/caption]

2010-12-01T14:55:00.001-08:00

Reflection on Haitian Paediatric Nurses

November 29th, 2010 | Author: Terri

Karen Schafer doing classroom instruction Berni assisting with CPR practice: Teaching neonatal resuscitation

Fernande Charles presenting completion certificates

The following post was written by Berni Koppe:
From October 9th – 24th I had the privilege of going to Haiti as part of the 3 person team whose goal was to provide neonatal nursing education in Port au Prince. Here are some thoughts I would like to share about this amazing experience.
The nurses work under extremely difficult conditions. They care for as many as 15 children in different rooms. There is virtually no functioning equipment to assist the nurses in caring for severely ill neonates.They never wilted in the heat nor complained of being tired or overwhelmed. Despite these challenging conditions these nurses have not lost their sense of humour and their ability to laugh.
These nurses were very grateful for this seminar as there is little opportunity for continuing education after graduation. They were totally engaged in the teaching. Many of them came to class with questions about the previous days teaching which to me demonstrated critical thinking on the content. One nurse attended the teaching at 9:00 a.m after completing her night shift at 6:00 that morning.
If I could use one sentence to describe this amazing group of nurses it would “dignified and with grace under extreme pressure”.
Their parting words were “please don’t forget us and please come back”.
Berni

Posted in Haiti

2010-10-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

Trish Gribben visits an eye clinic in Cambodia with ties to New Zealand where sight has been restored for thousands of patients.

It is Monday morning at the Rose Eye Clinic in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The first of maybe 100 patients for the day have arrived and are sitting patiently lined up on long stools, in the shade of a few straggly mango trees. Incense wisps up from a little temple nearby. None of the patients has an appointment. Many a mother, with a few possessions tied in a cloth bundle on her back, is brought to the clinic by a young child, perhaps a 10-year-old son, holding a bamboo stick between them to lead the way because mother is blind. They may have spent two days to get to the Rose clinic, walking or taking a bus.
After assessment and cataract surgery that very same day, mother’s sight miraculously restored, the pair set off side by side. When they return to their village the seeing-eye son can return to school for the first time since his mother’s sight faded completely two years before. This is a typical story from Cambodia. It also involves three Good Kiwi Blokes (GKBs); hands that have restored sight to thousands of blind eyes; a looting; a mix of microscopes, money and mates.
The three GKBs are all mates: John Veal, optometrist from Christchurch, Dr David Sabiston, ophthalmologist from Hawkes Bay and Mike Webber, OMNZ, optometrist from Whanganui. Together, over the last eight years, these GKBs, as trustees of Rose Charities NZ, have worked with a local Cambodian doctor and nurses to set up an eye clinic in Phnom Penh for the very poorest people. The three GKBs, between them, have made 14 trips to Cambodia since 2002. Every time they go they have taken up microscopes and equipment generously donated by the optometry community in New Zealand.
“The donating of good quality second hand instruments from eye surgeons and wholesalers in New Zealand has been way beyond expectations,” says Mike Webber. “I get a real buzz from being at the eye clinic in Phnom Penh. So little effort and money by our standards goes such a long way, for such a lot of people. They have absolutely nothing. We can improve their lives without interfering with local customs or communities. Why not just do it?”
In Cambodia there are 16 ophthalmologists for 14 million people. Eye problems are so commonly left unchecked that people go blind when a simple procedure could have saved their sight. (In the Auckland phone book there are 16 ophthalmologists within less than a kilometre on the medical strip along Remuera Road.)
The medical director of the Phnom Penh eye clinic is Dr Hang Vra, a Cambodian who trained as a doctor in Moscow. On holiday in the Ukraine as a student he met his wife, Natalie, who is now the senior nurse at the clinic.
Dr Vra, who is completing post-graduate ophthalmology training paid for through Rose Charities NZ, has what David Sabiston calls “some of the most beautiful surgical hands I have seen in my career.” In the last eight years Dr Vra and his team have seen more than 88,500 patients at the clinic; nearly 18,000 have received surgery and the others have been fitted with glasses. Last year nearly 2500 people had surgery.
In March this year Mike Webber was as excited as a boy with a new i-Gadget when he went to set up the most sophisticated microscope donated to the clinic so far — a $65,000 Moller-Wedel operating microscope cast-off from the Whanganui Health Board. Thanks to Agility Logistics’ benign freight bill and two of Webber’s mates in Wanganui paying the airfares for him and a technician, Neville Wood, to travel to Phnom Penh to assemble the instrument, the cost to Rose Charity was only $350. There are plenty of GKBs out there.
Within a day of the new microscope arriving Dr Vra had mastered the auto-adjustable instrument. He is beaming about his job becoming easier and more precise. But this story is not just about expertise and equipment. It is about lives given light in a country that has endured the horrors of the dark era of the Khmer Rouge when hardly a doctor was left alive
after the purges of all educated people in the 1970s and ‘80s.
I visited the Rose clinic in Phnom Penh recently, as chairperson of Rose Charities NZ. To see the transformation when a life is changed in the instant when bandages are removed after a cataract operation is magical.
On my first visit, there was one old lady sitting stoically behind her dark glasses; not a smile, not a muscle moved. Her daughter, dressed in her best street wear, Miss Kitty yellow and white pyjamas, did her best to fan her mother in the heat. Next day this old lady (probably years younger than me) sat like a stone while her bandages were taken off. Suddenly, she grabbed my hand and hugged and hugged it. Her smile was as wide as it could be. For the first time in a decade she could see. Her world looked bright.
The clinic has a turbulent story, typical of many in Cambodia. S**t has definitely hit the fan. In 2002 the entire Rose clinic was looted — chairs, operating table, microscopes, clock, stock and barrels of patient records. But Cambodians have had to cope with far greater horrors than that, of course, and in the Buddhist spirit of acceptance and resilience, Dr Vra and Nurse Natalie, simply kept going. They acted like heroes, comforting the patients as they kept turning up. Rose New Zealand followed their lead and renewed efforts to get equipment and professional support for Dr Vra as often as possible. That eye clinic is now regarded as doing the best eye surgery in Cambodia. It is not in any way “competing” with a Fred Hollows clinic—the two Fred Hollows clinics in Cambodia are deep in the countryside.
The clinic is still so basic that Dr Vra’s current ‘wishlist’ reads like
this:

materials for a cupboard for brooms, buckets and mops so the blind patients don’t trip over them.
a swing door into an operating room so that sterile hands do not have to wrestle with the door handle.
a sterilising room moved closer to the surgery room, to reduce the risk of infections, always a crucial factor with eye operations.
a second-hand washing/drying machine, to help out in the rainy season.
a mended ceiling in the recovery “ward” where patients rest immediately after surgery on woven mats on iron beds, patiently attended by a wife, husband, daughter, son.

Food is brought to them from the stalls lining the dusty street nearby. A towel or cotton scarf is used as a fan. No bathroom exits; a cool sponge-down in the sticky heat is not an option. No bathroom is on the wish-list—such luxury is unthinkable.
Dame Silvia Cartwright, New Zealand’s former Governor General who is currently in Phnom Penh as a member of the international war crimes tribunal there, is a patron of Rose Charities NZ. She has visited the eye clinic and been greatly impressed at what the Kiwi-Cambodian co-operative effort has achieved.
“I know that all around the world the same help is being given to people in need,” said Dame Silvia, “but I know Cambodia best and this country has so much to offer. Its people are clever, welcoming and generous. Equally, it lacks some of the most fundamental health care of any country in the world. The Cambodian people deserve our support in improving their skills and knowledge. It is a privilege to see highly skilled New Zealanders such as Mike Webber come regularly to work with local specialist ophthalmologists so Cambodian people can have the best care possible.”
Rose Charities is an network of “helping hands” that operates out of 9 countries — Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Vietnam, UK, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Malaysia.
It has current projects from Madagascar, where it runs a school, to Nepal, where women volunteer health workers are being trained to identify and prevent eye problems, to Sri Lanka where children orphaned in the 2004 tsunami are being given on-going help.
Rose likes to keep things simple. Kindness is its raison d’etre. It was founded by a doctor, William Grut, whose mother, Rothes Grut (nee Neville) was a New Zealander. Will was born in Malaysia, educated partly in Christchurch and now lives in Vancouver. There is an umbrella Rose International Council but there are no grand plans for super-sizing up. At an international gathering in Phnom Penh for Rose recently, the treasurer’s report was brief: “Zero dollars IN. Zero dollars OUT. The council has no money, no budget.” Individual Rose groups raise money for the projects they support by a variety of means ranging from cooking lessons to fashion shows or theatre nights. Volunteers provide all the support, with practically no money being spent on administration.
As well as its on-going commitment to the Cambodian eye clinic, Rose Charities NZ has plans for medical-aid projects in Nepal and the Pacific. It has helped a trauma and grief counsellor, Liese Groot, to work with medical professionals in the Philippines, Malaysia and Samoa and is giving support within the refugee community here.
–In the set-up days of the fledgling Rose Eye Clinic in Phnom Penh, a weight was needed to apply post-operative pressure to patients’ eyes. Nothing, no instrument, was on hand. One of the doctors looked around the make-shift structure (as it was then). On the floor were some old bolts. Quickly he picked them up, wrapped bandages around them and rested them on the patient’s eyes. Job done.
Now a beautifully-balanced weight is used at the clinic. It was designed by Dr Basant Sharma, an ophthalmologist from Nepal, who is currently vice-chairman of Rose International and who has worked alongside the Cambodian medical team in Phnom Penh to offer his expertise. Rose NZ brought Dr Sharma to New Zealand two years ago for his own professional development.
– There was a time when Dr Will Grut was in the Cambodian countryside for an eye camp with Dr Vra. Patients were lined up for surgery in a thatched hut. Down came a deluge of rain, dripping through a hole in the roof. “That will be the end of surgery today,” thought Dr Grut. “But no. Someone took a syringe, siphoned some petrol out of a nearby vehicle, injected it in to a polyfoam material and we all watched while it foamed up. It was used to patch the hole in the roof – and the surgery went on.”

2010-09-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Rose Charities NZ Newsletter 2010. (for full newsletter please click here)

Click for full newsletter

2010-08-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

WAS MOZART DISABLED ?

Who can define 'disability'. All we can compare with is a general 'norm' . But this too is inaccurate. Were Mozart, Einstein or Marie Curie then disabled ? In some way or other we all have aspects away from the norm. We are all thus, in some way or other 'disabled'

Definitions then are of little use. What is important is quality, enjoyment and sense of fulfillment of life. While physical abilities are very much part of this, they are not the only factors. Inability to move in the same way as the majority does not necessarily define happiness. A healthy child for example, starved mentally and emotionally is in a far worse condition than those one loved, educated and cherished albeit with one with dysfunctional limb movement.

The organizers of Rose Charites see assistance for 'disability' as being far more than physical, medical or surgical treatment. Rose Rehabilitation Cambodia has the ultimate goal of assisting disabled children and adults in all areas. These include education, community activities (arts etc), vocational training and income generation.

'Social symbiosis' is a key concept of Rose Charities and Holistic Rehabilitation is a fundamental part of this. Rose Rehabilitation Cambodia is moving forward in this area with an education sponsorship program as well as building the children's rehabilitation playground described elsewhere in this site. Funding is being sought also to directly help challenged individuals directly in improving quality of in their homes and a cooperation with Epic Arts - an organization involving Cambodian communities in the Kampot area in art/drama programs is planned

2010-07-28T09:30:00.001-07:00

The star of the Auckland theatre scene, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, welcomed guests to a Rose Charities NZ fundraising night with Silo Theatre during their season of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. She is pictured with Rose NZ chairperson, Trish Gribben.

The musical black comedy, which received rave reviews, was followed by a soiree where hand-woven silk scarves from Cambodia were sold to raise money for the Rose Eye Clinic in Phnom Penh. By a stroke of lucky timing, Jennifer herself had visited Cambodia with her family, returning only four days before the event. "I couldn't believe the poverty we saw there," she told the 100 people gathered.

Rose Charities NZ's patron, Dame Silvia Cartwright, was also in the news the same week, as a member of the international war crimes tribunal which announced its first verdict on Dutch, the notorious torturer and killer of Tuol Sleng prison.

Around 60 scarves were sold from a table which carried a photograph of patients waiting at the clinic and a sign saying: Buy a scarf and give a stranger in Phnom Penh an eye operation. $40 -- the scarves have been donated; all proceeds go to the clinic.

The event raised nearly $4000 which is sufficient to restore sight to 160 poor blind Cambodians

2010-07-03T02:13:00.000-07:00

Images from the Cambodian Ophthalmological Society Clinical Seminar. Fri June 25 2010.
'INNOVATION OF OPHTHALMOLOGY IN CAMBODIA' .
(This was known within Rose as the 'COS-ROS Meeting''. However it was also sponsored by the Fred Hollows Association and several equipment companies)

Location was in the conference rooms of the Naga World Center.

Grateful appreciation to Dr Do Seiha, and Dr Ngy Meng and the Cambodian Ophthalmological Society for organizing such a successful conference.

2010-06-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Interview with Rose Charities USA founder Noot Seear before Haiti Relief Photo-Exhibition Milk Gallery New York

2010-04-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

ETAT+ TRAINING IN KENYA
Irimu G, Wamae A, English M.
(On behalf of colleagues in the Ministry of Health1, University of Nairobi2 and KEMRI Wellcome Trust3.)

Abstract
The under-5 mortality rate in most developing countries remains high yet many deaths could be averted if available knowledge was put into practice. For seriously ill children in hospital investigations in low-income countries commonly demonstrate incorrect diagnosis and treatment and frequent prescribing errors. Most of these deaths occur in the first 48hours of admission. Any intervention to reduce the mortality must therefore target the emergency triage assessment and treatment plus the initial admission care (ETAT+). To help improve hospital management of the major causes of inpatient childhood mortality we developed simple clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for use in Kenya, a low-income setting. These guidelines were adapted from existing WHO materials by participatory process. To facilitate dissemination and implementation of the guidelines we developed a 5.5 days training programme. We attempted to base our training on modern theories around adult learning and deliberately attempted to train a ‘critical mass’ of health workers within each institution at low cost. Our experience suggests that with sustained effort it is possible to develop locally owned, appropriate clinical practice guidelines for emergency and initial hospital care for seriously ill children with involvement of pertinent stake holders throughout. To ensure sustainability of such innovation it is fundamental to incorporate the training in the pre-service training and the medical teaching institutions. We hereby describe the progress in pre-service and in-service ETAT+ training in public institutions in Kenya. To our knowledge the process described in Kenya is among a handful of attempts globally to implement inpatient or referral care components of WHO / UNICEF’s Integrated Management of Childhood Illness approach. However, whether guideline dissemination and implementation result in improved quality of care in our environment remains to be seen.

