African Nights 2011 'The Movie !'

Teaching in Haiti Dec 2011: Doug Campbell writes...

 Haiti for me was an emotional rollercoaster. A land of despair, poverty, mayhem but also a land of hope, optimism and pride. These last 3 sentiments are what stick with me as I reflect on my experience. After all, it is the people that leave an impact on you.

When I was planning the trip I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I had never travelled to a 3rd world country before, let alone one that has been

devastated by a massive earthquake and is still struggling to recover.  The airport was a typical chaotic scene for a small carribean country, but as I travelled into the Heart of Port-au-Prince I was struck by the massive tent cities, line ups at watering stations, chaos of the driving, etc. Yet throughout this atmosphere was the continued activity of daily life. The boys and girls coming home from school neatly dressed with colorful clothing, the merchants on the street selling fruit, etc. Haiti was continuing on despite much of the damage from the earthquake still obvious almost 2 years after the fact.

The teaching our team carried out, filled us with hope and optimism for the future. Nurses and physicians travelled from across the country every day to participate in our teaching sessions on how to become instructors in newborn resuscitation, followed by them teaching the sessions themselves. The students were not shy about jumping in and taking control of a situation. Their passion was evident in how they imparted knowledge to their colleagues. The pride on their faces was clear.

The most touching moment for me was at the end of the teaching one day when the students (now teachers themselves) sang us a song. Then a senior nurse came over to us and said:   "Thank you. Thank you for not just giving us some fish, but for teaching us HOW TO FISH."  That's when I knew that our team had made a difference, perhaps small but real nonetheless.

Rose Charities Malaysia's help for Thai flood victims

"Regarding the Thai Flood Aid Appeal, we have managed to send 20 cartons of quaker OATS ( each weighing 25 kgs), buscuits , etc to Bangkok via St.John Ambulance Co-ordinating Centre in :Penang . They will send by road to Hatyai where the Thai

military trucks will take delivery of the goods to Bangkok for distribution to the flood victims....

 

Another big shipment of buscuits and other food products will be sent next week to Helpage International in Bangkook .....will advise further in due course...."

 

Generous donation buys suction machine for Haitian Neonatal team

One of most critical actions to ensure the survival of a newborn baby is to make sure her airway is clear.  This is carried out  with specialized suction apparatus.   Statistics show that there is no action more important for a baby who has had a difficult birth to live;  it is the 'A' (for airway) that is first in the 'ABC' of emergency assessment that every health profesional has as the very base of their knowledge

It thus came as a wonderful surprise that  recent generaous donation was recieved by Rose Charities Canada for its Haiti Neonatal Resucitation Teaching team to take with them to Haiti in early November.  There is no question that this will save lives when HBB ('Helping babies breathe') professionals that they will over the next months get to work !

AMDA HQ medical team leaves for Turkish earthquake relief

An AMDA medical team has left Japan to assist with the earthquake in eastern Turkey.  Taking provisions and experienced medical personnel the team will travel directly to the affected area.The Osaka-Turkish Association is also assisting\

AMDA's history of sending of assisting disasters with  international emergency medical  relief teams is considerable.  Earlier this year, and continuing to this day it was one of the main organizations assisting with the Japan, Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster

Eye clinic cooperation; Rose Charities Penang, Malaysia, and St. Nicholas Home Penang

Rose Charities Malaysia and St Nicholas Home are shortly to open joint eye clinic services in Penang. St Nicholas Home is a distinguished charity establishment with a long history of aid to the poor of the area.  Rose Charities has several eye programs, internationally through its organizations in Cambodia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Canada.  In Cambodia, Rose Charities has treated over 100,000 patients with eye problems in its Phnom Penh Sight Centre

Help to the elderly caught in the Thai flood disaster

Thai floods update:   Rose Charities Malaysia, joining with Rose Charities Singapore, HelpAge, Thailand and the Thai Elderly Association to plan further joint flood relief specifically for the elderly victims of the flood areas.  Mr Lawrence Cheah of Rose Charities Malaysia, and also Rose Charities International Council Chair, has initiated this joint initiative through his networking contacts.