folks, it's that time of the year again, for a group of people to take time-off from fri to sun & drive for hours to the fringe of forests & into oil palm estates. to do their bit for the orang aslis (OAs), like give them a medical check-up.......
....provide simple medication....
....deworm the kids &.....
......even extract dental caries!!
there were 11 of us - 4 medics, a med student, 4 helpers & 2 students (who are children of 2 of us). we set up "shop" wherever we could placed medicine & equipment....
....in an attap hut, which the OAs use for worship on sundays...
..or zinc-roofed hut....
....wood-&-brick community hall...
..or, just in open air.
because we didn't have a paediatrician, i volunteered to handle the kids, but it's obvious i'm not a very child-friendly person....
..as i was greeted by these fearful faces...
.....must remember to bring my son's mickey mouse cap next time!!
ah, the kids....they have a carefree life. not for them are the ipods or PS2s. they appeared just contented in their simple ways...
....like being pre-occupied with balloons...
..one was just plain shy, while the older ones....
.....would sing along ....or...
...just hung around. we were surprised one house even had this...
....seemed like ananda krishnan has made his presence felt here as well!!
we made it to 6 settlements in all. at each place, they were waiting for us ......
.....as they had been informed earlier of our visit...
for dinner on friday, we had this...
...steamed fish(very fresh!) & wild boar meat amongst others.
for lunch on saturday, it's alfresco dining at cafe de oil palm....
..for home-cooked food....
& for dinner.....
..more fresh fish, herbal chicken & stewed pork.
i can safely say we all came back home very satisfied with our joint effort to try improve the health status of the OAs, even if it's just a one-off annual event. last year this time, the govt announced more funds would be set aside for the OAs to enhance their standard of living. notwithstanding the lone astro dish, we didn't notice any difference. in a few hours' time, our nation will accomplish a mission of another sort, but i wonder which will impact on the lives of our indigenous brethren. or even ours for that matter :
or
malaysia boleh!!
8 comments:
Pictures! Yay!
May I first say that the first pic is gorgeous...
It's really so amazing to see the OAs worshipping God despite the lack of air-con sanctuaries and all that other fluff that we urban worshippers have. It makes their worship see so much more genuine and true.
I've never climbed a tree before... I'm deprived, I know. I don't know how to ride a bike either...
And why would anyone need tap water? The people making the budgets all have tap water, why should anyone else matter?
Malaysia Boleh!
This is what being in the medical field is all about. Keep up the good work!
anastasia,
the 1st pix was taken at tasek chini at dusk with my friend's 12MP digicam - i...er...borrowed it for this post.
the OAs just have a hut/shed without even a fan or pulpit. i was also surprised to see the picture of Christ proudly displayed.
perhaps you want to dissociate yourself from your big-city roots for a while & join a mission like ours. set yourself free to savour the awesome natural beauty out there - climb a tree, jump into a lake &, oh did i forget to mention, try out target practice with a genuine blow-pipe??
but, watch where you step, for there are cow dung aplenty!!
hi lml,
thks for your comment.
non-medical persons can help contribute in a different way, like donating blood & signing up for organ donation.
That is such a noble act. Kudos, Doc.
Awesome pictures that tell a thousand words. Thank you for sharing them, all of them.
happysurfer,
time & labour (of love?) are 2 commodities on which no price can be placed.
as medics, it's really the very least we could contribute to lessen the health burden of the needy, & to do God's bidding : freely you have received, freely give.
thks for your kind compliment.
Kudos to you and your team!!
*thumbs up!*
lynnx,
join us next year?? guaranteed a humbling & at the same time edifying experience!
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