Life at the Safe House in Cambodia

This report was sent to NJT-Ottawa in June. Apologies for taking so long to post it! NJT-Ottawa has supported this safe house through sending medicines and medical supplies:

Life at the Safe House is really getting organized and the facility is looking more and more like home every day.  The security guard / gardener plants and cleans and has made our yard a real home. 

The counsellor is meeting daily with the girls and we are seeing great progress in their lives.  They are settling into their new routine nicely.

Every morning they get up at 6:30am and do their exercises with the house mothers and get ready for school.  They put on their school uniforms with crisp white blouses with shiny buttons up the front and pleated deep blue skirts that go down just below their knees.  They love their uniform and it makes them feel normal as all children in Cambodia wear this uniform to school every day.

They love to do fun things with their hair and so I am always surprised with their "creative" hair do's.  (I told them we have "Crazy Hair Day in Canada"). 

Then at 8am they are ready for their morning classes of Math and Khmer and Science and History.   In the afternoon they have art and dance and of course their very favourite thing right now ... knitting.   Yes ... knitting! 

Each girl has a bicycle and they go riding a couple times a week down by the riverbank which is cool and very beautiful and peaceful.   The house mothers also love to take them for walks after dinner just before the sun goes down.  It is cooler and you can smell the cooking that is happening all over the city.  hmmm!

Usually in the afternoon each girl visits the counsellor is our amazing counselling room for about 1 hour.  This allows them to share their feelings, hopes, dreams, and fears and we are able to guide them through them all.

The smaller one was plagued with nightmares of her perpetrator but we have seen much change and peace come into her life.  She is now more peaceful and content.  Her mother is coming to our city to visit her next week so this is an exciting time for the little one "Sreyv".  Her mom will stay for the day.  We oversee the visit and will have lunch and snack together as well as a ride to see the monkeys together which is the Sreyv's most favorite thing right now.

I visit the Safe House daily to make sure all problems are solved and everyone is on track.  Yesterday the older girl "Sreyl" told me that she wanted to learn how to work the computer.  I asked her if she wanted a Khmer or English computer.  She said "Both".  I smiled and told her that if she wanted to learn the computer she would have to cut her nails which are very long.  She told me that if I got a computer she would cut her nails and smiled and laughed.

We try to get the girls out of the Safe House a few times a week for walks or bike rides and Sunday church.  They love the outings but are happy to get back "home" where it is safe and familiar.
 

Yesterday we drove to the fish store to buy some small fish for their new fish pond which is outside near our hut.   They viewed all the pretty fish and just like children tried to convince me to buy an indoor tank with more fish.   Just goes to show you how children are the same all over the world ... even those with Big Problems.   I didn't buy the fish they wanted but I did by them a treat on the way home :)

Good healthy food, rest, love and stability and lots of guidance brings hope and assurance to these young ones.  They lap up the love and as I leave I hear their little voices filled with joy and laughter staying "Goodbye Mam, see you tomorrow.  I lub you".  I smile back as I put on my shoes to leave and say "See you tomorrow.  I love you too".

NJT-Ottawa is getting noticed!

Spring along the Ottawa River. Count those babies!

June already and just when you think things will slow down, they heat up. But it is the right season!

Meet the Amazing Alexandra!

This young lady is already changing her world!

The first time I spoke to Alexandra Proctor in November 2011, I was immediately impressed with her presence and confidence, no small thing for a 12-year-old. We discussed a project she wanted to undertake for a Grade 7 assignment “to make change” in her community or the world. She had heard through an older cousin of her mother’s about Not Just Tourists – Ottawa and wanted to help. However, Alexandra lives in Kingston and, well, we’re in Ottawa. And did I mention she’s 12 and can’t drive yet?

