Maela Refugee camp on Thursday

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Hello everyone
another great day today. It is hard to imagine the conditions in the camp, the people are not allowed to leave and there are checkpoints along the way just to make sure they are not leaving. The camp is built on the side of a steep mountain, so when it rains(as it is now - rainy season) the water just pours down the hill, wrecking the paths and spreading the sewerage. This morning Kyie and I ran up the hill, just as a challenge to ourselves. We made it, just a bit hot and puffed!! I had the best morning as finally got to step into my own comfort zone and do some trauma rehabilitation training with about 50 social workers/evangelist/pastoral care workers - all refugees from Burma themselves. I had a fantastic translator and I was able to cover the theory and some practical strategies for dealing with trauma - had a great time. Another yummy lunch, and a sucessful afternoon in the clinic. Dr Norli is seeing about 20 patients a day for fillings and or extractions. It is really quite amazing as she is working without a qualified or experienced dental nurse. Abbey and another local girl, Ehkhusay share the job of dental assisting and it is intense, non-stop work for them. Abbey spends the rest of the day in the classroom teaching maths to post high school students, a bit of a challenge but she loves it.
Kylie has mastered the sterilisation unit, which in fact is two pressure cookers on a gas stove. All equipment is scrubbed clean adn then sterilised in the cooker for 30 minutes, and then immediately dried and bagged. Very interesting procedure! Well, we hope everyone is well. We are going out for a special meal tonight with some other volunteers, and wil let you know about it tomorrow😊 love and kisses, lisa, kylie, and abbeyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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