1Wamae A, Santau M, Mogoa W, Ngwiri T.
2 Irimu G, Wasunna A, Were F, Mbori-Ngacha.
3English M, Ntoburi S.

A Rose Charities article about ETAT+ is at:
http://www.rosecharities.net/kenya-emerg-course.pdf

Some reviews on the HIFA (Healthcare Information For All) website:
http://www.hifa2015.org/knowledge-base/health-care/triage/what-hifa2015-members-say/

There is some ETAT+ info on Mike English's bio site:
http://www.kemri-wellcome.org/people/researchers/mike-english
A BMJ article about it (needs subscription to see more than an extract):
http://adc.bmj.com/content/93/9/799.extract

2010-03-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

Dr Pargat Bhurji: Leader 1st Rose Charities Pediatric team. Haiti. Feb 2010

2010-01-30T12:37:00.000-08:00

THE SARI SOIREE. ROSE CHARITIES FUND-RAISER FOR HAITI AND SRI LANKA: JAN 27 2010

(click on any images to enlarge)

2010-01-29T21:06:00.000-08:00

CECI (Centre d'edude et cooperation international ) has been pivotal in the past 2 weeks emergency relief efforts in Haiti by facilitating AMDA and Rose Charities personnel. Their organization is efficient, highly functional and has a very strong network of very experienced personnel in Haiti. CECI, like Rose Charities has a very open policy of working and coordinating with any other group to achieve the same benefits to those in need. It a world where where so many organizations are highly 'territorial' about their names, CECI exhibits a very refreshing difference. CECI has projects worldwide We strongly recommend supporting this excellent organization for anyone who wishes to support Haiti relief efforts.

It is interesting that, while many of the larger organizations efforts became gridlocked at Haiti International Airport, many other (often the smaller) organizations, poorly reported by the press quickly and efficiently entered in via the Dominican Republic. CECI was one of these. AMDA and Rose Charities owe considerable thanks to CECI and hope that contacts may be preserved into the future

2010-01-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

The Children's Surgical Center, Cambodia, does some valuable work for Cambodia. The facility was founded by Rose Charities Canada in 1998 as its surgical rehab center, its use of many thousand dollars of Rose Charities Canada's equipment and vehicles commenced in 2002. The Rose Charities Eye Center carries out around 1500 sight restorations per year from its Kien Khleang Center, and cleft palate, burns (often acid burn) and other rehabilitative surgery from its Ministry of Health hospital. Rose Charities continues to run the leading all Cambodian managed eye surgery centers for the Cambodia's poor. Rose Charities is grateful for donations for its Cambodian surgery projects. www.RoseCharities.org . Rose Charities rehabilitation surgery center at the Ministry of Health 'Chea Chumneas'' Hospital on the outskirts of Phnom Penh is a multi-group unit where excellent international organizations like Smile Train, Operation Rainbow, Impact and individual surgical experts are able to train and implement surgeries in proper Ministry of Health Premises. By supporting the Ministry of Health, future health sustainability is ensured in Cambodia. It is unfortunate that some organizations neither support the National Eye sub-committee (SCPBL) nor operate out of proper Ministry of Heatlh premises. Donors who support such organizations are doing considerable long term disservice to Cambodia.

2010-01-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

The Rose Charities Sari Soiree, Bollywood dance party fundraiser held in Vancouver on Wed 27th January 2010 was a very great success. Around 200 persons attended and almost everyone ended up dancing. Sari fittings were a star attraction.

2010-01-20T07:24:00.000-08:00

From Port-au-prince, Haiti, 19-Jan-2010

Hi there folks. Well I did my stint yesterday for 9 hours or more interpreting for US, Korean and Hungarian doctors at the Haitian community hospital. What a sight when one arrives =- bodies everyone - searching for treatment, relatives camped outside on the grass and inside a hive of activity. They seemed to have received plenty of volunteers but I soon found my niche.

One of the doctors said that none of them had seen, in all their lives, the amount of amputations as they have in Haiti - mostly feet and legs - trapped under buildings etc. So this means that in the future there's going to be a HUGE need for prosthetics and physical handicap support for these people, in a country where the handicapped are way down the list of those being helped already!!

I was in the Triage area and the US Docs had got it very organised - with Zones all marked out and one doc per zone with a nurse and a translator (interpreter!). I was in Zone 1 but frankly I ran around from zones 1-4 and anywhere else I was needed. there were a lot of young Haitian guys acting as translators, not sure how good their English was. I was the go to person by all the patients in those whole areas and they called me DOC!! I said no not a Doc but what do you need, and then I'd go off and channel one of the docs to go and see to them. You know how bossy I am!! It was exhausting work as so much of the time I was on my feet, and the old knees don't do too well!!! but I grabbed a seat when ever they were physically treating the patients.

The patients with open wounds/fractures were treated in the hospital and hundreds of Xrays were being ordered - each time meaning I had to go to the Haitian staff to get a proper form and approval. They always put a price down on the form but as they only had their name and no address, plus they didn't do the usual Haitian thing of asking for money upfront I presume the Aid organisations are going to pay for them! The ones with closed wounds/fractures were being sent, many of them to the DR!! by bus I presume which cannot have been an easy ride. I've heard reports and I don't know if it's true, that people are complaining that the Dominicans are amputating too quickly and their limbs could be saved. I hope it's not true. The docs came in loaded with medical supplies and medicines etc. so they could send people out with pain pills and antibiotics which helped the patients financially!!

The Docs and I got on very well and I looked after my various patients and the Docs said it was great to have someone who could think for themselves and not just translate, as I would often woudl say Doc - do you need to give them an antibiotic shot, do you need to do this or that!! Thank GOd for some nursing experience that I had had.

In the middle of the day I tell you, we would have killed for a cold Prestige beer!! but only lukewarm water and some crackers available. Frankly didn't feel like eating anyway.

I organised different forms of transport systems and also for the XRay system as one guy who said he was organising everything hadn't set up a system for XRays - so I told him to Delegate!!

didn't go out today as my team of docs were on nite shift and they won't be back on until tomorrow so took the liberty of catching up with my emails and rest!!

We;re still suffering from lack of gas although they're giving more out now, but poor G... is still standing in line in order for me to communicate with you all - I hope you appreciate that!!! Cellphones - Ditgicel is being back to terrible again, mainly due to overloaded circuits!! and Banks and supermarkets have yet to open so people are running out of money.

The road to Jacmel has seemingly been just about fixed which will help enormously in getting desperate help thru to them.

The amazing news is that N..., is alive!!! Alive, then dead, then alive then dead, now definitely alive!! Amazing - I wonder which she feels more traumatised from - her kidnapping many years ago or this. Probablyboth on a par!!

They're still not listing my friend A.... on an official list of people dead, but I can't think that her partner would have said she had died if he didn't have proof, but it would be wonderful if she was still alive.

And I think I may have mentioned about another friend - a Frenchwoman who had lost her two daughters? well amazingly it wasn't true and she managed to get the 2 girls and their nanny out from under the rubble. Praise God!!

they reckon 4000 houses were destroyed inPauP - it doesn't seem like its enough. I would have thought more, but who knows. 70,000 dead have already been buried and they reckon the final tally will be between 150 and 200,000!!

43 international teams of emergency people have arrive plus millions of dollars; marines and soldiers etc. to help. 280 emergency centres to open. British Red Cross and others have opened Field hospitals.

Dutch and French govts have fasttracked vis for hundreds of adopted children to go their countries, but it seems the US is not being very forthcoming yet!!

Airport has started to work properly and they are receiving 100 planes a day with aid and aid workers.

DR president came in personally to the surprise of Pres. Preval and his own DR consul!! and sent people to help Digicel (doesn't seem to be working!!) as well as the electricity company and the many police stations.

Clinton said came in that he will continue to work with Haiti on:

1) Food water, medicine and housing

2) help to get support to rebuild buildings and economy, schools stc.

3) to help rebuild Haiti for a better future.

Rich and poor he said need to put their heads together to rebuild.

Min. of Culture said the General hospital where most people would go is without Electricity - they have 1500 aid people working therre and theybe happy to work around thenite but can't cos of lack of electricity. Plus they need food and water to feed these people as well as patients.

They've set up a Health Commission to co-ordinate the health problems.

The Govt. has asked for all Official vehicles to be brought back to their various offices so they can use them to help.

They are going to have meetings with the local mayors to co-ordinate disaster efforts.

Loads of people are fleeing PauP to go to the provinces even if they haven't got any families there - and they're begging local people to help take them in etc. They said eeveryone has someone in PauP affected, whether friend or family!!

Gas selling at 500 gourdes instead of a third of that!! outrageous.

A Christian academy behind the caribbean market is still showing life of people inside. Sent that off to a UN friend, hopefully they get to them - others are having the opposite - in that buildings have dead bodies inside and the smell is terrible. Unimaginable.

I am fine - still getting enough basic food on the streets - still got a 5 gallon bottle of water, and hope before it runs out there will be some to be bought.

I think that's as much as I can say for now. Keep us in your prayers and thoughts.

Thank you for all your supportive emails - can't reply to many as inundated - have over 500 still waiting for me to read, but most of those are news items. I have heard from so many people who are sending out this newsletter to their friends too - thanks for that.

Talk to you soon.

J........

2010-01-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

Letter (edited)from Port-au-Prince, Haiti 15th January 2010

….I have not been able to go out, as I don't want to drive myself on the streets in this terrible mess, and my driver's house collapsed and his wife was hurt in it, so I'm sure he's looking after her - quite rightly. But am getting lots of information:

Sadly my best friend, died in the UN HQ building collapse, as did A…. and D C…, the Head and Deputy Head of the UN here!! They were in a meeting on the 7th floor.

We are still having the aftershocks which are absolutely horrible, cos even tho they only last a nano second, you don't know if it is going to go on for longer. Everyone is sleeping outside - I managed to persuade my household to sleep in my car in my yard last nite - instead of out on a spare piece of ground in front of the house. Thousands and thousands are sleeping outside, scared of another quake. We're up to 41 aftershocks and I hate them - I think I will have ulcers after this as my stomach goes into knots each time. It's worse in the nite as you lie there waiting for the next one. So I usually end up getting up and reading to take my mind off it. I keep thinking we;re having another tremble, and then realise it's my own body's nerves which are trembling. I guess it's a reaction in the aftermath of the quake.

Have been contacted by hundreds and hundreds of people, many from this list, friends and friends of friends and clients. I am fine still - worried about the lack of gas as any moment now my inverter will run out and I won't be able to use my generator and keep in touch with you all.

Still horror stories about so many dead bodies piling up in the streets - no-one to look after them or bury them,which is going to cause epidemics.

Poor J…. in a terrible state - gather the Florita is gone, the good block of Cyvadier Plage has collapsed.
The Cathedral and St. trinity church with the wonderful paintings - all rubble!!! The National Palace has collapsed too -so sad these beautiful buildings.

And it has affected rich and poor alike. Was at dinner with friends from the … embassy at a beautiful house and now they tell it's finished and they lost of their possessions but not their lives, thank God.

But the people's spirits are high - they're singing in the streets at nite and praying and there's a great feeling of solidarity.

I was listening to a radio broadcast interview with a Haitian seismology expert and he said they had predicted this since the last one 240 years ago!! It was of the same magnitude in 1770 - under the Colonials, but couldn't of course predict the exact date. It lasted nearly a minute and was 7.3 on the Richter scale which is very high.

One of the owners of the Montana is thought to be under the rubble of the hotel - not confirmed yet.
The epi centre was 22 kms outside of PauP on the SW - if you go along the road after Carrefour, going towards Leogane - off to the left, up in the mountains, (eg down from the Kenscoff range) that's where it was and thankl God not in the sea as they were predicting a Tsunami - but it was a rumour however people panicked - this is another problem, it panics people.

Desperately need basic first aid supplies - cos the hospitals don't have anything.

It seems there are still people alive in the Caribbean supermarket bldg which collapsed but I don't know if Minustah are working to get people out - I certainly hope so. Thank God one good friend who works there, was not in it.

People have written that there are too many journalists and not enough doctors coming in and ain't that the truth!!

Walls guesthouse - one of their buildings collapsed and 2 of their workers and 3 guests died in it.
St. Joseph's guesthouse on Delmas 91 is rubble and 2 of the guys were seriously hurt - BN.., the Director of the house was one of them, but I gather they're sending in some plane to evacuate them for medical help in NC - thank God for good friends.
.
If you want to give a donation to St. Jos - to help them and also Wings, the Handicapped kids home you can do it thru Hearts with Haiti - which you can contact thru their website. I'm pointing people who have asked me about donations to them, as I know them and their work and it's impossible to just give a blanket donation to Haiti !! It's so needy. My people are doing it in the name of BN. Makes it more personal but it's to help St. Jos.

Phones are not working at all - I gather one service may be, but haven;t got that one!!

Well will cut this off as I want to get it round to as many people as possible.
Take care and keep praying for Haiti. I was just being so positive about Tourism the other day and now have realised that I was 2 steps ahead and now we're like 16 steps back!!! It will take years and years to recover from this. Give me a hundred hurricanes any day over this!!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and concern for me and for Haiti. …. 'J'

(picture at top right by Tallulah)

2010-01-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

Images from Haiti

(copied with kind permission of Tallulah Photo )

2009-12-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

2009 Christmas Message from Will Grut (Sec.General Rose Charities)

I write to send everyone closely or loosely linked with Rose Charities, or partner organizations the warmest possible festive wishes. While here in Vancouver late December Christmas now has the highest profile of the festivities, almost every other religion has its own celebration around this time, so the wishes of Annie and I are for all happiness which they bring everybody. The joy of so many of these occasions around this time makes us realize how united we really all on our planet and how we must actively strive to overcome dogmas and preconceptions which divide us and cause strife. With the problem of global warming on most of our minds not to mention continuing wars, abuse of human rights and freedoms the needs are ever more critical

The ‘Rose tree’ in 2009 has continued to grow. This growth has been in the best possible way by the adding in of small, energetic cooperative programs or parts of programs rather than simply expanding bureaucracy. Of particular note in this area has been on the African continent where Rose Charities supported projects are now in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar. The Hillman Fund has been foremost in many of these programs, but the projects of Asolate Rwanda and Stand Tall Uganda must also be commended. In S.E. Asia Rose Charities Malaysia became formally registered in Penang and made a flying start with several health screening projects and health promotions and the establishment of a wonderful high energy membership.

In early March 2009 a the 2nd Rose Charities International Meeting, hosted by Rose Charities Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Rose Charities International Charter and Board, carefully crafted over the previous 2years by Linda Roberts formally came into being. The Executive board was honored then to accept the appointments for 2 year terms, established by vote of Mr Lawrence Cheah (Malaysia) as Hon. Chair, Dr Basant Raj Sharma (Nepal) Hon Vice Chair, Ms Linda Roberts (Canada) as Hon. Secretary. I (Canada, NZ, UK) was kindly voted to Secretary General.