The 2012 Guatemala Project - NJT was "There"

Cathy Dufour with some of her little friends

This is a report from Cathy Dufour, an an enthusiastic volunteer with NJT-Ottawa, who was recently part of a group of Canadian health care workers who spent 10 days in Guatemala working with their local counterparts. Well, let's get Cathy to tell the story:

Hola mi amigos,

Nebulizer from NJT-Ottawa!

I just want to take this opportunity to thank Jacques and everyone else who was involved in helping gather supplies for this year’s Guatemala Project. This year's project was a huge success in many respects.

The Guatemala Nursing –ECCE project was a joint project with the Nursing Program and Early Childhood Education Program (ECCE) at Heritage College. Faculty from both programs and selected students worked collaboratively with the Guatemala Day Care Project under the direction of Brian Swan and Sheila Silver to build a partnership, deliver health care services and provide teacher training on Storytelling and Literacy Resources prepared by Heritage College ECCE students to several daycares in outlying villages in the La Laguna region.

The Guatemala Day Care Project was founded by Brian Swan and Sheila Silver, a Wakefield couple, nine years ago.  It is a non-profit group associated with Aldeas Infantiles SOS – a nongovernmental group that promotes children’s rights through providing daycare services and education to disadvantaged communities.

We brought down a total of 14 suitcases and two 25 kg boxes filled  with much needed medications and nutritional supplements, first aid supplies, respiratory, rehabilitation supplies (i.e. canes, knee and back braces), plus literacy and early learning kits to the local clinic in San Juan, Laguna and surrounding communities in the highlands.

Our 10 days flew by.  Dr. Christoph Weber from Ottawa, his daughter, and Louise Killens, a Physiotherapist (Killens-Reid Physiotherapy) from Ottawa, worked out of the local clinic in San Juan and the rest of the team provided a one day workshop to nine regional daycares on first aid and early learning, followed by visiting the 5/9 daycares providing health assessment and promotion and assisting with their early literacy programs to over 170 children.

March 3 workshop participants

For more information on our project, or to read our blogs, please visit  http://guatemala-nursingproject.webnode.com

Warm regards,

Catherine Dufour, RN, BScN, DEd
Nursing Faculty, Heritage College

Latest Developments!

For the first time ever, Jacques hosted two Congolese gentlemen in the St-Emile-de-Suffolk “warehouse” (aka our garage) last weekend. Patrick drove all the way from Toronto the same day, arriving with his brother-in-law Vincent in late afternoon. They took away boxes of syringes and needles and samples of some of our other supplies. Patrick drove back up on Thursday and filled his SUV with supplies from Maurice’s warehouse as well.

Recently, Appletree closed one of its clinics. Kaitlyn spent the better part of a weekend inventorying all of the contents: furniture, office supplies and equipment, exam beds and lots of medical supplies. Between Patrick, Vincent, Hassan (exam beds, autoclave, otoscopes, etc.), Maurice (furnishings) and Jacques (medical supplies), the former clinic has been pretty well emptied. Way to go Kaitlyn!

Cathy Dufour reports that the supplies she brought with her to Guatemala were very gratefully received. On Thursday, 85 music students from Canterbury High School descended on Padre Enrique in Havana with about 100 kg of NJT-Ottawa supplies and some much-needed meds.

Jacques has been busy coordinating pretty well all NJT pick-ups and drop-offs as well as finding a home for $2.3 million worth of pandemic medical supplies housed in the Winnipeg office of Health Canada. World Vision Canada has gratefully accepted the entire inventory. Next week, he plans to rent a cargo van and empty the garage of a nurse in Oxford Station. Seems she couldn’t bring herself to throw out all the surplus supplies from her patients… for about the past five years! Go Jacques!

We haven’t had a meeting in awhile so we’d like to take this opportunity to welcome our latest volunteers:

Felice Drew has been enthusiastically helping with pick-ups, temporary storage and deliveries to the warehouse since last fall. Felice has also collected supplies for the rescue home in Cambodia described in the February blog post.

