Whistle While You Work

Life isn't all fun and games in Lao.....mostly, but not all. I'm also working quite a lot and thoroughly enjoying it. COPE, the organization I work for, is great and working in the NGO sector has been an eye opening experience. It's a huge change from clinical work and a welcome one, at least for now. COPE has a couple of different facets to it but primarily is an advocate and support for the Prosthetic, orthotic, physical and occupational therapy aspects of the PMRC, physical medicine and rehabilitation center. COPE runs an amazing visitors center to inform tourists about UXO (unexploded ordinances) and their affect on the Lao people. It also assists in development of clinical staff (my role here) and provides outreach to spread awareness and access to rehabilitation services.

The visitor's center has over 10,000 visitors annually and is a huge success. I've learned some amazing information from my visits there. First of all, Lao is the MOST bombed country in the world. During the "Secret War", a bomb was dropped every 19 minutes along the Ho Chi Min trail out of Vietnam and into Lao by the USA. These bombs lay dormant in Lao and are activated by heat (from cooking fires) or people trying to recover scrap metal for money or children who don't know any better. Just recently a couple of children were killed, when they had a bonfire that heated an underlying bomb which then exploded. It's crazy to think that we did this to this country and these sweet and innocent people. It's hard not to feel pangs of guilt. I have to remind myself that I am here doing all that I can to help.

I have been spending much of my time developing curriculum for the P&O staff here. We had a meeting today to discuss potential topics and needs for training. Let's just say that the list is extensive and a bit overwhelming. In addition to trainings, I'm working to source materials from the US to expand our range of orthoses we an provide. New materials mean more training as well of course.

I've also been working on outreach materials to try and educate patients on their disabilities and treatment. It's amazing how hard that is in a country without roads or education. Lots of the villages don't have schools or if they do, only until grade 2 or 3. It can be overwhelming with how much need is here.