Rose Charities Sri Lanka, one of Rose Charities most effective programs had a huge boost mid 2009 by the award of a large three-year sponsorship from a Europe based charitable foundation for a program expanding early childhood care and development/education and women and girls education in its its programs. This will augment is hugely successful micro-credit, counseling, sports and previous education programs. Rose Sri Lanka has also founded a small eyesight clinic/assessment center.

The last 3rd of 2009 sadly brought almost simultaneous natural disaster of earthquake (Sumatra), typhoon (Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia) and tsunami (Samoa, Tonga). Rose Charities was able to provide assistance both by working with AMDA Canada (which links with AMDA International relief efforts) and assisting on its own. In the latter case, Rose Charities Vietnam director Mr Nguyen organized relief supplies to the mainly affected area. Rose Charities NZ, linked with The WBDI organization and AMDA NZ in an effort which sent both medical supplies (AMDA) and a trauma counselor Mrs Liese Groot-Alberts. (Rose NZ). Liese’s work was considered so effective that Oxfam NZ and WBDI have now generously taken over and funded a continuing program managed by Liese.

In Cambodia Eye and Rehabilitation surgery programs run well. The former is considerably supported by Rose NZ who continue to provide training and equipment. Rose Charities Australia is now focusing on assisting with poly rehab services - physiotherapy, speech therapy etc to provide support to the rehab surgical services.

Simply describing projects however does not do written justice to the huge goodwill, dedication and commitment of so many wonderful people in the extended Rose Charities network. You all form the most fantastic and critically essential foundation which keep the entire organization operational. Eric Vanderluit (Canada), Jane Midgley (New Zealand) and Barbara Reade (UK) all donate their professional accounting services and it is hard to find words to thank them enough. In other areas, you donate expertise in fields ranging from medicine, surgery and optometry through web design, to public relations, fund raising and media promotion. To everyone who donates these or other things - time, enthusiasm, creativity energy etc Rose Charities must give its most sincere thanks.

The Charity Rose Award for 2008 was given to Mrs Jan Johnston, one of the founders of Rose Charities Vietnam. Having worked tirelessly to help those in need both in Ho Chi Minh City and other areas, Jan epitomizes the spirit of charity to which Rose strives to emulate. Jan was the 4th winner of the award. Although she and her family have now left Vietnam, she nevertheless continues her commitment to Rose Charities Vietnam, especially in helping orphanages there.

June 2010 will in late June, see the third Rose Charities International meeting, this time hosted by Rose Charities Cambodia and Operation First in Phnom Penh. I very much hope to see everyone there in that wonderful country and the one where Rose Charities all started. Information is available from Linda at the meeting secretariat email address Rose2010@live.com

Warm and festive wishes then to everyone. May you enjoy what is with you now but be able to look forward to success and continued happiness in the year to come. May harmony and charity be with you wherever you go.

William Grut MD. Secretary General. Rose Charities International

2009-12-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

Impact of Disasters on Children by Dr Yaya de Andrade (Trauma Counselor)

(Click on article to enlarge)

2009-11-23T17:59:00.001-08:00

Rose Charities Madagascar 2010 calendar now printed. Please see www.RoseCharitiesEvents.blogspot.com for more details

2009-10-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

Under One Umbrella 2010: A Service Fair for People who are Homeless in East Vancouver (the picture shows the 2009 poster)

The Under One Umbrella Society, formerly called The Grandview Woodlands Drug and Alcohol Coalition [http://gwdac.org/], is a group of community residents and service providers who live and/or work in the Grandview Woodlands area of Vancouver. We have been working together for more than four years to address drug and alcohol issues in our neighbourhood. Our goal is to bring people together to create solutions that work for everyone in our community, including community members who have personal experience with drug use, addiction, street involvement and homelessness.

Over the past three years, the Coalition has completed a number of major community projects, including a series of ten community education dinners, a two year community needs and assets assessment which surveyed approximately 3000 residents and business owners in Grandview Woodlands, and the completion of a broad community consultation process that lead to the development of the “Under One Umbrella” event. For more information about the Coalition, please visit our website at www.gwdac.org .

Under One Umbrella is a one-day Service Fair being held in January 16, 2010 for people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The purpose of the event is to bring together a range of services, information and activities for people who are homeless or street involved in East Vancouver neighbourhoods. Some examples of the services that will be present at the event include: VCH Addiction Services, showers, foot care, complimentary therapies such as massage and energy healing, housing information, etc. The event will also include food and local entertainment, as well as a venue for recording people’s personal stories in the hope of combating some of the stigma and misinformation surrounding homelessness.

A goal of the “Under One Umbrella” event is to encourage people to become involved in promoting change through volunteerism. Not only will the event create opportunities for residents of East Vancouver to volunteer for the day, but grassroots community groups and agencies that offer low-barrier opportunities to volunteer in the community will be featured at the event.

This event is based on the enormous popularity of our two previous Under One Umbrella Service Fairs (2007, 2009). People who are homeless and groups working with the homeless (Peer2Peer, etc.) are part of the planning process

2009-10-01T17:16:00.001-07:00

Rose Charities linking with ASOLATE Rwanda
www.asolate.org

Rwanda is still affected by the impact of 100 days of genocide – between April 6 and July 16, 1994 – when over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were brutally murdered. UNICEF estimates that 810,000 children in Rwanda have been orphaned, and more than 100,000 live in child-headed households. Children make up more than half of Rwanda's population - they are the country's future.

A group of young technicians founded ASOLATE in 2004 in response to the problems facing youth after the genocide. The war interrupted education and resulted in hundreds of thousands of orphans, many of whom were left to raise younger siblings. The training center was set up to get youth off the streets by training them in employable skills such as soldering, electrical work, paint, candle and soap-making, sewing and project management. With these skills, youth are able to support themselves and their siblings.

2009-07-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

The Rose Charities Sri Lanka microcrredit program supports over 700 small businesses. Each business provides livelihood for a family or cooperative group, and/or provides employment for local employees.

2009-06-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

2009-06-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

Denis Dronjics third blog entry from his epic journey..(click..)

2009-05-30T02:32:00.000-07:00

Our Voices 1st Workshop from Our Voices Project on Vimeo.

This is a quick look at the first Our Voices Project which took place the week of May 18th-24th, 2009. Photographer Hunter Barnes and artist Jason Rosenstock took cameras, printers, scanners and computers to the town of Lapwai, Idaho on the Nez Perce reservation and conducted a ten day workshop with teens there. Black and white 35mm photography, scanning, printing were taught as well as digital video shooting and editing. The students were asked to tell stories of their daily lives on the reservation through these mediums. All the equipment was left for the students to use and they have produced amazing work, which will be posted soon!

2009-05-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Dame Silvia Cartwright

Dame Silvia Cartwright. Patron of Rose Charities New Zealand, visits the Rose Charities Cambodia Eye Clinic. Please click to read the article from Stratford Press

Left to right: Mike Webber IRose Charities NZ), Dr Hang Vra (Rose Charities Cambodia) Dame Silvia, Mrs Natalia Hang, Mr Bun (Rose Charities Cambodia)

Rose Charities NZ Trustee, Mike Webber, hosted a visit by Dame Silvia Cartwright to Rose Charities Eye Clinic in Cambodia.

The New Zealand judge and former Governor-General Dame Silvia is one of five trial judges for the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal and has been based in Phnom Penh since last July. She is also a Patron of Rose Charities NZ along with Lady June Hillary.

Mike said that Dame Silvia spent 40 minutes at the clinic on Anzac Day aftershe had attended Anzac day events at the Australian Embassy.

“She was most impressed with what we are doing for the people of Cambodia. Dame Silvia is a charming and friendly person, who put all at ease very quickly, and was able to ask the staff all manner of questions regarding their work. As a non-medical person she was fascinated by the pre-op preparations for cataract surgery that took place whilst she was there. She was given a tour of the tour complex, with explanation of what was done in each area,” he said.

Mike spent seven days in Cambodia. In the past the trips have been up to two weeks long, but he said the visits are now shorter because they are fine tuning the operation at Rose Clinic and spending more time planning for the future.
Whilst there he took the opportunity to visit the school where the second intake
of refractionist nurses is in training. Cambodian National Refraction Training
Project has been established by the ICEE and Mike was one of the people instrumental in having this set-up.

“This group I saw in training was at Ang Doung Hospital in Phnom Penh. ICEE have had a huge input into this project, and have set up new offices in Phnom Penh where examinations and optometrical services will be carried out. There is input also from the Fred Hollows Foundation, and their person on the ground, Horm Piseth, is the Cambodian Overseer of selection and training for this course. Main input form ICEE Sydney comes from Gerd Schlenther,
Research and Programs Manager, Asia-Pacific, and Dr May Ho, Project Manager, South East Asia who supervises the design and implementation of the training programme.

“There are seven nurses in the intake and they come from all over Cambodia. Once trained they return to their provinces and undertake the work they are trained for and refer people to the clinic when necessary.”

The 2007 Durban Declaration on Refractive Error and Service Development recognises that the greatest contribution to a severe worldwide shortage of refractive error services is the limited number of trained personnel, a need that is most pronounced in poor and marginalized communities in Cambodia.

The establishment of a National Refraction Training Centre in Phnom Penh and the delivery of refraction training by local personnel have been identified as the most effective means to address the shortage of refraction personnel in Cambodia.

The ophthalmic community in Cambodia is new and emerging. For example, in 2007, optometric services were provided by only 19 refractionists with no national refraction training available in the country.

RANZCO has also been successful in setting up a training course for Cambodian Ophthalmology, which requires four years of internship, and there are currently nine interns on this course. Visiting lecturers are supplied by RANZCO, and some other occasional lecturers brought in from Europe, Thailand, and the U.S.A per courtesy of PBL and the Health Ministry.

In December last year Rose Charities celebrated its 10th year in existence.

International Secretary for Rose Charities said the organization is about people helping people.

^{“10 years has seen a huge amount happening. Wonderfully it has happened in ways which really follow the Rose principals of ground level, person to person, 'human scale' initiatives. Everyone - organiser, donor, and recipient all benefit. Rose Charities is coming of age, but not, I am pleased to say, by adding layers of bureaucracy and rigid administration. Rose Charities remains what it always has been, and must always be; simply people helping people,” he said.}

^{Mike said the eye clinic in Phnom Penh is well on its way to be self-sustaining but he’ll continue to visit from time to time to help fine-tune its activities. Over the past five years other kiwis have been involved in supporting this project. David Sabiston, now retired as a Trustee,
has made four visits. Christchurch optometrist and Rose Charities Trustee John
Veale has made three visits, and Ken and Penny Adams visited last year.}

2009-05-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Walking to Santiago for Rose Charities...
www.justgiving.com/denis-dronjic
The never ending road! By: Denis Dronjic

I’m not speaking of the Road to Santiago I am so anxiously waiting to begin on May 13th, I am speaking of the road we choose for ourselves; the road that brings us to our destination, only to realize, once we arrive at our destination, that the destination has always been within us during the journey.

Here I am, once again, counting down the hours before the start to the new expedition. I must say, it’s a mighty coincidence that I am starting on my Santiago expedition on the same day I set off on my ‘Pedal for the Medal’ expedition I did two years before, in ‘07. It was on May 13th, 2007 I set off from Nanaimo, British Columbia, to cycle my road bike 3,000 km to San Diego, California, to help raise money for Rose Charities. It was during this expedition when I was first introduced to my never ending road.

So here it goes…. On May 13th, 2009, I’ll be starting my walk on the Road to Santiago. I had originally learned of this 860 km road through Northern Spain , from one of Paulo Coelho’s books. Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author whom is recognized throughout the world for some of the most amazing mystical stories written. He completed this road himself and praised it a number of times in his books; that is how I came to learn of this Christian walk.

The 30+ days it took me to cycle the west coast is nowhere near the 45 - 60+ days I am predicting will take me to complete the walk to Santiago . I know, I know! I should be able to walk more the 30 km per day and get this done in less than a month. If you are rushing to get things done, sure, a person could complete it faster, if that’s what they desire. But even if I wanted to rush - which I don’t - I can’t!! I am starting the walk on my one year anniversary from the day I almost lost my legs and my life.

On May 13th, 2008, I was crushed by a car! I was riding my motorcycle when I lost control of my rear tire – due to rain and inexperience-- and since I was not able to regain balance I had to dislodge my motorcycle, only to hit the pavement and slide underneath an approaching vehicle.

The collision with the vehicle was so severe that I was thought to be dead by all the bystanders since they literally had to lift the car off my body with their bare hands. After I was revived back to life, I was rushed to hospital in critical condition. A dislocated hip like I was dancing salsa on a deserted island hanging of the coast of Spain; broken right femur; broken right head of tibia, connecting into my right knee; broken right and left fibula; broken left tibia (open fracture with more the 3 cm of bone missing); broken left ankle; broken scapula; and last but not least, like all of this wasn’t enough-- internal bleeding and swelling in the frontal lobe of my brain. Besides the road rash, I think that is the complete list of the injuries I sustained in this horrific accident.

Now don’t be shocked, it sounds worse than it really is. If you were to see me today, you wouldn’t even know I went through this. Besides a few hidden scars and limping when I walk, I function like this was nothing more than a bad dream. I mean, physically I am not what I use to be, and I might never be again, but this hasn’t stopped me from chasing my dreams on this never ending road. And that’s what this walk is: a journey, a journey to the destination called Santiago. A journey for all the children and families that don't have a chance to dream like you and I do. A journey for this world to wake up and take care of its people. A journey for all the wonderful work that ROSE CHARITIES has done and is continuing to do. A journey for you!!

Please donate, even if a dollar is all you can afford, trust me it will make a big difference. It is people like you that make the difference in this beutiful yet unfair world. I will be doing something that doctors DO NOT think is possible, and I hope you will do something I know is possible.

Thank you for taking the time to read my fundraising page. If you are interested in following my journey I am taking with my father, you may add me to facebook. Search for Denis Dronjic. I’ll be posting pictures and stories periodically when I arrive at a village that has internet. It is said that a person walking the Road to Santiago has a spiritual awakening during his/her journey, so I am sure my blogs will be an interesting read :-)

Thank you and may God bless you
Denis
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Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Rose Rehabilitation Trust gets your money faster and, if you’re a taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!

2009-05-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

CAMBODIA: The high price of jealous. Acid violence in Cambodia

Photo: William Grut/Rose Charities

Many children also suffer when some of the acid thrown towards an adult accidently drops on them

PHNOM PENH, 26 March 2009 (IRIN) - Sreygao is house-bound, her life destroyed after a jealous wife doused her face and neck with acid. It burned into her skin and blinded her.

