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1 From the Heart To Cure Sometimes, to Treat Often, but to Comfort,Text and photos by Jonathan Always Loke … As we sat in the van travelling on the and clothing, and improve the quality of undulating dirt track bound for the health in the community through health Jonathan is a third-year village (a three-hour ride into the screening and mobile clinics. In the two medical student currently studying in Trinity mountainous regions of Phetchabun, weeks that we were there, we stayed College Dublin. He enjoys Thailand), we were filled with trepidation on-site at RADION’s headquarters located hiking, exploring the and anticipation for what was to come. within the village, which oversees the vast outdoors and spending It was the last week of July and we – a ginger plantations and rice terraces that time with his friends and team of 16 Singaporean students from were carved into the mountain sides. This family. He has a passion for medical outreach and medical schools based in Ireland and the gave us the unique opportunity to watch although he still has a UK, three doctors and a physiotherapist the sun rise over the valley every morning, long way to go, he hopes – set out to the small Thai village of Khek its golden rays shining through the that these opportunities Noi with excitement and enthusiasm, not morning dew and low-lying clouds, and and interactions knowing what to expect. enjoy the cool morning breeze. will help hone his interpersonal skills and The expedition was organised in help him become a more conjunction with RADION International, Language and cultural lessons empathetic doctor. a Singapore-based non-governmental We spent our first few days attending organisation, to provide assistance to the language and cultural lessons as the staff Hmong community in Thailand. When at RADION taught us basic Thai words and we arrived at the massive compound phrases that would come in useful. We spanning five football fields, we were met learnt how to ask “where the pain was” with a warm welcome by Eugene Wee, the and explain procedures such as “checking founder of the organisation. The main goal your blood pressure” and “taking your of the trip was to understand the needs of temperature”, which came in especially this vulnerable and marginalised group, helpful during the mobile clinics. As assist in the distribution of food rations foreign guests, it was imperative that we 20 JAN 2020 SMA News 2 3 acted in a culturally sensitive manner, thus mandible during examination. It was understood, she broke down in tears as there was also an emphasis on assimilating shocking to think that such practices she said that she genuinely felt loved by ourselves into the community. The staff were still ongoing and that females in the us and that it was something she would showed us how to “wai” – a traditional community still face such persecution never forget. To see such an elderly lady greeting in Thailand where someone and harassment in this day and age. who had gone through war, trauma and more junior would bow their head with This incident also affected the team very hardship so touched by the kindness of their palms pressed together as a sign of personally since she was around the same strangers and profusely sobbing was truly respect to someone more senior. They also age as us and it was upsetting to see heart-wrenching. explained that as the head is considered a how different our lives were, based solely I will never forget that scene where sacred body part in Thai culture, we should on where we were born and the social we were all crammed into the small and avoid touching the head of someone more circumstances that we were brought up in. dimly lit room, silently sniffing as we senior as it is considered very disrespectful struggled to hold back our tears, and just and impolite. Home visits enjoyed each other’s quiet presence. It The team visited the higher priority was painful when the time came to say RADION and the Hmong people villagers who lived in basic houses with goodbye and we were all touched when Besides learning basic social etiquette, mud floors and attap roofs, most of whom she held our hands to thank and bless Eugene also educated us on the plight of suffered from more debilitating illnesses us individually for coming to visit her the Hmong people to give some context and were living alone without any and said that she truly appreciated this to our service. Due to the Hmong people’s formal social support. During the visits, encounter regardless of how short it was. involvement in the Vietnam War against we interacted with the villagers as we Prior to the trip, we had prepared the Communist Guerrilla forces in Laos, and listened to their stories of everyday life, medicine and rations, thinking that these the US’ subsequent defeat, they have since asked them how they were coping and were what the locals needed the most, been persecuted and labelled as traitors by what help they needed. but we realised at the end of the day that Laos. The multiple reports of indiscriminate There we met a cheerful 80-year-old what they wanted was a listening ear, violence, brutal raping and mutilation have Hmong-Laotian lady who lived alone after someone to hear their story of struggle forced them to escape certain death by she escaped to Thailand from the war. and courage, and their tenacity to living on the run as refugees. The explosions during the war had left persevere despite the very worst that life We also learnt that “bridenapping”, her with irreparable hearing loss, so she had thrown at them. Through all these an act where a group of males abduct could not understand a large part of the inspiring stories, we learnt and gained a young girl and force her to marry one conversation. However, we tried our very more from them than they did from us... of the males, often against her will, is best to explain through the translators unfortunately widely practised among the where we were from and encouraged Hmong people. There was a young lady her not to lose hope. When she finally who came to the mobile clinics presenting with swelling and unilateral facial paralysis. 4 She explained that when she was 18 years old, she was bridenapped by some boys. When she rejected their “proposal”, they followed her home and shot her in the face with a homemade shotgun. Although the incident occurred five years ago and she had undergone facial reconstructive surgery, we could still feel the shrapnel of the shotgun shell embedded in her Mobile clinics students were found to be underweight. witness some of the most heart-breaking Happening concurrently was a segment scenes will stay with many of us for a long With the help of the three doctors, that we prepared to educate the students time to come. But besides this, we will physiotherapist and the medication on pertinent social issues, such as signs always remember the honour and gravity obtained from RADION, we were able to of domestic and sexual abuse, and the of being able to partake in the lives (and set up a mobile clinic and a small pharmacy prevalence and mitigation of dengue. the sufferings) of these villagers. It served in a neighbouring village, where the closest There was also a segment on the dangers as a striking reminder that we should never government hospital was at least an hour of drug abuse, as many children would be too caught up in the hustle and bustle away. Over the span of two days, we saw be exposed to drugs at a young age due of our lives, or the affluence and privilege about 300 patients; we checked their basic to the region’s proximity to the Golden of our society, to remember those in our vital signs and dispensed medication, Triangle. The children were all very excited community who need a helping hand. vitamins and supplements under the to meet us and listened attentively to the As a team, we are grateful to everyone guidance of the doctors. We were also lessons taught. They were also eager to who helped out and served alongside privileged to have Hui Qi, a physiotherapist, learn and naturally inquisitive – many of us with such willingness, kindness and on the trip with us as she taught the them particularly fascinated by the tuning open hearts. We thank Hui Qi, Dr Treye, villagers several exercises that they could forks and were obsessed with listening to Dr Lydia and Dr Yang Lin for their constant do on their own, since a large majority of their own heartbeats with the stethoscope. them came with musculoskeletal problems guidance, teaching and assistance in due to working on the farm for years. the mobile clinics and health screening, Ration packing and distribution and the staff from RADION, who chose During examination, an elderly Over the span of three days, our team to abandon their lives of comfort to help gentleman was flagged up after packed 800 bags of rations that consisted these people. Through their humility presenting with an oxygen saturation of donated clothing, instant noodles, and simple lives, in spite of the severe of 92% and distinctly swollen ankles – toothbrushes, toothpastes and soap bars. circumstances where injustice and clear signs of congestive heart failure. These items were either collected from helplessness were so palpable, we have Despite his symptoms, he sat silently and donation drives or directly sponsored been deeply moved by the Hmong did not show any signs of distress; we by organisations in Singapore.

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