Thursday, 9th of August 2012: The 4th day of Cambodia Relief Mission ‘12

We departed as early as 6.30 this morning, heading first to the nearby mosque to meet up with other 15 IMAC volunteers as today was really our first day of carrying out the ‘3 combo’ i.e mobile clinics, khitan and health education/games simultaneously. Alhamdulillah, we were really grateful for the extra helping hands from the IMAC.

After almost an hour finalising and arranging things, 2 vans-full with volunteers and medicines left the mosque to head down to Krahom kor village. The journey which took about one and a half hour  brought us deep into a small village and as we went deeper, the road was no longer tarred and unpaved while the air was filled with dust whenever our vans and other motorcyclists passed by. The houses at the roadside were also very basic-yet looked peaceful while some were already a bit shattered. We knew that IMAC had chosen the right village.

We arrived at the village’s main mosque called Sultan Ashaibani Mosque at 9am and were welcomed by the villagers, eagerly waiting for us and we could also see some boys already wearing their ‘kain pelikat’ , getting ready for khitan. 

More and more villagers came from all walks of life

About 40 boys prepared for khitan. 1 somehow managed to escape at the end!Huhu

We quickly set up the place according to the 3 groups that we had been initially assigned to which were the mobile clinic, khitan and health education/games teams.  For khitan, we were given a room but with no electricity-no working fan and no lights. Still we managed to open 4 tables and there were mainly a total of 2 IMAM and IMAC volunteers for each table while others organized themselves into preparing the surgical equipments, ready-to-go local anaesthetic injections, preparing medicines and a lollipop to be given away to each boy.

                           THE bed.                         

Packaging painkillers & antibiotics

IMAM & IMAC volunteers working hand in hand as Tok (and Mak) Mudin ;)

As for mobile clinic, we opened 3 stations i.e registration & taking blood pressure, consultation with doctors and drugs dispensation counters.  Alhamdulillah as many as 235 villagers came for it. 

Chim lo’o: blood normal

Capet: doctor

Aw-kuhn: thank u :)

These were some of the basic Khmer words that we used to communicate with the Cambodians-along with other possible body languages we could think of just to get the message across.hehe

Paracetamol & multivitamin were the ‘hot stuffs’ at the drugs dispensation counter 

 

By noon, we had a short break to perform our Zohor prayer and a local family was very nice to allow the girls to perform the prayer at their own house. We also used the opportunity to go to a nearby village to buy some medicines as we ran out of them.

Getting to know the locals during our afternoon break

Some were intrigued by the iphone games.hehe

The other team had also managed to educate and cheer up the kids by teaching them how to brush their teeth and demonstrate proper hand wash.

Time for some games! :)

And colouring contest too

Not forgetting, some donations to the mosque and to the villagers

We hope that the visit had benefited all who came and what was given, taught and shared would go a long way. We were also honoured to have such a warm welcomed by the villagers and we sincerely apologized for any shortcomings. Wallahualam.

Wednesday, 8th August 2012: The 3rd day of Cambodia Relief Mission '12

Our main activity for today is visiting house of Emirates (HoE) Orphanage located only less than half an hour drive from our hotel in Phnom Penh. We stopped by again at the market on our way to the orphanage to get the other half of our equipments and medical supplies.

Awesome-looking watermelon

We finally reached our destination at 10.30am which was quite behind our schedule. We were so overwhelmed by the fact that not only we are welcomed warmly by the residents, they also helped us with our heavy baggages. Thanks to them, we could start our tentatives fairly on time.

Excited faces before the program starts.

For this occasion, the team was divided into 3 small groups and have to worked separately like cleaning the compounds, decorating the mosque and mosque, and not to forget, Health education.

"This is how u brush ur teeth!"

After zohor prayer, we continued our event with a short origami-teaching session. Initially, it was only joined by a number of kids with a few keen spectactors, as we progress, more came along to join. We used a handful of the completed origami for decoration purposes later on.
At 3.00pm, we began our game session. Who knew that kids could play that hard even while fasting.
Nothing is more pleasurable than watching them smiling and happy.

"U ain't gonna get this!"