“Everything has been taken from me because someone was very jealous,” she told IRIN.

Before the attack, Sreygao worked as a hostess at a karaoke parlor. Every night over beer, she flirted with and sometimes solicited sex to wealthy men, prompting an angry wife to take revenge on the 19-year-old.

“I have no face, no job, and I will suffer forever,” she said.

Deeper than scars

Acid throwing is a common form of retribution in Cambodia, usually perpetrated by jealous lovers, said William Grut, a physician at Rose Charities which provides free treatment.

“Whether male or female, jealousy is jealousy,” he told IRIN. “It's not a question so much for gender discussions but rather why it's so prevalent and how it can be reduced.”

Cambodia's pattern of gender blindness marks it out from Pakistan, India, and Malaysia, where it is usually the men who use acid on women for punishment or reasons of honour.

Between 1999 and 2002, the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) documented 44 cases in local newspapers – the most thorough research to date, as no government body or NGO compiles data on acid attacks.

An attack occurs every 25 days, the group said in its report. But Jason Barber, a human rights consultant for LICADHO, told a radio station that the real number of attacks remained unknown since many went unreported.

Grut said the numbers available correlated with more populated areas, such as the capital, Phnom Penh, and smaller cities in Kandal and Kampong Cham.

Manifestation

I have no face, no job, and I will suffer forever.

The widespread availability of acid to replenish old batteries, weak law enforcement mechanisms, and what Grut calls “tertiary conflict injury”, have all popularised acid-throwing.

Tertiary conflict injury is a mindset in war-torn countries that problems can only be solved with violence, with beatings and acid attacks commonplace.

For decades, Cambodia has experienced coups, civil wars and a genocide in 1975-1979 that killed two million people.

“Cambodian history has regularly been very stressful for the [ordinary] person,” he told IRIN.

“This is not the same as PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], though arguably it may be a sort of long-term manifestation of it,” he said.

Repairing the damage

Corrective surgery is out of reach for most Cambodians, with 35 percent of the population living on less than US$1 a day, according to government statistics, so most sufferers must rely on emergency services from NGOs.

“Clearly in Cambodia, facilities are far more limited than in western countries, where one would have a long series of repetitive operations gradually working things back, reconstructing, and grafting,” Grut explained. “It would all be accompanied by very close counselling and peer assistance.”

But first, more attention needs to be paid to acid attacks as they are usually not a priority for local NGOs and government agencies, he added.

“There's not enough recognition at the NGO level, but at the street level there is,” he said. “People tend to know about acid attacks as the word goes around.”

Geoffrey Cain

2009-04-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

Iron Woman of Rose Charities Australia to help Cambodian rehabilitation !

2009-03-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Canadian Model Noot Seear recently returned from a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam to visit some of the Rose Charities projects that she has been supporting for years. Noot is a model and actor and has used her celebrity contacts to help raise thousands of dollars for children and families in USA and worlwide. She is rumoured to have been cast as Heidi in the movie New Moon, which is a sequel to Twilight. This photo was taken at an orphanage in Vietnam, She also visited the Rose Charities Eye Clinic that treats over 10,000 poor cambodians for eye disease, and the FIRST Rose Clinic that conducts free surgery for children with cleft palate, burns and oter injurues. Noot is president of Rose Charities NY. for more info www.rosecharities.org

2009-03-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Rose Charities Vietnam for a wonderful meeting
(click on letter below to enlarge)

2009-03-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

OPERATION SMILE MAKES ME HAPPY

2009 March 17

tags:

by jaotte

We’ve got 6 OR tables running. Not 6 rooms, really, because some rooms have 2 tables. All the bleep bleep of anesthesia machines can make it confusing, but generally we’ve got it down.

Yesterday I assisted Prabir, a friendly plastics man from India. We did a really really huge bilateral cleft lip - not a lot of tissue to work with, a facial cleft (Type 7) and some skin tag removals, a unilateral repair with rhinoplasty, and something else which I am forgetting at present. It was a pretty good day once we got going - don’t know what the delay code is for “Luke left the key to the OR suites back at the hotel”, but that’s what happened!

Today was much smoother. Our scrub ‘techs’ were not around for the first case, so I served as the scrub nurse. I’m pretty bad at it - didn’t know all the names of the instruments, had a hard time hearing what the surgeon asked for, and even dropped a needle driver on the floor! But, we got through and our lovely Phillipino surgeon didn’t bat an eyelash. Then I found myself next door, thinking I was just observing, when I got pulled over to intubate. Easy peesy! But - the RAE tube was a bit too small [there was a little leak] so I had to extubate and by then we had some laryngospasm; it was tough to get the 2nd tube in, so the Anesthetist handled the finishing bit thankfully.

I had fun teaching a first year med student from Tulane how to scrub, and she did a great job. Didn’t contaminate anything or piss anyone off = fantastic for a first go! Waiting in the wings to scrub on the next case - a facial cleft - there was a heck of a time getting an IV in the kid. Dehydrated and cold (thanks to cranked A/C), 4 paeds anesthetists, a paeds intensivist, and a NICU nurse tried, but all they got was a pin cushion. So, the surgeon did a venous cutdown, which seemed the definitive solution but even then, a juicy vein could not be found. We were lucky that the little girl fed vigorously in PACU because that IV flow kepts ceasing. I took out the IV in post-op recovery, since she was sucking back the Tang with no problem (and the IV was just an object to be thrashed away).

Long day. About 11 hrs on the feet, with a lunch break and a bit of loitering in between being needed. I love the variety I’m getting but I’m hoping tomorrow to scrub with Dr. Sarom and see what he can do. Sounds like he is one of the best in Cambodia and I haven’t really gotten to work with him yet.

The amount of collaboration, teaching, and learning is incredible. Surgeons from each country visit their colleagues tables to see how they are doing this flap, where they are stitching this bit, whether they are using collagen here or not. Our crack dentist rigs up prosthetics for the palate and the nurses are turning heads and taking names by being superb at their jobs. We’re all learning from one another and making things go smoothly. It’s amazing what a very-well funded, well-staffed production can do in such a short time.

On Saturday, the crew will all be heading to Siem Reap. The poor among us, and those who want to see the countryside, will take the bus. The rich Yanks will take the plane. I’ll return and have another 4-5 days with Dr. Sarom. I may splurge on the return journey so that I can squeeze in an extra day in Phnom Penh. Gotta get my evaluation sorted and I’ll be off to Saigon for 2 weeks of ER in Cho Ray Hospital!

p.s. I’ve got so many rad photos, including many of the surgeries I’ve been on, up close shots of the venous cutdown, and videos from the back of the moto… but these will have to wait for my return as I’ve yet to find a cafe with a memory card reader here.

2009-03-05T01:38:00.000-08:00

Noot Seear of RoseCharities USA has he hair done in a Somaly Mam training center for hairdressers. Rose Charities USA is a stong supporter of the anti trafficking organization, 'Somaly Mam', as well as the local Cambodian Rose Charities medical and surgical rehabilitation projects. Rose Charities itself supports anti trafficking activities in Nepal.
RoseCharities USA also runs its own USA based media-education project with native American groups in Idaho.
Noot is currently (Feb-March 09) with fellow model Annie Henley, and digital artist Jason Rosenstock, visiting Vietnam and Cambodia, partly for the 2009 RoseCharities International and Regional Planning meeting.

It is rumoured that Noot is currently auditioning for a role in the Twilight (New Moon) movie as Heidi. Good luck Noot !

2009-03-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

2009-02-01T08:42:00.001-08:00

Noot Seear (RoseCharities USA) assists Somaly Mam, by modeling at their annual charity fashion show 2008

Somaly Mam is a wonderful Cambodian NGO dedicated to ending exploitation and slavery. They report...

"Many people are shocked to hear that more people are enslaved today than at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. Modern day slavery is a thriving and growing business and has been able to stay out of the public eye until recently. Action comes from conversation and conversations about slavery cannot happen unless the public is educated.

The Somaly Mam Foundation is dedicated to raising global awareness through the news, media and entertainment, celebrity voices, speaking engagements, encouraging university and high school involvement, internet communities, and other forms of communication."

Rose Charities has been working in Cambodia since 1997 and is of its leading organizations medically helping victims of acid-violence, as well as providing cleft palate, and other surgical rehabilitation procedures for the poor in properly recognized Cambodian hospital environment. With a Cambodia wide network, the organzers of Rose Charities well know what wonderful work Somaly Mam carries out and lauds their achievements strongly. Noot Seear was one of the founder members of RoseCharities USA. It is a Rose Charities policy to coodinate efforts where it can with any honest organization which will bring benfefit to the needy.

2009-01-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

The impact of disasters on children. By Dr Yaya de Andrade

(clicking on article below will enlarge it)

2009-01-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

A huge CONGRATULATIONS and our best wishes to President Barack Obama on his inauguration today 20th Janary 2009 from the whole RoseCharities USA and the whole Rose Charities Network.

2009-01-11T11:21:00.001-08:00

Note. 2008 Annual Report. Now up on www.RoseCharitiesReports.blogspot.com

2008-12-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Years message from Mr Louis Lap Nguyen, Chairman of RoseCharities Vietnam 2008

I wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am especially thankful and honored to have met and worked with a talented and dedicated group of people. This year has marked the beginning of Rose Vietnam in many special ways and we had jointly made it happened. We had built a solid foundation under the mission and framework of the larger Rose International Charities Family for which I am grateful for the guidance, support and resourcefulness. Our momentum will continue into the the years to come. I believe that the hopes and dreams of whose lives we had touched on serve as the shinning light for our purpose, the motivation for our cause and the force that had brought us together.

At some point in life I had read a phrase that goes like this: \"The finest form of charity is to enable a poor man to support himself with honor and usefulness,\" and with the little difference that we make out there in incremental pieces, I also recall someone saying this: \"To make something-something real, visible, fruitful and productive-where once there was nothing is a fine expression of one of the deepest and healthiest human instincts.\" Since then, I carry this baggage with me and reflect on it from time and again. But now, I am immensely optimistic...because...I am not traveling alone...I have you by my side.

Louis Lap H. Nguyen RPh. MBA

2008-12-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas Message from Lawrence Cheah: Chairman Rose Charities Malaysia
www.MyRoseCharity.com

Today is Xmas day.Christmas is a time for gathering family and old friends together. Christmas never fails to bring to mind the divine words."Peace on Earth and Goodwill towards fellowmen ."So, on this Christmas Day, while we exchange good wishes and entertain visions of a better future for us and for everyone else, we solemnly dedicate ourselves to do whatever is in our power for the realisation of "Peace on earth and goodwill towards our fellowmen "

But just as it makes us feel loving and loved to open the door to familiar faces and new faces of Rose Charities International global village volunteers and welcome them in,it's also a time that reminds us of those who are no longer there.

So in the midst of all our drinking,eating and getting very merry, we shouldn't forget that Christmas is also a good time to stop the usual noise of our everyday life........to remember and then celebrate those we're loved and lost .

Former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru once said : " What we really are matters more than what other people think of us " .

To achieve our international global mission statement,we will build on the strength of our volunteers,our track record and professional reputation .

WE should forge ahead towards new levels of excellence in order to create sustainable growth and distinctive value for our members and the community at large .

Mother Teresa said : " Never worry about numbers ,help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest YOU ."

We should also empower our international pool of volunteers to serve their communities,meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding and goodwill through Rose Charities Centers throughout the world .

We should have passion for everything that you do,then joy will come from that passion " .

Theodore Roosevelt once said : " DO WHAT YOU CAN,WITH WHAT YOU HAVE WHERE YOU ARE '

As volunteers , we must demonstrate to others......how much good can be achieved ( the numerous projects and activities carried out by Rose Charities CHAPTERS )by sincere efforts,unselfish spirit of service and excellent spirit of suport and co-operation in the community in which we live in .

IF you give somebody hope ,you give them dignity. Most important, you show them that somebody cares. That is how i found what i call purpose of life .. trying to lend a helping hand to someone and show them that somebody does CARE .

With another milepost in sight and another year bckoning us with hopes and opportunities for service to the commuity, we stop a moment to reflect upon our pleasant relations of the year about to close.

It is indeed,with gratitude that i look back upon the past year and thank you for your continued support and trust in electing me your Malaysian chapter president.

Your presence will be the barometer for our efforts.It will spur the adminsttration on to greater heights and achievements .It will be more than an indication of support,it will be an inspiration for even better and more projects and activities for the malaysian organisation .

May i extend to you,your family and volunteers from Rose Charities global village bst wishes for a very happy,healthy and properous NEW YEAR .

Warmest regards

Lawrence Cheah..

2008-12-11T14:56:00.001-08:00

If you are short of a Christmas present.. why not buy two in one. !! A Rose Charities Madagascar ($Canadian 15 each), not only gives a calendar but also an (almost) $15 donation to Madagascar Child Education. (the printing costs are donated). Contact Emma (Vancouver/Victoria. BC). Or the see http://www.rosemadagascar.com/

2008-12-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

Making Momo's.. Rose Charities New Zealand learns from Rose Charities Nepal.. !
.. (Click on frames to enlarge)...

2008-11-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

RoseCharities UK, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand. Short report of visit and AGM's. Fall 08

2008-08-05T03:30:00.000-07:00

13 years ago in Paris, Project IRIS was founded. I had been working in Cambodia since 1992. It was then a land devastated by conflict, brutality, genocide and pain. I arrived shortly after the United Nations troops had started to come in which followed on from the Paris Peace accord where the conflicting parties had agreed to put down arms and let in the UN as a transition government to organize elections. I went to Cambodia to work on an AMDA Japan project to assist setting up health services for repatriated refugees from the border camps. Working out of a shaky field clinic in fringe Khmer Rouges country (the Khmer Rouge had reneged on the Paris accord and not put down their weapons), we saw, among the vast array of sickness at Phnom Srouch many treatable eye conditions and that was my personal call to try sometime to do something about them. Cataract blindness is so relatively easy to treat, yet there was almost nowhere in the Cambodia at that time where the poor could get the operations they needed.

Michele Claudel, a generous Swiss philanthopist a friend of a medical colleague of mine, Dr Francois Lette who had also come to Cambodia with AMDA had visited Cambodia during this time and sponsored several Cambodian students to go to France for advanced training in Tropical Medicine. This wonderful educational initiative of hers was something hugely needed by the country. We had become friends and we decided that we should initiate an eye project. She arranged the meeting in Paris and introduced me at the time to the third of we three IRIS founders, John Stewart.

