My first impression of Laos was not a pleasant one. The area around the border between Thailand and Laos has a very negative, cancerous and angry energy about it. Definitely not a welcoming place at all. Corruption is rife, and you pay exorbitant prices for every part of the journey. Make sure you have money on hand, and lots of it, to grease the hands of the border officials. Otherwise, they won’t let you through. They don’t care. If I didn’t have a purpose in being here, I would have left again.
My friend Rob and his sister, Sharon, had met me in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, and I did my best to remember all the details of my passageway from the border to the village of Nong Tea (pronounced Tare), as I knew I would be doing this journey alone on my way back the next day, and all I could think was that a wing and a prayer was what would be needed for that journey!
We jumped in a minibus from the border to Pakse, bypassing the turn-off to the village as this bus didn’t go that way. Then we travelled from one end of the market in Pakse to the other end to get the minibus that would take us to the village. 15 people were crammed in the bus along with some luggage and goods bought at the market, the majority of the luggage being tied down on the roof. It was a rough and tumble ride along 35km of muddy, ungraded, pot-holed gravel road. It took two hours and lots of hurtling from side-to-side and bumping up and down, to get to the village. I got a fit of the giggles because of being thrown in all different directions and had the whole bus load of people laughing with me….for an hour or so. My tummy was sore afterwards from laughing so much. I was relieved to be finally at the village and out of the bus.
The village was a collection of ramshackle buildings that make up the local markets, a fairly modern looking school building and houses strewn down both sides of a gravel road that seemed to go on for miles, with very lush vegetation on each side of the roadway. After rain the edges of the road and driveways become muddy – sticky, clingy clay mud.
Rob had warned Sharon and I that the clothes we were wearing would not be clean while in the village as the floors in the living areas (or areas where the families and neighbours congregate) are mostly dirt (or mud). This is definitely life in a very primitive society!
I had to learn toilet habits that are completely foreign to my Australian upbringing, and eat foods and soups containing ingredients that were unimaginable (it’s better not to ask). People do a lot of sitting around conversing with each other. Or sleeping in the open air under shade. Or eating. Or drinking. There is not much else to do. The people there are rice farmers and they are very busy twice a year, during planting and harvesting. Otherwise, they sit around. It’s not a life that fits with me. Just sitting around doing nothing and staring off into space, makes me jittery. I need to be putting my hands and brain to good use, or doing one of the many activities that I’m used to in Australia.
Laos needs assistance with first aid, medical procedures and birthing, and care and safety is desperately needed for children and adults with any form of disability. It is not uncommon for a newly-born child with a noticeable disability or sickness to be left in the fields to die. The nearest hospital is two hours away over awful roads. The provisions for localised help is very minimal.
This is not a place for people with disabilities. Some of the pictures show my room for my stay and the ramp to go the bathroom and toilet. Try navigating that in the dark. Now think about doing that when you’re blind, or vision-impaired, or have cerebral palsy, or even worse, be in a wheelchair. There are no lights outside, although there is light coming from inside the house and the bathroom. This environment is only suitable for an able-bodied person. Rob has made this house as best as he could with limited resources and skilled work-men. I applaud him for making a massive difference in this part of the world.
One night during my stay, in the middle of the night, there was a huge storm and the power went out right about the time I needed the bathroom. I waited till the power came on, wended my way to the bathroom shed, then the power went out again. It was pitch black inside with flashes of lightning to give me glimpses of where everything was. Upon coming out, I needed to wait for more lightning to show me how to get back in the house, while it was pouring rain. I knew this was going to be an interesting few days!
On my second day in Laos we went to the village medical centre and dropped off the first aid supplies that had been kindly donated from chemists and businesses in Brisbane (acknowledgements below).
The medical centre is in the middle of a large paddock and consists of the main building, a nurses’ quarters and toilet/shower block. Up the stairs on the verandah is seating for waiting patients. Inside the main building there is a reception, a pharmacy, a main treatment room, a smaller treatment area, a birthing room, and a ward consisting of two beds. They are so poor, that if a patient is required to stay overnight, the family need to supply bedding, including a mattress, food and water.
The doctor and nurse and aides are in desperate need of medical and first aid supplies. The government is supposed to give them money for wages and supplies, though it could be up to six months before they receive anything. Donations are very gratefully accepted. The staff told me, “We love you!” when I delivered the supplies. The gratitude and smiles on their faces was heartwarming.
Although in Australia we have regulations about using expired first aid and medical supplies, natural remedies, and supplements, in Laos there is no such governance, and all products we can donate are useful.
I had the opportunity of being present to view a young man with a gash between his toes, being stitched up. The doctor used the most minimal amount of local anaesthetic, saline, iodine, and swabs possible. Every drop and item is precious. Whatever can be sterilised and re-used is kept. The sterilising equipment is old and suitable only for smaller objects, like forceps, scissors, needles and bandages.
Women have their babies at home, accompanied by their mums and aunties. The local medical centre is not equipped to handle difficult or complicated births. The nearest hospital is at Pakse, two hours away over very bumpy and muddy roads. Many children die during birth, and sometimes the mothers lose their lives too. It’s a primitive and harsh environment.
Malnutrition is a big problem in Laos. As is diabetes. The staple diet is rice and soup with fresh herbs. There is often chicken or fish to supplement, though it must go to many members of the family and some miss out altogether. They grow rice and sell it at the markets and then purchase other foods. There is a distinct lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, even though the climate is suitable to grow most of them very quickly and in vast quantities. The normal diet is sadly lacking in nutrients. This leads to deficiencies within the body, which creates chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
I was told that being a Pharmacist in Laos is a lucrative career. They dispense all the medicines and a person is not required to see a doctor first to be told which medicine is best. Many Laotian people are on the wrong medication, or on many contraindicated medicines and often they don’t even need it. They believe that a pill will fix everything without them having to make any lifestyle or dietary changes at all. If their neighbour down the road has a certain pill, then they need it too. Sicknesses and deaths due to incorrect medicine dispensing are common.
I did a treatment on an old man who had a gut issue. I told him he had parasites in his gut and what he could do to deal with it. He called me Doctor afterwards. Then I showed Noi (Rob’s wife) how to do a treatment on her Grandma to help with her constipation. Her Grandma was so grateful she slept next to me on the floor. I tried to persuade her to join me on the mattress and she refused. She’s so loving and sweet.
I suggested to Noi that she can message and Skype me so I can assist with any treatments she will be doing within the village. I already do that for a Doctor in Bangladesh and it works wonderfully.
I will return to Laos in the future with more supplies and more training for Noi so she can assist more people. Also, we’ll visit Pakse on a longer visit and attend the Massage Association where blind therapists are taught and work. I will teach them various healing techniques, and to treat the body as a whole, which is vastly different to the routine they currently offer.
Until the next country, and the next adventure…be well and be you.
Acknowledgements to the following people and businesses who contributed so generously to Oasis Natural Health Foundation:
Corrina Lindby – Life International Training – First Aid supplies
Malouf Pharmacies, Merthyr Village, New Farm – Chemist supplies and incontinence pads
Malouf Pharmacies, New Farm – Chemist Supplies and supplements
Mark Hinds Optometrists – New Farm – Used reading and prescription glasses