By 6.00pm, we were all headed to the canteen for iftar. We were joined by our fellow friends from IMAC (Roly, Abd Rashid etc) who will be joining us on the next day for other visits.

Our team member helped preparing the food

Simple yet a total filling.

Smiling faces before the iftar

"Cheese!"

We had our closing ceremony at 8.30pm before we bid our farewell where we distributed stationaries and donation to the orphanage.

Final group pix before we left.

All in all, what we had gone through was just a beginning. The satisfaction of doing something for the ummah is much GREATER than the exhaustion from fulfilling the whole mission. We pray that a great leader will born among the kids and could bring a brighter future to the Cambodian muslim. Amin~

Tuesday, 7th August 2012: The 2nd day of Cambodia Relief Mission '12

Our day started with suhuur at 3 am and subh prayer at 4.30 am. Then, we went for a tour around Phnom Penh at 8.30 am to 9.50 am, guided by Brother Hassan, Brother Hafiz, and Brother Tarmizi. Some of the places visited by us are The Independent Monument, Diamond Island and the Grand Palace. We were told about some of the history of Cambodia, mainly about the country's independence from French colonial  throughout the tour.

In front of  The Grand Palace.

At 10.30 am, we went to IMAC headquarters to meet the leaders of IMAC. There, we were discussing about the mission, mainly updating the schedule and the list of medication, and some Q&A regarding the mission. The president of IMAC, H.E Dr. Hj Sos Mousine gave us some overview on the mission and give some suggestion to us on how we should manage our mission. The meeting ended around 12pm and we leave the HQ after zuhr and asr prayer.
 

Briefing and discussion with IMAC leaders

Then, we went to buy medicines as suggested by IMAC and some materials and apparatus for our upcoming activities. After a long day shopping, we arrived at the hotel for some rest. At 5.30 pm, we went for a boat cruise around Mekong River and having iftaar on the boat. After that, we went to the mosque for isya’ and tarawikh prayer. Later, we have some reflection on today’s activity and briefing for tomorrow and updating the inventory list for the medicine.

Shopping

Shopping (and bargaining)

Iftaar on the boat

In summary, the second day is our preparation day, as the upcoming days will be the main course in this mission. Failing to provide adequate preparation will only harm the mission like one famous saying; "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail".

"And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged." [8:60]

Monday, 6th August 2012: The 1st Day of Cambodia Relief Mission '12

In the name of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful, Cambodia Relief Mission '12 began..

It was the day we finally departed to Cambodia after about 9 months of preparations. As arranged, we met in front of the international departure gate at LCCT to distribute all the essential equipments between us. Upon arrival at Phnom Penh Airport, we have been approached by Brother Hassan Mao, a representative from IMAC. We were also joined by his two colleagues, Brother Hafiz and Brother Tarmizi who can speak Indonesian and English fluently. We were then brought to Puncak Hotel before we had our first Iftar in Cambodia at D’Nyonya, a Malaysian Restaurant. 

Our hotel in Phnom Penh, Puncak Hotel

Just arrived the hotel. Everyone looked excited! :O

While waiting for the meal, we had a short and warm Ta’ruf with the brothers. Brother Hassan told us a very interesting, yet a heart-breaking background of child education in Cambodia. We learned that some Cambodian youngsters were discouraged by their parents from finishing their school education because they do not see the importance of higher education to their lives as farmers. Hence Brother Hassan stressed that this is the ‘mindset’ IMAC is trying to change.

CRM '12 crew with Brother Hafiz, Brother Tarmizi and Brother Hassan

The time had finally came for the meal of the day! It was the heart-shaped Nasi Goreng Kampung :D

Our day ended with Solat Tarawih at a nearby local mosque. At the mosque, we felt very welcomed with the friendliness of the Cambodians. To our surprise, most of them could speak a bit of Malay Language. I could remember that at least each of us was approached by a Cambodian and the sweetest thing is, there was one girl called us “pretty girls”..hehehe.  

To conclude, I would like to quote the verse from Al-Quran about Muslim Brotherhood, and not to forget Sisterhood in Islam.

"The believers are but brethren, therefore make peace between your brethren and be careful of (your duty to) Allah that mercy may be had on you." [49:10]