There was then a period of yo-yo'ing back and forward to Cambodia both for Michele and I, setting up infrastructure etc. The key to it all happening though was through my informal AMDA connections with AMDA Nepal, a wonderful and very organized medical organization and part of the AMDA world network. The level of expertise in Nepal developing country eye surgery was wonderful, yet there had been virtually no contacts between the Nepal and Cambodian systems. My good friend there Dr Bal Kumar Katri Chetri ('Dr KC') introduced me to Dr Basant Raj Sharma (now one of Rose Charities most experienced consultants and advisors),of Lumbini Eye hospital, the run by SEVA, who advised on our purchase of equipment and logisitcs. We decided that the 'eye camp' approach would be the most fruitful, to try to get out to the almost medieval conditions in the countryside and take the operations to where they were most needed. Without the Nepal input, and specifically that of Dr Basant, who supervised and operated at the first (and many others later) IRIS eye camp, IRIS simply would not have happened. In that sense, Dr Basant can be considered is the true founder of both both IRIS and Rose (which evolved from IRIS)

John Stewart, one of we three IRIS directors, also a talented writer and documentary maker generously made and donated this film (part shown here..for more see www.RoseCharities.org ) for IRIS promotion. John was initially a board member of Rose Charities Canada after Rose Division of IRIS became its own organization. Both John and Michele can be considered two amongst the most important founders of Rose Charities as, without their agreement, the Rose division would not have been separated from IRIS. IRIS continues to this day, expanded and carrying out wonderful work in its almost exclusive focus of ophthalmology. In 2004 the Rose Charities Eye clinic, then fully re-equipped after a terrible looting some 2years earlier by a crooked expatriate , was offered to IRIS Cambodia to be run by them or as in a joint collaboration. The offer was graciously declined. Will Grut

2008-06-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

RoseCharities Surgery

Rose Charities Rehabilitation Surgery - the '2TS' Principle Since 1997, Rose Charities has been promoting rehabiliation surgery in Cambodia and as a model for developing countries in general. This is a brief synopsis of the founding principles put into the Rose Charities Cambodian projects at that time by Will Grut. The Kien Khleang Center was identified at that time as being a suitable location for the project and Grut successfully obtained permission from the Ministry of Social action to open the Rose Charities Rehab Surgery center there. In 2002 after a horrendous robbery, looting and vandalization, the non ophthalmolgical part of the project was tranferred to Chea Chumneas Hospital and Operation FIRST established with Dr Nous Sarom to run it. This change has been most appropriate as the Kien Khleang Center, not being a proper hospital does not have proper facilities for responsible surgical procedures other than eye surgery (local anaesthetic, no risk of transfusion being necessary) and is not run by the Cambodian Ministry of Health. The following was written in 1997, but applies as much today as it did then in many countries in the developing world as well as to Cambodia

Rose Charities work with victims of land-mine and conflict injury, acid burns, cleft lip and palate, and other surgically treatable conditions ( meningoencephalocel , club foot, slow tumors , congenital malformations and many others ) is now well known all over Cambodia. Dr Nous Sarom , Operation FIRST with RoseCharities have been pivotal in this work and continue today increasing operation spectrum in areas such as micro-surgery , orthopedics, ear surgey etc, as well as training new surgeons, nursing and physical therapy staff . FIRST-Rose has an open door policy, welcoming bona fide students, residents, and other groups, local and international who genuinely and honestly wish to help the people and health system in Cambodia.

Conflict injury

Based in 1992 in Phnom Srouch, a heavily landmined and conflict infected area of Cambodia, Dr.William Grut observed that conflict health problems fell into one or more of three categories

Primary conflict injury / disability : Injury resulting directly from the conflict. Amputees, other land mine injuries, bullet wounds etc.

Secondary conflict injury / disability: Injury, as a result of the disruption of infrastructure of the county. Thus, elimination or serious reduction in health services, and / or access to those services or clinics. Lack of education. Lack of vaccination programs. Lack of health surveillance. Dangerous transport methods over destroyed roads, bridges etc. Polio, post meningitis, cerebral malaria handicaps, effects of measles, shistosomiasis etc.

Tertiary conflict injury / disability. Injury / disability caused by the 'physical conflict mindset' which sees the solution to any problem as being the use of physical violence. Thus, deliberately inflicted acid burns, beatings and other physical cruelty. Forceful control, rape etc. Tertiary conflict problems can be very much accentuated by secondary conflict effects such as the lack of a fair and functioning judicial system and / or corruption in the law enforcement services.

The Rose Charities '2TS' rehabilitation surgery concept

The focus of the Rose rehab surgery model is aimed entirely at two aspects . .. 1) an improvement in quality of life for the sufferer of the disability.... and..... 2) the ability of the country or region to sustain facilities which will lead to such improvements for future suffers.

This is achieved by the paradigm called by Rose '2TS' which stands for ... 'Treatment sustainability & Training Support' ..... and in its most basic form it is this which was defined as the basis of the Rose model based on the following observations, practical experience, and summation, below...

Treatment sustainablity

To be sustainable, health services in any country must be at a cost consistent with what a country can afford and give maximum benefit for the money spent. Since the 1970s the formula to achieve this has focused more on 'Primary Health Care (PHC), elements of vaccinations, mother and child health, sanitation, clean water, education and basic treatment of the most prevalent diseases in the community. PHC continues to give enormous benefits to the health of populations when administered properly. It thus must always be in the front line of the health improvement processes in developing countries.

Due perhaps to the success of PHC however there has sometimes been a tendency to see it as the only health process which can be sustainably implemented at acceptable cost. Surgery, on the other hand is seen as expensive, non cost effective, far to complex and sophisticated and needing inappropriately large resources to sustain a trained level of human resources.

The 'Rose model' however shows both theoretically and (by the work of Rose Charities , www.RoseCharities.org ) and in practice, that surgery too can be cheap, effective in the improvement of quality of life, sustainable, safe and highly desirable.

The Rose model is based on the observations..

Rehab surgical procedures, carried out properly in developing countries by locally trained surgeons can have costs per procedure well equivalent or less than the cost of many of the longer term drug treatments (i.e. for TB, Leprosy etc. etc). Thus a cataract operation which will restore sight to a blind person can cost as little as USD 17 (Rose Charities Cambodia figures for 2005), or a cleft lip or palate, land mine amputation etc, USD 30 - 50)

Rehab surgical procedures often have an enormous benefit, not only for the sufferer of the disability but also for her / his family, village, community. A child who has had a cleft lip or palate repaired is no longer considered 'an idiot'; he/she can go to school, get married, be employed etc. Rehab surgery thus can significantly increase the D.A.L.Y. (Disability adjusted life years ) of an individual, community or even, with nation programs, the whole country.

Populations WANT rehab. surgery. People, wherever they are, want to be cured of or at least helped with their disabilities. If you ask a group of villagers in almost any community whether they would like a clean well, instead of the old muddy stream that they and their animals may be drinking from OR sigh restored to their parents, or their children's cleft lips repaired, or their men to get proper surgical assistance to get a an artificial limb, they will invariably choose the latter. This is not an incitement on PHC, simply a statement of the fact that it is the quality of life perceived by the community itself which should be taken into primary consideration and not just the perceptions of the planners. (who, far more often than not, are not those who live in the villages where the assistance is being made.

Training support.

Support for training - the implementation of cost effective training programs is the crucial element in ensuring treatment sustainablity above. Dr. Grut realized that appropriate training programs....

Need not be expensive. They can be implmentable with the assistance of relatively small international funding agencies and/or national resources. Resources for training can be left within the country in the form of upgrades to existing facilities and or equipment donations

Already have the the basic human resources in place i.e. already qualified physicians, anaesthetic nurses, even nurse-practitioners in outlying areas already in place and interacting with the population in need.

Can be implemented by volunteers from the industrialized or other countries by multiple short term voluntary visits. This has the multiple effects of giving the international trainer a fascinating and enormously appreciated new facet to her / his vocation, making new friendships, linking the trainees into an international network, as well as the main goal of improving health care in the developing country.

Can be linked into a region or nation wide network

Have a multiplying effect, in that once trained, the recipients of training can go out and train others...

Can be linked and integrated with PHC individual or team training to provide the most comprehensive health care 'package' for the country.

2008-06-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

NEW ROSECHARITIES NEWS BLOG. RoseCharities News blog is shifting to ...
www.RoseCharitiesNews.blogspot.com .
This blog-site will remain though for general comment, words, thoughts, ideas, non-urgent updates etc, ie. here, on www.RoseCharities.blogspot.com

2008-06-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Acid Violence in Cambodia

"Acid violence defies any bounds of comprehension. It is a violation born and nurtured in hell itself, pitiless, hideous evil. It takes away both skin and flesh and the very soul of the victim. And it does so with a finality that is very often absolute.

I saw my first acid violence injury around 10 years ago. I had set up Rose Charities as an extension of my previous organization, Project Iris. Iris dealt with eye injury and sight restoration but so many injuries extended beyond the eye to the face and torso. Rose went beyond the eye to facial and other injuries. Word had gone around that there were ‘foreign doctors’ helping the injured and we had set up a simple operative and treatment clinic on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. I came in in the morning and she was there in the waiting area, led brought in by a friend.

It is hard even now, even as a physician who has seen many physical horrors in a lifetime horrors to think back on that face and body. It was as though the world had brought out a being so alien, so mutated that no other thing would ever recognize it. She just sat there on the hard wooden bench as I took her hand. She could not cry, she had no tear ducts the skin fused tightly over where here eyes may or may not lie underneath. She just sat gazing forward the mottled leather membrane, the shrink-wrapped skin of her face no longer with any elasticity or innervation to display any expression.

She had been beautiful, it was the only possession of value she owned. She had got low paid job in a restaurant. She had a boyfriend. One day it seems she refused the advances of a much older man, a government official of some importance. That evening two men were waiting. They held her down and slowly poured on the acid. And they continued to hold her while it did its work.

That’s the thing. . Simply throwing acid in someone’s face gives the person time to rush to water and prevent much of the damage. Acid will continue working and if the victim is held then it can be poured onto specific areas; the eyes, the genitals, the breasts. There are of course cases where acid is simply flung at the victim, often in a large quantity, like most of a bucket full. If the victim can then get to a source of water very quickly she can limit the amount of damage – though it may still be severe and have irreversibly damaged the eyes.

Now, some 10 years later I have seen victims of acid burn attacks at our Rose Charities Surgical Rehabilitation or Eye Centers. Although statistics are scanty and subject to the inaccuracies of translation (Khmer is a notoriously difficult language to translate into English with the same exact retention of meaning) it would seem that around 50% of attack causes are the consequences of real or perceived extramarital affairs and/or other aspects of life leading to the seeking of revenge, hate, or jealousy. A further 15% are ‘accidental’ in the sense that someone, most usually a child, has gotten in the way of thrown acid. The rest result from disputes such as over land. Cambodia’s history of conflict and successive imposed governments has ensured an enormous uncertainly in land ownership resulting in claims and counter claims.

Cambodia’s conflicts of the last 50 years have been extreme and brutal. Despite attempts to keep neutral, the country became heavily involved in the Vietnam war, its people first being hit by both sides, and before eventually succumbing to one of the most genocidal regimes of human history, that of the Khmer Rouges. In this period, some 2million persons were slaughtered, tortured, starved or worked to death. Women were forcibly married to strangers, forced to watch as their children were taken away or their babies bayoneted in front of them.

The injury and illness of conflict and post conflict zones lies in three broad categories. There is ‘primary’ conflict injury, that which is mostly associated with wars; bullet wounds, blast injuries etc. Then there is ‘secondary’ which is the disease or untreated trauma caused by the conflict induced breakdown of infrastructure and then there is perhaps the most pernicious, the most long term, the ‘tertiary’ injury of the mind where the control of others is linked with violence fear, terror. While sadly the control and abuse of women is not only restricted to post conflict scenarios it may well be one reason why it remains rife in Cambodia.

The throwing of acid is particularly linked with the third and second categories above. A very weak and corrupt legal and law enforcement system (category 2) means that the control by physical abuse (category 3) is rarely punished, or prevented. The direct injuries (category 1) can be inflicted with almost no fear of being apprehended by the legal authorities, and in the event that this does occur, it is easy to buy immunity with an appropriate payment to the right person.

Rose Charities, a partner organization of ‘One in Three Women’ has been dealing with the results of violence against women in Cambodia since 1998. Over this time the range of acid injury has been very wide indeed, ranging from a few superficial covering one or two isolated areas to 60% or more body coverage with deep penetration down to (and even affecting) bone. Scalp eyes, ears and nose may be partially or entirely burned away.

Acid burns create a spectrum of disabilities for the survivor ranging far beyond the terrible disfigurement and physical disability. Livelihoods are ruined; there is social stigmatization, breakup of families, marriages and relationships. Full time care is often needed and this, in a country such as Cambodia is not provided in any way by the state. If the victim has no family or friends to look after them then they will be utterly outcast. So often the attack takes from the victim the only real asset owned in a quagmire of poverty, physical beauty, which in many societies is the only way for a woman to advance. So the damage is also both psychological and social.

Medically and surgically help may be limited. Rose Charities has two operative surgical / medical facilities in the Phnom Penh area to try to assist the victims. One deals specifically in eye care and the other with general rehabilitative surgery. Both facilities are directed by experienced Cambodian surgeons. One of these, Dr Nous Sarom is probably Cambodia’s most experienced maxillofacial surgeon and has trained extensively both with Rose Charities and previously with other organizations including Doctors without Borders. Acid contact with the skin can have an effect akin to ‘melting’. Thus adjacent areas, such as a limb with the trunk, the space between fingers can end up being fused together. There is also a shrinking effect so that the joints can be pulled into horrific distortions. Simple surgery can usually manage to release these adhesions and contractures. but more complex injuries to areas such as ears, eyes, nose or lips ideally need specialized reconstructive surgery, usually beyond the scope of the facilities available in Cambodia. Eyelids are a particular problem. Even if the eyeball itself is spared, a functioning lid is necessary to keep the surface of the eye lubricated: otherwise it will dry out, ulcerate and eye will be destroyed. Often, in the absence of the sophisticated facitlies needed, the most appropriate action is simply to suture up the remaining lids themselves, thus protecting the eye below for some unspecified time in the future when it may be exposed again.

Physiotherapy, preferably with specialized burns therapists are hugely important, but again such personnel are limited and the specialized training is lacking in Cambodia. What is then needed are the facilities for the lengthy rehabilitation process, vocational training, reintegration etc.

Over the years, Rose Charities has done what it can on its budget to improve the situation through training of surgeons, the encouraging of specialized teams to visit Cambodia and occasionally managing to send a particularly bad case for overseas treatment. Such operations however are fund limited, but the work continues.

