Physical Therapy in Cambodia with Projects Abroad

This placement and cultural travel experience has exceeded what I thought I would learn here in Cambodia. I have been able to be apart of the growing lives of the children and adults at the Centre I was placed at. Helping with their day to day physical heath needs. I believe this experience has helped me to grow as well, in ways I was not expecting or will see as time unfolds. I could practice to communicate in Khmer with both patients and staff as well as English to those here who speak it as well. I’ve been supported by the Projects Abroad staff on this journey and have met lots of other volunteers on my journey as well. I’ve been able to share travel/social experiences with volunteers and others we’ve met on the way. There are many places to learn about the culture and history here in Cambodia and also places to go and relax and recharge. I’ve felt safe here and have enjoyed not having to cook or do bulk laundry whilst away! With the many services that help provide these for you here. The cooking from the Projects Abroad apartment staff has been fantastic. I was able to go to a local gym as well and have gotten used to taking tuk tuks most places. New volunteers come and go and it has been nice getting to know them in the longer or shorter time we have had.

It's been about a month since I came back from Cambodia and I've been reminded everyday of moments of my time there. On arrival I had a helpful induction where I immediately felt welcome and part of the group. Our houselady (despite not speaking a word of english) conveyed her joy in looking after us from day one. Her cooking was excellent, I always had enough and a decent variety, if I liked a meal I could take a picture to show her and she would make it again another day. She also took myself and some other volunteers along the riverside in one of the boats on one of my first nights. Because of this I got a feel for the city straight away whilst having the reassurance she was looking out for us. As for the project, the first few days were a whirlwind, sometimes overwhelming but I always felt supported by the physio team, who answered all my questions, shared their expertise without judgement but with a smile and a joke. As a newly qualified physio I was encouraged to share my own knowledge and ideas. Most children needed a lot of support. Every session started with massage, stretching and relaxation, I was introduced to the Dohsa-Hou techniques, a style I had not come across before but have since researched and incorporated into my everyday practice. I was also introduced to using my feet in therapy as an extra pair of hands, something I'm not sure if we use in the UK, but made total sense, especially for the more high tone children, if only to avoid getting an accidental foot/hand to the face! Therapeutically, this also gave extra sensory feedback to the children, for example protecting the child's back with a towel and having the therapist use their shin to support, left the therapists hands free to give slight pressure to the chest and shoulders, once you feel the child move in the correct way or relax (whatever the goal of the session is) you may relax your own body to encourage this movement. After massage and stretching, we encouraged the children to practice exercises through play to whatever level they were capable, trying to improve little by little until ready for the next stage. For example, one child might be learning to control their head and look around the room whilst lying prone. The children's personalities and sense of humour really shined, you might have to make some funny faces or use toys to engage with some children, whilst others would copy my english words and laugh at my poor attempts of Khmer! We also used prosthesis like lower leg or full leg braces to practice standing, either with a therapist or in one of the standing frames. It was also important from a medical standpoint to be aware of the children's needs, some would fatigue quickly, some needed extra head support in standing, others to make sure they were swallowing and not at risk of aspiration. Mostly a general eye around the room every five minutes worked for me and I was hardly ever left alone to watch the children. The only fault I found with the program was the way some children were being handled by the home's staff (not the physio team). I believed this to be from lack of experience/understanding or time/physical constraints rather than intentional neglect and upon mentioning it to my project manager it was addressed quickly. I ran out of time to run a manual handling training session but this could definitely be followed up and would be useful. Whilst I was there I had the opportunity to refresh the filing system, reorganise the physio wall, paint a mural with the children and other volunteers and fundraise for the physio room to have air conditioning, so there was lots of extra projects to undertake! The project hours worked well for me although it was an early start each day. It sometimes got frustrating to deal with the heat, as my project was far from the volunteer house it made more sense to stay there the whole day than travel back for lunch. We did have a long lunch break to rest which was nice, I also got to try almost every iced drink from the cafe across the road. The tuk tuk ride to and from my project was great, I felt like another local commuting to and from work and I noticed something new everyday from the back seat. The Grab app was very easy to use, the drivers were friendly and a tip was always appreciated. I felt a huge sense of achievement everyday coming home in the tuk tuk. When i got home my routine was immediately shower, then see what the other volunteers were up to and try to organise an evening activity. Usually this was playing pool or darts at the local "pub" but also other things like going for a massage or a skybar or staying in and playing cards. The other volunteers came from across the world and all had interesting stories and comparisons to make, I made some friends I'm still in contact with now and plan to meet again! A quick word on the culture and weekend activities: everything that was organised was fantastic. There was live traditional khmer boxing, temple visits and water blessings, with more listed on the calender for after I left. There was lots of freedom to plan your own activities too, I visited shopping centres, markets and silk island in Phnom Penh. I took a week for Siem Reap and went horseriding, saw the temples and sunrise over Ankhor Wat, even had my nails done and got a tattoo with some other volunteers! Lastly, I met quite a few staff members during my 6 week stay. They were involved for my culture and project induction, both were in depth and useful. On the weekend day trips they had lots of local knowledge and interest in our experiences. I feel its important to point out that we were treated like adults rather than kids on a school trip, which was something I had worried about. I was also given helpful advice for my next project (veterinary physio!). Overall, the staff were just fab and in conversation with other volunteers I know the feeling was mutual. Coming from a somewhat anxious newly qualified physiotherapist's first time in Asia, I can't thank the team enough. I had the most amazing time and I know I haven't captured everything in this short review. I would gladly recommend Projects Abroad to anyone :) .