Cathy Dufour also joined us late last fall. A nursing instructor at Heritage College in Gatineau, Cathy regularly accepts supplies for use in her teaching. She also educates the warehouse rats on knowing what they’re holding and how it can be used. Thank you Cathy!

Heather Forbes is now our central-east Ottawa volunteer (Main St./Queensway area) for pick-ups, drop-offs and storage.

Gerry Hogan has come on board to assist with pick-ups, drop-offs and deliveries. Ms. Hogan lives in the west end and has years of humanitarian volunteering experience through her Unitarian Church. Gerry recently delivered a NJT suitcase to Mexico.

A very special thanks to Appletree for all your donations. Carefor – thank you for your donations and the many referrals we get each week. Welcome to the Hospice at May Court; Jacques met with the executive director a week ago and he’s very keen to support NJT-Ottawa.

Sad news (for us) – we lost Peter again… he’s gone back home to Havana to see his darling baby girl.

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From the coordinator of a project NJT-Ottawa is supporting in Cambodia:

 

"Things are moving forward steadily as we prepare the staff and the property for the rescued girls.  The weather is good as it is warm and dry and the heavy rains have not begun to fall yet.  We are pushing forward in every way;  training all 6 of our staff, buying the supplies for the girls and getting ready to set up the house and property.  

We will be putting in a vegetable garden and a fish pond (with large quantities of eatable fish) in order to help the budget for food.  The girls must eat three nutritious meals per day in order to recover from all the torture and starvation they have incurred.   We are planning on having chickens and hopefully a cow and a pig in the months to come.  

We have 6 staff now ...  3 house mothers, a counsellor, a teacher and a social worker.  We have training together for about 3 weeks now and we are growing in knowledge and unity and understanding.   It takes a firm foundation to understand how to handle the girls and how to reach them.  The girls are very frightened and do not trust easily so it is a long journey.  

We are visiting the Kampong Cham facility next week for a week of training there with the facilities that are already running.  This will allow our staff to get hands on practice and see and hear how things are done.   We are also visiting the World Hope Assessment Centre where we will meet some of our new girls.  This will be great and make their transition to our facility easier for them.

We have networked with other organizations here who are excited about our opening and are linking with us to place girls that they have rescued as well.  Together we are diligently preparing and learning and getting ready for all.

Our grand opening is Friday, March 30, 2012.  We are having a large BBQ for our staff and their families and will present each staff member with a Certificate of Not4Sale Training Graduation.   It will be a time of great rejoicing as we are all looking forward to meeting our little girls.

Each girl stays with us for approximately 3 years and slowly heals physically and emotionally.  Over time the smiles come back and laughter can be heard again.  We provide a safe and clean place to live with loving people around them.  We have a full time counsellor, teacher and social worker who work with the girls and their families.   Our goal is to get them back home but the journey is long and we must make sure that home is a safe and secure place and that her family can take proper care of her.   I am happy to say that rescued girls do have a chance at a normal life and are given the skills and start they need to succeed.   We will be following up every girls for 2 years after she is reintegrated with her family.

We are moving forward with speed but with caution as well.  There has been a threat on one of the leaders of another organization here so we are all being very careful.   Thank you for your prayers and continued support.  Without you this all would not be possible.  May God bless you in all you do!!!"

Best Wishes to All. Thank you for your support!!

Next week we'll be writing up the Annual Report for Not Just Tourists - Ottawa. The evolution of NJT-O this past year is nothing short of astounding. In a matter of months, we went from worrying about having some meds to include in suitcases to trying to figure out how to get our burgeoning supplies out in large quantities. Just since September, we went from trying to figure out how to store our growing stock to watching it fly out the door almost weekly to so many missions and countries we finally couldn't even keep track of weights, volumes, carloads, vanloads, truckloads, or any other measurement you'd care to try.

