Melody Chung
Besides observing the mobile clinic procedures and interviewing the slum dwellers during the slum visits, the SIGHT teams are also expected to conduct healthcare demonstrations to increase the residents’ awareness towards the importance of keeping hygienic and healthy habits. Our team Saturday was in charge of oral healthcare presentation in the slums. There were so much unknown and uncertainty during our preparation back in Hong Kong. We were unsure about the presentation-site condition and the audience background. I was also very worried about communicating with the locals—both medical team and slum dwellers—due to language, educational and cultural barriers.
Surprisingly, SIGHT team and one2one medical team quickly got along with each other. It was impressive that our team not only observed the mobile clinic operation flow without interfering but also actively offered helps to the medical team. Moreover during the busy medical preparation for the slum visit, one of the medical team volunteers (Lyla) helpfully offered us some teaching material and the teeth model for our oral healthcare demonstration. Although the material was mostly in Khmer, we were so grateful for her help. Such collaboration reveals that in spite of different nationality and cultural background, we all share the same goals to serve the slum dwellers in every way we can.
The presentation-site condition was lower than our team’s expectation. Our healthcare demonstration was conducted under a tent that was installed temporarily on a narrow passage between the huts—which also serves as the main ‘street’ in the slum. The entire space was so warm, stuffy and crowded with chairs for the audience. We had to occasionally give way to the passing motorbikes during the demonstration. We also had many children running around the stage making noises, peeking into the gifts/welfares we had prepared for the audience. The situation became more chaotic and uncontrollable when more residents showed up and especially we were not able to directly communicate with them in Khmer. Although we had the demonstration flow well planned back in Hong Kong, the demonstration did not effectively involve the audience and convey the healthcare message. I thought it was a failure.
Such stumble was incomparable with the daily challenges our audience has to struggle through in order to survive. The compassion for them turned our focus on the failures into driving force to put more effort in improving our demonstration to become more interactive and effective. From this experience, we learned that as the presenting team, we need to be flexible and sensible, be considerate to the slum dwellers and slow down our pace to ensure two way communications. Above all, it was impressive that our team collaborated well and was willing to persist through the challenges together.
Visiting the slum was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. I could never understand the slum dwellers’ hardships until I was physically there to observe and listen to them. These residents are trapped in the cycle of poverty. Their priorities are to eat and stay alive; living in a pest-free, clean and healthy environment will be of too high opportunity cost for them. Hence, there are little acts we can do as a team/individual to relieve the strains and bring significant change to their lives. For example, donating a water-filter system can definitely relieve the water crisis in a slum area.
Nonetheless, the problem for a technology-innovation team is: which is the most pressing, worth-solving need that we should tackle in such limited amount of resources in terms of time, funding, skills and knowledge? I really hope by the end of the course, we are able to show our partners a tangible prototype that solves the need and gives them hope.
Besides observing the mobile clinic procedures and interviewing the slum dwellers during the slum visits, the SIGHT teams are also expected to conduct healthcare demonstrations to increase the residents’ awareness towards the importance of keeping hygienic and healthy habits. Our team Saturday was in charge of oral healthcare presentation in the slums. There were so much unknown and uncertainty during our preparation back in Hong Kong. We were unsure about the presentation-site condition and the audience background. I was also very worried about communicating with the locals—both medical team and slum dwellers—due to language, educational and cultural barriers.
Surprisingly, SIGHT team and one2one medical team quickly got along with each other. It was impressive that our team not only observed the mobile clinic operation flow without interfering but also actively offered helps to the medical team. Moreover during the busy medical preparation for the slum visit, one of the medical team volunteers (Lyla) helpfully offered us some teaching material and the teeth model for our oral healthcare demonstration. Although the material was mostly in Khmer, we were so grateful for her help. Such collaboration reveals that in spite of different nationality and cultural background, we all share the same goals to serve the slum dwellers in every way we can.
The presentation-site condition was lower than our team’s expectation. Our healthcare demonstration was conducted under a tent that was installed temporarily on a narrow passage between the huts—which also serves as the main ‘street’ in the slum. The entire space was so warm, stuffy and crowded with chairs for the audience. We had to occasionally give way to the passing motorbikes during the demonstration. We also had many children running around the stage making noises, peeking into the gifts/welfares we had prepared for the audience. The situation became more chaotic and uncontrollable when more residents showed up and especially we were not able to directly communicate with them in Khmer. Although we had the demonstration flow well planned back in Hong Kong, the demonstration did not effectively involve the audience and convey the healthcare message. I thought it was a failure.
Such stumble was incomparable with the daily challenges our audience has to struggle through in order to survive. The compassion for them turned our focus on the failures into driving force to put more effort in improving our demonstration to become more interactive and effective. From this experience, we learned that as the presenting team, we need to be flexible and sensible, be considerate to the slum dwellers and slow down our pace to ensure two way communications. Above all, it was impressive that our team collaborated well and was willing to persist through the challenges together.
Visiting the slum was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. I could never understand the slum dwellers’ hardships until I was physically there to observe and listen to them. These residents are trapped in the cycle of poverty. Their priorities are to eat and stay alive; living in a pest-free, clean and healthy environment will be of too high opportunity cost for them. Hence, there are little acts we can do as a team/individual to relieve the strains and bring significant change to their lives. For example, donating a water-filter system can definitely relieve the water crisis in a slum area.
Nonetheless, the problem for a technology-innovation team is: which is the most pressing, worth-solving need that we should tackle in such limited amount of resources in terms of time, funding, skills and knowledge? I really hope by the end of the course, we are able to show our partners a tangible prototype that solves the need and gives them hope.
These are the homes that shelter the slum dwellers generation after generation. Most slum dwellers were originally farmers in their home-land. They gathered at the city to seek jobs and opportunities for better life, better education for their children. They are hoping for a way out from poverty; However, they do not have enough money to stay in a proper house, eat proper meal and receive proper health-care, even in the city.