Cambodia is a small country with a population of warm, artistic people who have a long cultural heritage leading back to roots in the great empires of South Asia. Cambodian lives are full of tradition, ceremony and colour. People smile a lot. I think back to those smiles and my heart goes out again to those who cannot smile. The world can be harsh and cruel, but surely little surpasses the cruelty of the acid attack.

William Grut MD
www.RoseCharities.org

Rose Charities was one of the first organizations to identify and target acid violence in Cambodia. Its treatment center has now been operating since 1998. It has been assisted by several specialist overseas groups who generously provide expertise and resources to help Rose Charities Surgeons deal with the problem

One such wonderful initiative has been that of the Virtue Foundation of New York

"..Led by Dr. Ebby Elahi, an oculoplastic and reconstructive surgeon, Virtue Foundation deployed a team of physicians to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2004 to teach and perform plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Rose Charities Clinic, where many of the patients bear the gut-wrenching scars of callous acid attacks.
Deeply moved by the plight of a young Cambodian mother by the name of Yem and her infant daughter Sophan, who were both burned and disfigured by an acid attack that occurred while the baby was breastfeeding, Dr. Elahi arranged through the Virtue Foundation for mother and baby to travel to the United States in an attempt to prevent their blindness and to alleviate their deformities at the Mount Sinai Medical Center.
The entire cost of the patients’ treatment was donated by the Mount Sinai Medical Center and a team of highly specialized volunteer surgeons, including Dr. Ebby Elahi, Dr. Lester Silver, Dr. Penny Asbell, Dr. Michael Shohet, and Dr. Steven Rosenberg. Multiple surgical procedures on mother and child were followed by three months of intensive rehabilitation and follow-up care.
In January 2006, Dr. Elahi returned to Cambodia with a small team for another round of treatment to acid attack victims and patients in need of critical surgical care. During his visit, Dr. Elahi was heartened to once again see and provide follow-up care to both Yem and Sophan, whose surgeries in the U.S. last year had turned out to be highly successful, with the baby's vision now fully restored. Virtue Foundation hopes to deploy additional teams of physicians to Cambodia to continue the vital tasks of raising awareness of acid violence and training local physicians in surgical and reconstructive procedures."

Donations for any of these works are very gratefully accepted

www.RoseCharities.org

2008-06-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

27 June 2008.

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela from all at RoseCharities. You are an inspiration to us all, and to the whole world !

With appreciation and best wishes
The Rose Charities Volunteers

2008-06-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Pipe Line to Burma. A Musical Fundraiser for the Victims of the Myanmar / Burma Cyclone. Proceeds go to local organizations assisting in the relief work including RoseCharities Organized by Len Walker and 'Tsunami Haven' . Saturday 21st June. Nanaimo. See www.RoseCharities.ca for link to more information. Pipeline to Burma. Donations via www.TsunamiHaven.org or www.CanadaHelps.org (and look under Rose Charities)

2008-05-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

Update Emergency missions 1st June 2008

Sichuan

AMDA has so far dispatched 29 personnel (including 12 doctors, 8 nurses, 1 pharmacist) in collaboration with other AMDA Chapters. According to local report, relief supplies such as　tents, blankets and sleeping bags are in need for evacuees out on the streets. The evacuees were obliged to move out from homes which could easily collapse in the case of after shock.

1. AMDA HQ/Taiwan Emergency Medical Mission in Sichuan

i) Sichuan Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences in Chengdu

AMDA has formed its third relief team on May 23rd for further medical assistance at the Sichuan Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences. The team comprises 3 doctors, 2 nurses and 1 coordinator. Despite after two weeks from the devastating quake, still a number of patients have been waiting for surgical operations as well as traumatic cases commonly seen. Beside surgeries AMDA doctors are providing counseling for the latter cases.

ii) West China Hospital in Chengdu

On May 22nd AMDA’s second team has completed its four-day mission at the West China Hospital which included 2 surgeons

iii) Mobile clinic in Anxien

AMDA’s first team held mobile clinic at the mountainous village in the suburbs of Anxien. The clinic was held at a local school used for evacuation shelter.

2. Evacuation site in Sufang
AMDA’S relief team (1 surgeon, 2 nurses, 1 coordinator) has been continuing its medical relief at a gym

Myanmar

Mobile health team expands work

AMDA’s clinical staff and local township medical personnel have been workign in the remote areas of Mankaleik
RHC (Rural Health Center) of Kungyangon Township
in Yangon Division.

With 17 members, 5 doctors, 2 health assistants,
1 midwife, 3 nurses, 1 coordinator,
4 health assistants, and 1 logistic assistant in total,
the team has decided to split in two teams so as to
effectively reach severely-affected remote communities.

Under the coordination of TMO (Township Medical Officer)
of Kungyangon Township, the mobile teams plan to extend
their coverage areas to Dayae Lu RHC
and Let Khoke Gon SH (Station Hospital) sections
as soon as they complete the work in Taw Kuu.

In addition to clinical services, the teams also provide
sanitary items such as soap and water purifying tablet
along with IEC materials.

The program is based on the following...

1.Provide medical care and support to needy patients
in timely and professional manner.
2.Coordinate field work in line with MoH guidelines,
in particular those of the ER section.
3.Collaborate with existing health infrastructure and
personnel on the ground, in particular ones
in the public sector, who know the area most.
4.Promote participation from community members
who suffered but are willing to give hands
to their neighbors.
5.Maintain communication channels with various stakeholders
that include UN agencies and diplomatic missions.

AMDA-RoseCharities Canada support these missions. Please donate via www.CanadaHelps.org AMDA-Rose Charities Canada is run by volunteers and so there are almost zero administration costs. All your donation goes entirely to one or other mission (as chosen by yourself)

2008-05-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Images from AMDA Emergency Relief Clinics Myanmar

2008-05-23T01:01:00.000-07:00

Update 23rd May. Sichuan Earthquake relief

1. AMDA Taiwan Emergency Medical Mission in Sichuan

On May 17th, after having obtained permission from local authority and

assessment of the area previous days, AMDA Taiwan Mission carried out

medical activities in a village located in a mountainous region of

Anxian. 3 tents were provided to the mission where temporary clinic was

set up. 10 patients received treatment.

AMDA Taiwan Mission, consisting of 17 medical professionals, was joined

by Mr. Nithian Veeravagu, a coordinator from AMDA Headquarters, Okayama,

Japan.

On May 18th, the mission was instructed by local authority to evacuate

the area because of the possibility of dam breaks. AMDA Taiwan donated

medical supplies to village hospital and doctors and headed toward

Chengdu.

On May 19th, Sichuan Provincial Health Department issued permission for

AMDA Taiwan Mission to work at West China Hospital, West China School of

Medicine, Sichuan University(Chengdu) AMDA Taiwan Emergency Medical

Mission is the first overseas organization to receive such permission to

join the staff of West China Hospital in their efforts to treat the

victims of the earthquake disaster. As of 19th, there are 2 orthopedic

doctors, 2nurses and 2 coordinators in the mission.

2. AMDA Sichuan Emergency Medical Mission

AMDA Sichuan Emergency Medical Mission made up of 1 surgeon, 2 nurses,

and 1 coordinator. The team continues to provide medical care to the

victims in a gym, designated evacuation spot in Sufang.

Rose Charities Canada supports AMDA Canada and AMDA International. Please donate via www.CanadaHelps.org All donaations to the China Earthquake fund go to these efforts.

2008-05-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

Myanmar / Burma update relief Update 20-May-08

AMDA mobile clinics (commenced 11-May-08) continue to operate at full capacity. Hundreds of victims treated though needs are overwhelming.

Please Donate via Canada Helps. www.CanadaHelps.org - Rose Charities is listed there in the emergency donor section. All donations go directly to the AMDA clinics which began their work within a few days after the cyclone had struck.

2008-05-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

China earthqake and Myanmar cyclone disaster update 16th May 2008

For todays update please cut and paste into your server the YouTube clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4ws4-rT1LU

Or go to www.YouTube.com and search under AMDA Canada (or) RoseCharities

AMDA International field assessor Veeravagu Nithiananthan is now on site working with combined AMDA team. Expected to report back to AMDA HQ in next 24 hours re further team deployment.

Myanmar and China: Donations continue to be needed. Please see www.CanadaHelps.org where Rose Charities is listed

2008-05-15T11:10:00.001-07:00

Updates 15th May 2008

China earthquake: An AMDA-RoseCharities Canada / Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) response team is now preparing to leave for Szechuan. Dr Collin Yong (AMDA-Rose Canada) is planning to join the CUHK team members in Hong Kong and proceed from there to Szechuan. Yesterday the AMDA Japan / AMDA Taiwan team departed to join their local medical response counterparts in the area.
Dr Collin Yong is a pediatrician at B.C. Childrens Hospital and has extensive international experience including tsunami in Sri Lanka (see picture) on the AMDA-RoseCharities team.

Myanmar. Clinic work continues as per report yesterday. The death toll is now officially over 40.000 and it is likely that there are many more dying daily as many of the areas affected are reported to be still isolated.

Donors. A huge thankyou to all those donors who have helped so far. RoseCharities funds go directly to the Myanmar clinic and the China earthquake medical team support. We are all volunteers so there are no administration fees. Easiest donation method is via www.CanadaHelps.org (look under Rose Charities). There, you can choose either cause. Donations are tax deductable. Please help if you can even small amounts add up.

2008-05-14T16:26:00.001-07:00

Myanmar cyclone relief update. 14th May 2008

1. AMDA has started Mobile clinic activities from the 11th of May for

the victims of recent cyclone.

2. The clinic is conducted by local medical professionals under the guidance

of the local Ministry of Health.

3. AMDA-RoseCharities Canada have dispatched funds to help with this effort. Further funds are needed.

DONORS. Please see www.CanadaHelps.org (and look under Rose Charities)

2008-05-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

Szechuan China Earthquake update 14th May 2008

AMDA-RoseCharities Canada is involved now in the following initatives

1) Supporting and AMDA Taiwan / AMDA HQ medical support team initiative scheduled to start work today with local counterparts

2) Sending of an experienced AMDA-RoseCharities paediatrician to join University of Shanghai paediatric relief team within next few days

3) Liaising with contacts at Chinese University of Hong Kong to recruit professional personnel to assist activities

4) Fund raising for above initiatives and or general relief for this disaster

DONORS. Please go to www.CanadaHelps.org and look under Rose Charities. There is a special donation field for the Chinese Earthquake Relief fund. UK, USA, Australia, NZ donors can also go through their own RoseCharities group sites (see www.RoseCharities.net ). Thank you. Everything you donate goes to relief with zero admin. costs as Rose Charities is run by volunteers.

2008-05-13T17:36:00.001-07:00

Szechuan (China) earthquake, and Myanmar relief updates 13th May 2008

A powerful earthquake with a 7.9 magnitude hit the central region of China. The earthquake brought down buildings schools and chemical plants, killing about 10,000 people in the towns set in the hilly areas north of Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu. The earthquake happened at about 14:30 and could be felt as far as Vietnam. Rescuers are still searching frantically for more survivors among the rubble. Continuing rain in the region is hampering the effort of rescue. According to the latest news, in the town of Juyuan, south of the epicenter, a three story high school collapsed, burying about 900 students and killing at least 50.

Rose Charities is supporting its senior partner in international disaster relief, AMDA. AMDA Taiwan has a request pending to the Chinese Government to send a relief team and AMDA HQ is in negotiation to send a team from Japan. AMDA-RoseCharities Canada has experienced disaster personnel standing by (Dr Collin Yong - B.C. Childrens's Hospital, and R.N. Kirsten Reems - VHG) and is collecting donations and resources to assist.

In Myanmar, AMDA Myanmar health team is currently assisting in the disaster area manned mainly by local AMDA employees and volunteers. Funding has been sent form AMDA-Rose Canada but more is needed.

2008-05-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

News from AMDA Myanmar Relief. Also see www.AMDA.or.jp

May 08, 2008

Myanmar Cyclone Disaster I

Early morning of the 2nd of May a powerful cyclone, Nargis hit the central and southern part of Myanmar. According to the state owned TV station there are 22,000 people confirmed dead and more than 41,000 are missing. The assessment of damaged has been faced with delays and the number of victims is more likely to increase. According to some latest unconfirmed reports the death toll might rise up to 100,000.

According to the Government of Myanmar 5 regions, Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Bago divisions and Mon and Kayin States have been affected by the Cyclone and as a result are decreased as disaster areas. It is also reported that there are more than 100,000 people are facing lack of evacuation centers and drinking water. Many of them are seeking shelters at their relatives or friend’s house and temples.

Because of the scale of disaster and AMDA’s presence in the country for more than ten years, there have been a lot of inquiries and interest from the media, general public as well as from our partners and donors. The safety of AMDA-MINDS staffs (2 Japanese and 9 local staffs) is confirmed and there are no injuries. However it was reported that some of the local staff’s home were damaged by the cyclone and water.

Because of the damage to the infrastructure communication was quite difficult to establish and fallen trees and roofless houses can be seen everywhere. Cost of living has soared since the disaster. Cost of food has doubled and the bus fare has gone up by 20 times. Markets and banks have partially opened in Yangon. Public hospitals have suffered considerable damages from the cyclone and some of them are not in operation. Infrastructure has broken down and most of them are still not in operation. Especially water is causing a lot of concern. Many of the victims are drinking lake water which may result in greater health problem. Myanmar Government’s national disaster center is asking the world community for the following items: funding, medicine, tent, blue sheets, instant food, construction material, blankets, and summer clothing.
Considering the scale of damage AMDA is planning to mobilize local doctors and medical staff from the current office location in central dry area to the affected areas.

Head quarter plans to organize mobile clinic with AMDA Myanmar office and its local staff and has already given instruction to get the approval from the government.
UN, its agencies and other big organizations are sending in relief goods to Myanmar. AMDA could act as a coordinator in distributing these goods to the people in need. The instruction has been also given to look into the possibilities.
Latest news:
Early this morning (8th May) one of the head quarter staff has left Japan for Bangkok to purchase relief items for the victims.

2008-05-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

MYANMAR CYCLONE RELIEF UPDATE

Current estimates.. 22,000 dead, over 100,000 (probably more) homeless. Many areas still cut off. AMDA-RoseCharities Canada is supporting AMDA HQ and AMDA Myanmar relief efforts. Below is latest update of progress....

