A Singapore Fling!

The Singapore skyline from a great height

This building needs no introduction

Well dear blogger on the 29th of October it was King Norodom Sihanuock's 90th birthday and hence another 5 day public holiday in Cambodia so me and a couple of pals Chris and Jan decided to go explore another Asian country Singapore I had heard a lot about this country in particular how developed, clean and orderly it was and I have to say from that perspective it did not disappoint
But for me it was somewhat of a personal pilgrimage in a way as this was the place my father was captured during the war when Singapore fell to the Japanese  
We flew into the airport quite late at night but were efficiently processed and within an hour had been swiftly transported to our hotel no repetition of our Viet nam psychopathic taxi driver experience thank fully just swift efficient service and even in the dark the sky line looked impressive we passed Singapore's equivalent of the London Eye situated at the mouth of the harbour very impressive.
We stayed in "Little India" and it is just what it says on the can at a delightfully restored small colonial style hotel in the midst of bustling streets filled  every kind of Indian merchandise my favourites were the spices herbs fruit and exotic vegetables we spent a few hours I can tell you exploring its nooks and crannies and the food here was fantastic as both my travelling companions are vegetarians we found a couple of great restaurants only yards away from our hotel and sampled the local delights.

A corner of a Mosque in Little India

No visit to Singapore could be complete without a visit to Raffles so we spent a very pleasant evening there sipping on a Singapore sling [only one as they cost the equivalent of a small house!]

The 3 towers building the cross part is home to the highest swimming pool in the world

During the day we explored the city by open top bus with its mix of old and new buildings and did some shopping well even volunteers need new knickers!!
We also used the underground system very swift effecient and clean as you would expect Chris got told off for finishing a chocolate bar as no eating and drinking allowed on the trains how embarrassing!!!
We went on the Singapore flyer thats what the big wheel is called there the views were incredible and shared our pod with a group of Australian scouts then we visited the Botanical gardens which has the worlds largest collection of orchids they were unbelievable I could have stayed there all day below are some pictures of the Botanical Gardens and the orchids but they do not do justice to the sheer beauty of them

The entrance of the Orchid garden

Wow

We also had a great evening at the night safari which was a bit like Disney in the dark but nevertheless it was a privilege to see the animals including lions, tigers, elephants a beautiful Rhino and my favourites the flying squirrels most if not all have been rescued we were taken around in an electrically driven tram and asked to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the animals who were just going about their business


The highlight though for me was our visit to Changhi prison and museum which told the story of Singapore in WWII as I have mentioned it was a very emotional visit to be in the same place as my father when he was captured and to learn more about the horrors  of internment but also thankful that he survived as so many hundreds of thousands of people did not.

He was a prisoner of the Japanese for four years and was soon moved out of Singapore but we as a family no little of his story after that as he was so reluctant to talk about it one day though I hope his story will be told he was a wonderful man

Changi prison's reconstructed chapel where you can light a candle and leave a message about loved ones who passed through in 1942

A map of Singapore in 1942 in bronze set on the wall of the prison museum

As good as Singapore appeared on the surface with its social housing its affluence, broad well tended boulevards, good roads with all the traffic going in the same direction and in an orderly manner there were aspects of the society I found disturbing like the very and I mean very elderly people clearing tables in the big shopping malls who had to use their trolleys as walking aids  and our taxi driver who explained that people have to continue working because there are no state pensions and health care is so expensive as is the cost of living. He had retired but drove a taxi because their family's life savings were used up on saving the life of his granddaughter who was born 2 months premature.
So the impressive skyline and order comes at a high price and you know somehow it was kind of nice to touch down at PP airport where we were met by Rotan our Tuk Tuk driver who trundled us back to town through absolute chaos dust, rubbish plus the heat and humidity but it felt like home.
Lea Howie
Kath

The Saddest Journey to Siem Reap

Apologies dear blogger for the lack of updates over recent weeks as predicted I am in a race against time to complete all I agreed to do for the Council before I leave in early December before I bring you up to date with my progress I just want to share with you the plight of some in Cambodia who have fallen victim to the excessive flooding here and who do not appear to be getting much help at all
Last week it was yet another public holiday for the water festival where normally the wonderful boat races are held on the Tonle Sap river which runs through the centre of Phnom Penh well they got cancelled by the Prime Minister understandably because of the flooding and the money saved was to be diverted to bring relief to those most affected and although clearly not as bad as in Thailand there are still thousands of families badly affected.
I witnessed a little of this on the road to Siem Reap where travelling through some provinces notably Kandal and Kampong Thom there were still many temporary shelters lining the road with cattle taking refuge in whatever dry land they could manage to find. These stoical people doing their best to carry on normal life.
Many schools and health centres seemed badly affected too even though the water was clearly subsiding the play grounds were a sea of mud but still the children were going to school and in their pristine white shirts and blue skirts/trousers amazing
Many of the houses now have tiny long and very precarious bridges on stilts running from their homes to the road how they balance across these I do  not know but they do

Water as far as the eye can see these should be lush green rice paddies!

The week before last was an important for the Council as it held its second annual general meeting and was attended by the newly formed provincial and regional Council members.
The AGM was held in Kampong Cham where I did my language training so it was very nostalgic to go back there it is the third largest town in Cambodia and situated on the Mekong river which was very high.
The event was well attended and the provincial council members gave an update on their progress in registering all midwives working in Cambodia over 2,000 now and growing The star Council member and province was Preah Vihear also one of the most remote has registered all 99 midwives working there she was an inspiration and was able to give other members good advice on how to develop good relationships with health departments and encourage midwives to register.
I ran a session which was an introduction to investigating complaints I needed to do a lot of preparation using real life case studies and  role play as dealing with complaints and disciplinary issues will be a key role for the 5 Regional Midwives Councils
I have to say it went very well and the President was very pleased there was great engagemnt and participation and the midwives showed a lot of insight into this aspect of the Council's function.

35 Council midwife members gather for the second AGM for CMC

Council members get to grips with the case studies

      In addition to the work for the AGM I have now finished drafting complaints and disciplinary protocols and procedures they are being translated into Kmai and then will be considered and amended by the national executive team there are 9 in all another big piece of work but I have had help via the net from a range of international regulatory bodies and also some legal advice from a fellow volunteer which was invaluable.
Work on a midwives handbook is also nearly complete and is just awaiting ministerial approval for the Council's standards which are an essential component.
On the last evening of the AGM the president took several of us out for a 5 course meal it was wonderful see below

Just to let you see that I am earning my keep here!

From left to right Sochea, me and Ing rada (CMC president)

    My final task is to complete a Council training manual comprising 4 modules (2 to go) thanks to Kerry Mari and Kuldip for your help and advice with this so the pressure is now on I have 13 working days to go.
The valuing life clinic continues its valuable work it was a quiet clinic last week as many of the women would have returned to their provinces for the public holiday.
However we did see some sick babies one very sick who was only two days old and could not have been examined properly before he was discharged from the health centre as he had a pulsating mass in his chest was not feeding was blue and cold so he was taken to the free hospital for sick children with all due speed but I fear that his chances are pretty poor.
Little Jinnie is doing well despite her disabilities and her mum is now being helped to set up her own rug making business.
The wonderful students there are an inspiration and I really admire them they were all looking forward to the holiday and excited to be going home

Jinnie and her mum

On Saturday I delivered the last consignment of baby clothes my wonderful choir Vocal Expressions has been constant  in sending out baby and toddler clothes for the clinic supported by child care students from Wakefield college and I can assure every one that the staff, mums and babies are so appreciative.

Next time I will report on my trip to Singapore
Lee Howie!!!