Thursday was another one of what has become a typical warehouse day. Volunteers arrived, including our BFF nursing instructor Cathy. Peter brought his carload of just picked-up goodies. Jacques and Mary unloaded their carload of sorted goodies. Jan was in charge of logistics and putting things on high shelves. Cathy later perfected her mini-hoop shots as she tossed little baggies of lime green cannulas up into a box on the highest level.

Mary helped Jan and Cathy sort through the new goodies and made up boxes of goodies to bring to M/J garage for sorting with windows and sunlight. Jan had to leave to take someone to an appointment. Mary made up three very special suitcases for Jan to hold for travellers. Let's just say Brigit would be proud of what we can now put into every suitcase - OTC pain meds, tons of wound care materials, gloves, masks, wound irrigation - you name it, we have it, including the Ferrari of sterile wound materials: Tegaderm. We could stock a pharmacy with our Tegaderm supplies.


Cathy finally left with a full carload of supplies for her Guatemala project & her nursing students. She has about 22 students, but the school as a whole can accommodate up to 200 now. Sure beats having all these viable and primarily sterile supplies going into the garbage.

Peter left us with only 12 sleeps to go before he returns to his real home in Havana. For some reason, he didn't seem unhappy to be leaving again.

And then there was a HUGE highlight to our day. We all met and fell in love with baby Leanna. Jess brought their gorgeous baby girl down to meet us all. Leanna was sleeping, oblivious to all the adults oohing and ahhing over her full head of soft black hair and her amazingly long fingers, which were open and relaxed. She was 6 lb. 8 oz at birth and her finger nails were already so long Maurice had to cut them! When I told Maurice we had met his lovely baby girl he said, "she's taken my heart". No surprise. Wish I had taken a picture to share with you all. My apologies. I was lost in her beauty. Next visit - she'll still be beautiful.

NJT-O is going to take a break now until Jan 5th. We'll put off any pick-ups until the new year so everyone can take a break, be with family and friends and have some well-deserved downtime.


We want to thank each and every volunteer for your continuing support and involvement. Real life often intervenes to prevent people from staying as involved as they would like. No worries. Your life comes first. Always. No questions.

To Jess and Maurice: Congratulations on the safe arrival of your lovely Leanna.
To Margaret: Our love and warmest thoughts as you start your new life without your main man Gary. We're here. Stay in touch. Big Hugs.

To Brigit: Go Girl! You are the Suitcase Lady!
To Peter: Rock on!
To Gael: You are The Web Site Maven! 
To Jan: Thank you for all your warehouse support. We couldn't be so organized or store as high without you!
To Joan, Warren, Cathy, Hassan - Never be shy. Take everything you want. It's free to a good mission.
To Appletree: THANKS!!
To Felice: Welcome! You now have a special little spot at the warehouse for supplies for your Cambodia project.
To Dave Smith: We have more goodies whenever you're ready!!
To The Ottawa Mission: If you want more, we have more.
To Dr. Nancy: Thank you so much for all the med samples!!
To Nigel and Angela - the Kanata Connection: Thanks for handing out so many suitcases and being a depot for west end donations.


To everyone - we appreciate the wonderful extended family of NJT-O. There is a synergy that makes this all work. It may seem haphazard at times but Jacques has become the major coordinator on gmail and the toll-free. FYI - he has quit the area Food Bank, Christmas Hamper project and the volunteer Firefighters (paid) to devote ALL his spare time to coordinating NJT-O. If it weren't for Jacques, NJT-O could not possibly have reached this new level in the past year. It really has been at least 80% because of his efforts. Mine have helped but I'm still the bread winner and working 30 hours a week at that. So big kudos to Jacques.


NJT-O is working extremely well and our networks now include about seven doctors, three nurses, one pharmacist and several other health care specialists. We have Arrived!! Cathy being with us Thursday was just amazing... "what's this", "what can we combine to make a viable suitcase for a rural clinic"... we now know those combinations.


Merry Christmas everyone! Best wishes for health and happiness throughout 2012.
Mary and Jacques