AMDA Headquarters staff are in close contact with AMDA Myanmar office

since May 3rd. Because of the damage to the infrastructure
communication was quite difficult to establish but thanks to the hard
work of our staff we are keeping good communication line with the
Myanmar office. AMDA's office has also been hit by cyclone and some of
our local staff have suffered damages to their houses but fortunately
they all are fine and eager to offer assistance to other victims.
According to their information, cost of living has soared since the
disaster. Markets and banks have partially opened in Yangon. There are
no official evacuation sites for the victims, many of them are seeking
shelters at their relatives or friends house. Public hospitals have
suffered considerable damages from the cyclone and some of them are not
in operation. Rich people go to private clinics for the treatment of
injuries. Infrastructure has broken down and most of them are still not
in operation. Especially water is causing a lot of concern. Many of
the victims are drinking lake water which may result in greater health
problem. Myanmar Government's national disaster center is asking the
world community for the following items: funding, medicine, tent, blue
sheets, instant food, construction material, blankets, and summer
clothing.
AMDA's position at this moment....
1 Centers are being set up to take care of the health problem.
As many of the big organizations, such as UN and
related organizations, have been faced with difficulties getting into
the country, AMDA's achievement in the past and our present activities
in Myanmar are great advantage in implementing ER activities this time.
Our Yangon office is useful as a strategic basis
for ER activities.
2. Our Myanmar activities in Myanmar means that . There we have local doctors and other staff members
working for our project who can be very good possible human resources
for our ER activities.
3. Our International Chapter members are also our great assets as
usual. ASEAN countries have easier access to Myanmar. Many of them do
not need visa to enter Myanmar. As we have chapters in these countries,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, we may be able to
form AMMM depending on the permission from Myanmar government. Nepal as
well as India Chapters may also be able to take part in this. AMDA Canada
is offering assistance as well. Whether we are able to
dispatch AMMM to Myanmar or not, depends on the permission from Myanmar
Government.

The plan:
1. Medical... Mobile clinics with AMDA Myanmar- Govt approval pending

2. General relief... Distribution of relief materials from AMDA as well as other donating agencies

2008-03-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

2008-03-04T06:28:00.000-08:00

Rose Charities 10 Year Conference Penang 2008

Rose Charities International, comprising a group of non-political, non-profit, secular, independent organisations based in several countries, organised its inaugural international conference and planning meeting at Cititel Penang, Malaysia, recently.

The conference, held from February 22 to 24, 2008, entitled “New Perspectives in International Response” was attended by over 30 delegates from participating countries such as Australia, Canada, Madagascar, Vietnam, Nepal, Belgium, United Kingdom, Indonesia, USA, Cambodia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe and Guyana.

Dr B. Anthony, president of AMDA(Association of Medical Doctors of Asia) Malaysia and host-organizers of this event, shared that the conference enabled all members and supporters of Rose Charities groups and projects worldwide to meet, exchange viewpoints and create friendships, strengthen international co-operation between Rose Charities branches, define medium and long term direction and priorities for Rose Charities, provide a forum to present and discuss all aspects of field projects, new programmes and initiatives, to extend thanks and appreciation to all who have made and continue to make Rose Charities what it is today as well as to celebrate ten years of Rose Charities International project work.

The keynote lecture was presented by Dr Collin Yong from the British Columbia Children’s Hospital, Canada and amongst the other projects papers shared by the delegates were ‘Infectious Diseases and Palliative Care in the Philippines’ by Ms Lise Groot, ‘Eye Camps in Nepal’ by Dr Basant Raj Sharma, ‘Micro-credit and Community Programmes’ in Sri Lanka by Mr Anthony Richard, ‘Child Care Projects in Madagascar’ by Ms Cheryl Anne Pine, ‘Emergency Disaster Response’ by Ms Kirsten Reems, ‘Rehab Surgery in Cambodia’ by Dr Nous Sarom, and ‘Corneal Transplants & Braille Teaching in Vietnam’ by Mrs Jan Johnston.

The conference ended on a high note with the Rose Charities International 10^th Anniversary banquet dinner including the presentation of “Charity Rose’ Awards 2006/2007 at Cititel Penang.

Rose Charities International is made up of a group of independent organisations based in several countries which are non-political, non-profit and secular; all linked by a common aim, which is to rehabilitate people to a better, more productive life.

It started in Cambodia in 1998 by aid workers with the aim of delivering effective, sustainable programmes directly to those in need, with minimal bureaucracy and with transparency at every stage. Their projects include developing peace among communities through programmes such as ‘Peace through Education’, ‘Vocational Training for Youths’, ‘Peace through Sports’, ‘Counselling’, ‘Leadership Training for Children, Youth and Women’, ‘Relief and rehabilitation, ‘CRO Enterprise Development’ and other educational and health related projects.

…/2

2008-03-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

Pip - Whil
Pip - While you were pounding round the colliseum I was pounding round Angkor Wat. It is 200 square km of ruins and two solid days of clambouring over temples has produced a new anciient ruin.....but they are marvellous...even when fighting through bus loads of jabbering koreans ..all in sun hats and face masks. But it was possible to be alone. As soon as you left the main temples behind you found exquisite little temples floating in the heat haze ...completely empty ..with nothing but the ringing cicadas...and everywhere the stone carvings: the dancing apsara, naga the 7 headed hamadryad, garudas, buddahs and elephants.
There must be 20-40 thousand people through every day...but the whole place was spotlessly clean...even the loos. That was really amazing...because Phnom Phen was anything but spotless.

We are now in Vietnam...in Hue. Today we went out to see our Rose Project. A fascinating drive off the main road and down little bumpy farm roads between padi fields and family tombs ...and eventually found a little blue building with a big banner saying welcome to Rose Charities. And inside almost everyone is blind. But we are escorted upstairs and given glasses of water and talk to the director...who is also blind. We talk through a translator..and are told that the money we sent them has allowed them to furnish a classroom with tables and chairs and books etc for 20 people to learn braille. We are taken downstairs...it is all desperately poor...but there is the classroom...full of 20 men and women...all beavering away at their braille reading and writing exercises. They all stand up when we come in and burst into a welcome song. Everthung has "rose charities" writtren on it...the desks, chairs, even the braille books. The teacher is young and enthusiastic ...and longs for a computer to teach them computer braille. He was at university when he suddenly lost his sight. So he taught himself braille...and this project has given him a few months of salary and a project that he is empassioned about. .

It is late and we are off on a long day trip tomorrow

xxJosiem of ruins and two solid days of clambouring over temples

2007-08-06T08:27:00.001-07:00

2007-08-06T08:24:00.001-07:00

2007-08-06T08:17:00.001-07:00

2007-08-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

Emergency flood relief, South Nepal...

We went early in the morning to search the affected flood area. We had also Co-Ordination by Phone with AMDA staff especially with team leader Mr. Niraula. We observed two areas where people were staying in the school leaving house because of flood.

We went each House and met with each people from the morning but AMDA group was not visited yet. So we went to search more 15 KM far area almost near border but most people were unmanageable. They had House, Animal, Food, medicine and Animal crops problems. I went each House to get data. When we came back from the border the Health camp was running in the School. I met with Mr. Niraula and introduce my team and local political leader to support him in any problem. It was very big crowd in the Health camp. It was difficult to handle staff alone. So we made plan tomorrow to appoint local volunteer to control and deal with people. We went for lunch around 3 PM but before lunch went to meet with local police officer to get actual victim and needy people's data although we were also collecting data individually. We found 160 House are almost victimized in our first observation area and near health camp area 150 House were affected.

Tomorrow we and AMDA is going to distribute ration and some cloth from our side and only cloth from AMDA side together. I have chosen spot for distribution in the police office in front of 8 political parties and social worker. We observed that we can not distribute out side because people can create trouble to us. We should put police for our security which is obviously known to Mr. Niraula [AMDA leader] looking people's attitude today in the health camp.

Goodbye. Thank You.

Binod Aryal

2007-07-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

After 2 months in Sudan

Well, who would tell that time in Malakal goes so fast.
Almost time to go back to my life, first in Brazil, and later in Vancouver,
where I know I will go to many matinees, work a little, hopefully continue
my outreach travels, and eat lots of sushi…

Anyway, I have learned a lot working with the UN in a remote town,
devastated by armed conflicts, with a social structure that includes a
town/tribe court, and many groups who came here to provide support,
including the UN, NGOs, religious groups, and see all these signs in various
language – Arab, English, French.

It is wonderful to me to have dialogues with "nationals" who seek
counseling, and discuss their dilemma between 2 cultures- the traditional
one which establishes rules that not always are efficient in modern life.
For example, one of my "clients," a bright young man in his late twenties
struggles because his father wants him to get married, and has collected a
few cows to give to the bride's family. It seems that the average is 30
cows. He thinks this is absurd as he has a good job at the UN, and knows
that he will be able to provide his wife to be with a reasonable life. Also,
he wants to marry a woman who is bright, has ambition and admires what he
does. He struggles, and when we finish sessions, he usually grab my hand and
say – this was so good. I feel free talking to you.

It is almost disconcerting how the people treat me with gentle manners. They
always want to carry my heavy packs, always asking if I need anything, it is
remarkable. Some cannot believe that I am this old, and come and show to
others, and ask them to guess how old I am, and they admire because
according to some, many people at my age would be dead, and if not, they
look really old.

I continue to love the skin of their faces, with tattoos like lines,
sometimes they look like embroided faces. I wish I could take pictures.
Perhaps in the end, some of them would accept to take pictures with me.
Somebody told me that they are writing a petition to get me back in Malakal.
I was offered a real job with the UN for one year contract. It was
attractive, but not in my age, but I agreed to come for another 3 months –
up to December, so I will be back in Sudan, likely not in Malakal because
there will be other challenges.

Life and work is possible because I am living mindfully, and in every moment
I feel right to be here, to do what I am doing, and to help others to feel
that this is part of their journey. There is no doubt most of us have
thoughts about being here, AND about being or not being somewhere else. Only
a few of the people I see are truly citizens of this town. We are all
visitors, and we must remember to leave things in order, and make even
better after leaving. I continue absorbing more and more David Brazier's
books – I keep reading them again, and making notes, which I likely will
delete soon… The desire for so many things, for company of loved ones, for a
pedicure. It is amazing how sometimes it is hard to keep the fire in
control, smile at all thoughts I have about somewhere, someone who is not
present. And then I am able to return to my life and work in Malakal.

My last challenge was to fix or better say, to organize the laundry at the
Log base camp. I was excited with the task, and hopefully could complete
before I leave, in a less than 2 weeks. It is almost done. I dream with
clothes lines… should be an architect. Hahaha.

Last week before I went to Khartoum we had horrible storms and the flight I
was going to Khartoum did not land in Malakal, so the following morning we
took a small plane and ended up landing in another city because there was
the possibility of another Haboob in Khartoum. So, it took me more than one
day to arrive, but the training was excellent. Some form of Myers Briggs
stuff, we laughing discovering our preferences and matches in the counseling
team. I am glad that the new counselor who will come to Malakal – Jane is an
African who thinks like me, make decisions based on same principles, and
already knows she will love to come and replace me, after telling her the
adventures and the projects.

My undone project is a Peace park, involving the UNMIS police and the local
police, and I am sure she will carry one for me.

So, I have to go because I have a few meetings, and all. I am not
overwhelmed with the end of this, but I am in touch with how much I miss
many people around, particulars of my routine, and at the same time I
already know that I will miss this challenging job, its surroundings, the
people I met. But it is reassuring to know that I will come back, and may
meet some of them.

Keep the water boiling and we will have coffee soon. Hopefully a strong and
fresh one. With pao de queijo, or anything else that is appealing to our
taste.

Be well, love to all
Yaya

2007-07-20T14:54:00.001-07:00

Oh Ya!

Yes, I laughed out loud! Out loud! when I read you are in charge of a

cafeteria!! How incredibly funny is that?! Its perfect, absolutely

perfect postioning for you. You love the food and serving of it to

others, and what better worker care than providing it! that's the best

yet! Don't especially like the news of the landmines being replaced

with new ones though, that must make you quiver a bit, no? Your stories

of how difficult things are with UN folks and the people of Malakal

remind me of Romeo Dallaire's story in Rwanda. Certainly the image of

the 'good' UN doesn't stand up. Although one of the things that I

remember being problematic was that partner countries with the UN

weren't contributing the dollars they promised which meant the UN didn't

have money. At any rate, you sure have your work cut out for yo

supporting those folks, but a daunting task! Especially considering the

short time frame. It seems an overhaul is required really, which is way

out of your role, for sure. But, I have no doubt already the place is

better...with your energy and willingness to dive right into working.

Metal bars? Rebar maybe, from construction sites? If so, they are

worth a lot of money. Here when they take down buildings they save the

rebar and sell it to Asia somewhere, who recycle it for their buildings.

They weigh a lot! Maybe by the time this is done you'll have defined

muscles on your arms, stomach and legs? (grin)

How wonderful to be meeting all these people from around the world,

different cultures! How especially wonderful to work with the people of

Malakal, to become perhaps, someone they can trust, even a little.

Here things are moving along. I had the first Provincial Disaster

Psychosocial Advisory Council meeting yesterday and it went well. I

look forward to seeing how this will work out, the main goal is to now

move this forward integrating psychosocial planning etc. into the larger

system, across ministries. Right now, as you know, the province is

preparing for very serious flooding, they are working 12-14 hours every

day getting ready. Maybe I told you in the last email that in the worst

case scenario, if the weather melts the snow too quickly we may have to

evacuate up to 100,000 people! And for those who have no place to go,

we will be putting them into group lodging. Evacuatioln of hospitals is

a possibility, over 600 beds, including the forensic hosptital. Anyway,

DSTRS is on alert. Next week is the DSTRS workhop again.

Otherwise, my life is very tame. I spend a lot of time alone now,

interesting. Perhaps I have withdrawn again.

So, my friend....you are no doubt richer today than yesterday, with

experiences and learning. Money wise too perhaps...the school board

cheque came.

Hugs to you,

Love heleen

2007-07-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

here is, another week, almost half way through, it is passing faster than I thought.

Imagine if my 60th birthday I will be in a kitchen serving a bunch of military and civilians in a Sudanese poor city ofMalakal. something to remember eh? as brasilians would say - finish this work with " chave de ouro." hahaha

There is hope, always.

I know that you may believe, but this week has been great.

First, there were parties and movie nights (with the Indian battalion).

Many people approached me, and already know who I am, thanks to the big boss who introduced me to staff via email. Even he is now all praise and smiling, asking if I need anything, etc.

I find that email is a great way to connect not only personally with all, but also with staff in Malakal, and I have to think about how to use it in terms of counseling and welfare. Perhaps I could write positive things for all to read, or some ways to cope with boredom, missing home, about frustration, acknowledge the work of people who sometimes get the rage of those in power (not necessarily an authority on what they criticize, like one of the engineers told me one morning).

Heleen's tips on dealing with managers helped a lot.

I still struggle to see what exactly can I do in such a short time (to me seems too long, for everybody else is toooooo short as they tell me !!), and in a way I am convinced that perhaps I will come again, if there is a possibility- but I think I say this so they don't reject me in my temporary tasks...

I am sorry to say, but the UN in the capital don't have much direct experience about what goes on in the field in these small towns. There is a young man from Morocco who talked to me daily about this, and he keep pointing out that there is so much waste - it is true, the garbage we (UN) are creating is disgusting.

There is another guy from Afganistan- he takes a long route to the office and tells me about his family, his annoyance and his stress. Another one, who lend me his computersometimes comes to the office I am sitting (with the crew of local womenwho clean the place !) and tell me about his blood pressure, and healways leave saying - it is so nice that you finally came... as if he knew I would come. Oh my god

The women who clean is another story. I found 2 boxes filled withtshirts, women clothes, children clothes, and some shoes and I offeredto them. Now they treat me so nice, always coming and smiling, andcleaning my desk. They leave their water in front of the air conditioned to cool... and the water is horrible, yellowish, and I know they are not getting treated water. So I mentioned to someone, and the answer - they are accustomed with this water, don't worry.

I had an interesting experience, asked by the manager to be an observer of a task force. There 3 sectors involved and these "sub managers" don't talk well with each other. Collaboration is not a word being practice here.

Anyway, one of the tasks was to get a crew taking a pile of metal rods -lots of them, a sore to the eye - and moving. So we all agree to meet at8 hundred hour... as they say - a la military ! and there I was. Until 9:30 I was the only "leader" who showed up and the local workers. I was a great model of labor, and one of them look at me and said "you strong" as if alarmed, or surprised, as I was carrying these stupid things back and forth with them. It was the day to get a great tan, and many bites.

I counted 31 last night. My leg is in bad shape... by 11 AM I decided that the men needed water. And there was this argument with the woman, who certainly is beyond burned out... she told me supply water - slavery? I know the UN does not supply water to us. I must pay 10 dollars every 4 days for a dozen of bottles - to drink, brush my teeth, and make coffee...I could not believe. I told the men to stop working and take a break, and they seemed to liked me even more... and they looked at her defiantly. She could not believe. Well, the work was done finally.

Every day there are challenges to be faced and surprises to be considered.

Last week I went to a meeting, one of those burocratic meetings where 20 or so reps of particular organizations like the UN, UNICEF, Doctors without borders, and lots of NGO sit around... on security. And, as I was supposed to go to a small town nearby, one of the team sites as we called, I asked about the conditions of the road. Then one of the Cambodian told me that they collect 154 land mines (last week? Last month?) and 3 days ago they cleaned that particular road, and the day

after some car hit a (new) landmine... so I guess they are going to send me by helicopter sometime next week. Incredible to think that someone clean up the threats and danger, and just to find out that it is an on going process. Andd I heard yesterday that a convoy was "interrupted" by milicia and someone was beated up - there I go, visiting in a CIS debrief..

This trip is a process, a la Indiana Jones. If someone asked me what is the result, there is not much to say - there is no treasure in the end of the (hot) tunnel, it is pure process, and likely I see it as a reflection of what is gong on politically and socially. It is hard to work towards one particular goal as the process shows that is constantly revolving, or at least evolving to something else.

The highlight was that fi nally I hold a meeting with all staff interested in forming the Welfare committee, and even I was surprised to see that 9 people came. A successful meeting, according to the director (who sleeps in all meeting, and was somewhat awake in this one!!), and I was appointed chair until I leave. A cafeteria at HQ will be open under my command. Can you believe? Being in Sudan, in a town called Malakal, opening a cafeteria. And you will laugh even more when I tell you that I suggested a pan for its name STAFFBUCKS - given that the UN is not giving a cent to us, and we need to find ways to make money... they don't know what fiasco I am in

business. Anyway, the cafeteria has been cleaned spotless, I found someone to make bread, a delicious Kenian brioche that when I brought samples people could not believe that was made locally... I am know now to find jewels in this place.

Hahaha.

Now I am in Khartoum, in a bed and breakfast you must look at google - it calls Bougainvilla guesthouse, ran by a couple, Norwegian and Danish, he is a physician and she is a nurse. Lovely people, and I feel pampered. It is walking distance from the UN and it will be great to be around for a day or so with no work, not around military, and certainly with a decent breakfast (which is included in the 50 dol night). I woke up again with the religious prayers and chanting of Khartoum, and there was a familiarity already.

We all had one evening in the Blue Nile - finally I got to take a few pictures... and all is fine.

back to work now.

So, this is my week folks. There is hope eh?

Muita saudade dos brasileiros.

I miss you all, looking for to come home, finding a new home, sharing

it, as always.

Perhaps even more than one home...

And see what is next.

Keep well, keep healthy, and filled your life with joy and love.

Always

Yaya

2007-02-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Visiting Rose Charities Cambodia.... full account.. see

http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/Phnom-Penh/blog-126628.html

ET Dorward family

Rose Charities Cambodia

We are back in Phnom Penh again this time on our way to Kampot in the south.

While preparing for this trip it was apparent there was a great need here. Cambodia is a country only just beginning to emerge from the ravages of war. American bombing in the 60s, civil war, genocide, and more civil war pretty well sums up the previous 40 years. We have been witness to a building boom here, much of it being generated for and from the tourism industry. However once the hotels are built then what? Not everyone can drive tuktuk or clean hotel rooms. As usual in the third world a select few seem to benefit. In today’s paper the garment industry just announced a minimum wage increase from $40 to $45 per month and they are the lucky ones. For the vast majority of Cambodians a brush with the tourist dollar or a factory job is the stuff of dreams. So to for many is basic healthcare. Imagine not knowing what your grandchildren look like because of blinding cataracts or suffering day after day unable to function because of untreated and improperly healed wounds or burns.

Today we took a

Dr. Vra at work

day to visit with Cambodians working to help the disadvantaged here with these needs. Before coming to Cambodia we made a donation to Rose Charities Kien Khleang sight restoration centre and Operation FIRST Cambodia

Our first stop was the Kien Khleang centre. There we met briefly with Dr. Hang Vra. His morning is spent examining patients and today was no different, in the afternoon he does the eye surgeries. Taking him away from his work for a handshake and a hello was enough. Many of his patients come long distances at great inconvenience and expense to see him and who would want to do that then have some tourist show up to visit with the Doctor. Instead his assistant showed us around the facility and introduced us to some patients. I don’t have the words to begin to explain the need here, of course equipment is high on the list and the patient recovery areas are very basic. $25 pays for a sight restorative eye surgery.

Our next stop was to visit Dr. Nous Sarom with FIRST Rose rehabilitation surgeries at the Chey Chumnas Hospital. The Operation FIRST Cambodia facility is newly built and offers corrective surgery

Patients waiting for eye exams

for tumors, burns, wounds and congenital defects such as cleft palate. Dr. Sarom had just returned from a plastic surgery conference in Vietnam and so there were no patients there today. Tomorrow morning he has three surgeries, a cleft palate, a foot skin graft and a burnt hand thats healed shut. He has need for a modern suction device, operating table and separate toilet for patients. $50 covers the cost for one complete surgery.

Unlike the NGOs who’s brand new SUVs we observed parked outside expensive downtown riverside restaurants, both these charities have little overhead, donations go right to the Cambodians in need being helped by Cambodians. We encourage anyone reading this to consider making a donation to Rose Charities with the knowledge your donation is helping those that need the help.

Cam with patients
As usual people took a shine to Cameron. This woman wanted to keep him.

Talking in the opthomology office
Providing opthomology services to the poor is new for Rose.

Explaining the varios eye surgeries
About 7 out of 10 surgeries involve cataracts.

Operation FIRST Cambodia

Dr. Sarom talking about Operation FIRST

Operation FIRST O.R. room

Operation FIRST prep room

Operation FIRST recovery room

Operation FIRST st

2006-09-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

A quick update from down under.

Have just completed the second stage of my TRANS OZ walk for ROSE- Meckering to Medderin as well as the chunk from Freemantle on the Indian Ocean to Perth.

The walking was good - with an improved cart - a Chariot Cheetah 2 - a big improvement over the 2004 equipnment albeit the tires need an upgrade - there is a particular type of low Aussie thornbush that punctures the tires with no conscience.
3 flats en route till I figured out what the culprit was. One more day in the next session will have me through the Wheat Belt and into the Ghastly Blank. Whilst I can move unsupported for most of the next section it is clear that I now have to work on the putting in place an upgraded support mechanism as the ghastly blank is just upon upon me.

Met a lot of good people en route - an Austrian bicycling from Kalgoorlie to Perth yielded a roadside chat and a contribution of $10 for ROSE. An inadvertent stop in a toy stoy in Merredin to pass some time waiting for a bus - yielded some more good people, a good chat and another $10 for ROSE. This and a more significant allocaiton will be transmitted to ROSE upon my return to Whitehorse later in September.

Just outside of Merredin I was overtaken by a mob of Brits - a lad Dave Cornthwaite who is skateboarding across Aussie - similiar route to moi, for three charities. He had his own personal massage therapist (girlfriend!), 3 support vehicles, a film maker and about 5 other support team members. He expects to be in Brisbane by xmas. We had a good roadside film session and later on in Merredin a few beer swapping information and encouragement. As a former graphic designer he even offered to do a web site for me if my daughter fades on that mission! A picture of "The Walking Man" is available on Dave's website along with a narrative comment on our meeting! www.boardfree.co.uk - gallery for pic and Dave's blog for narrative.

Today I took in the RC of Perth meeting and established some additional contacts and support for future years. On Sunday, I head east to Adelaide to meet with Rotary clubs there and then Melb and then Sydney before heading home on the `18th of September.

Before heading to Perth I stopped in at the Sydney Children\s hospital to see a 3 and 1/2 year old kid fighting luekemia - Matthew Brock. I had sent him three boxes of toys as a boost and needed to cap off the initiative by seeing him bedecked in a TEAM CANADA hockey jersey and ballcap. A spiderman figure which shoots water was seeing effective use on the nursing corps and young Matthew was grinning at the prospect of a surprise for his doctor (The Prof) - I met his mum and grandmum. A slight diversion from my main Aussie objective but one worth addressing because " In the End, Only Kindness Matters". I had a number of gold plated coins done up and they are proving to be very effective at raising awareness and commitment to the projects aims. Prior to leaving Canada I had been in contact with Steve Nash Foundation in Vancouver and they had committed to sending Matthew some appropriate Steve Nash autographed item.

I hope to forge a stronger relationship with that Foundation in the future to look at opportunities for mutual collaboration and support.

I am the charter club president for a new RC in Whitehorse - the RC of Whitehorse Entrepreneurs - to be chartered in October upon my return and this will be a useful vehicle to opening more doors and gaining more support for my ROSE related initiative.

From Down Under,

The Keeper of Australia Mt

2006-06-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Latest update from Indonesia from Kirsten Reems...

Hello to everyone! You've probably seen the news, Mt Merapi is erupting as I type!! It started this morning which caused an earthquake (small one) and is now erupting There is NO danger in this city at all, it's only 30km away, but there's no chance the lava will flow this direction....apparently there will be ash rain though, so when it starts we have to stay inside......We were supposed to go to jojakarta today and see the hospital and the earthquake ruins, BUT nancy and I decided NOT to go, it's to close to the volcano for our liking, and there's to much concern over getting stuck in traffic....pretty obvious decision if you ask me! the rest of our crew is gone, but i'm content with my decision! You can see it from our city, its' pretty neat...lots of HUGE clouds, but safely in the distance....

We've still been having a GREAt couple of days...I spent some time in the OR yesturday, saw a total hip replacement and an ORIF of a humerus,it was pretty well done.

We did a presentation to the hospital staff this morning which was awesome, on infection control and wounds....we did a little skit and had a great time....they had lots of questions and i think we got some really valuable info across without seeming like 'superior know it all' canadians!!

I had some fun yesturday handing out a tonne of toys....got attacked by the kids which was hilarious!! The people are wonderful, so so happy to see us and intrigued with my hair, the foods great (nasi nasi nasi!!!), still no real shower (there's running water, but pretty gross bathroom.....), and we're hardly sleeping...to darn hot and noisy! but, loving it, a few days to go....loads of love.... kirst

2006-06-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Email from Kirsten Reems Monday 5th June 2006:

Wow, Here we are in beautiful HOT Indonesia, amazing amazing time so far!! This will have to be quick, internets really hard to find!!. We're in Solo at Soeharso Orthopedic Hospital, normally it has 200 patients, right now it has 500plus. The earthquake hasnt done any damage at all to Solo, but it is taking all the complicated ortho patients....which is TONNES from the quake, so many stopries of walls, beams, beds, falling on people...its quite a poor city. We're staying in the hospital in a little room, no shower, lovely squatty potty, tiny cots....life is grand! Nancy's great to be with, she's really enjoying it too. and I cant get over how much we are learning and how much we are teaching!!
The things we are seeing are horrific, we spent all day today doing wound care and dressing changes in the infection room, honestly the worst infections I have ever seen, never even thought possible. The technique they use to change dressings is awful, no sterility, same instruments and gloves between patients, and antibiotics are unaffordable for most of these poor people, so infection just spreads. We did a lot of teaching today, and got them doing sterile technique, and we're doing a presentation to all the staff ( they're coming in on their day off to hear it !) on wound care and infection treatment because they are so lacking in it! The worst so far was an 11 year old boy, I took off his dressing, expecting to see a "normal" surgical incision and I found an entire exposed tibia! The whole bone, right there, green flesh around it, unbearable small...he still had sensation, but the kid needed an amputation so bad....and a man with 4toes all open bone....like, right there! Amputation needed to happen now! I got some amazing ( well horrendous) pictures and , these people have np pain meds....NONE! They get bupivicaine in the OR and that is all, Its just amazing if you compare it to so many in our narcotic dependant needy sociaty. There are about 5 other doctors here from other parts of Indonesia and the Phillippines but thats it, no other military help or NGO's so we've got lots to do !
So work work work for 4 more days, its exhausting and amazing, this just fires me up! even though its so hot, you're barely sleeping, and you're working your butt off....you feel so alive, so purposeful, and we're so useful!

2006-06-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

Nancy Arbuah working with an Indonesian physician dressing wounds in Solo 4th June 2006

2006-06-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

Kirsten Reems dressing a wound at the Solo Hospital.
There are still apporx 500 patients in a hospital built for 200, many with serious orthopedic problems and severe wounds from the earthquake. No other NGO is working here.

2006-06-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Three nurses left Vancouver for Indonesia on Thursday. They will travel to Solo, about 70 km from the earthquake zone and will be working at the hospital there with an international team run by AMDA.

Kirsten Reems has already been to 2 other disasters: the Tsunami in Banda Aceh and Hurricane Katrina. Jeff Miguez, has just returned from 3 months in Nepal. Nancy Arbuah has never done anything like this before.

They should be arriving by now and hopefully they will be in touch