Standing at
the biggest waterfall, I’ve ever seen, I was just amazed by the power of the
water, running over rocks, boiling and crushing everything in its path. The
creation of God was just overwhelming at this point as I stood in the mist and
in front of this beautiful creation of God.
We were up
in Stung Treng with friend Grahame and his wife, Katy. I arrived with my best
friend, Malaria again at their home and had to sleep the fever off, first. By
now the Malaria is playing havoc in my body and I am not sure, how many times
this will come and haunt me?? I was on my way to Ratanakiri to help the Kring
tribal people with my friend James. This is always an outreach that I treasure
very much as the tribal people are very dear to my heart. Another friend Ian, a
Kiwi, came with and together we tackled the mud to Koklak. Getting there is
always an adventure.
They were
waiting for us when we arrived and we made short time to start to help them,
off course after a dip in the river to get all the dust and mud of our
bodies….. Cough and colds and ear-infections were the most common illnesses but
we also came upon my good friend, Malaria as well. These places are a breeding
place for mozzies and they do not have any protection against these mosquitoes.
Sixty
percent of Cambodia's landscape poses a malarial risk. One million Cambodians
are infected with malaria each year. Of those infected, between 1.5 percent and
10 percent in some remote provinces, die. Malaria remains one of the primary
causes of mortality in Cambodia, however. Sustained efforts through local and
national malaria control will be necessary to contain Cambodia's malaria
epidemic. Drug resistance complicates effective treatment of malaria in
Cambodia. Cambodia has the largest number of drug-resistant forms of malaria in
the world. There are many reasons for this: Mosquitoes are developing
resistance to certain insecticides; environmental changes are creating new
breeding sites; and people are commonly not finishing the full course of
malaria medications or taking cheap, ineffective antimalarial drugs available
on the market. Malaria treatment in Cambodia is further complicated by poor
drug quality. In recent years, counterfeit drugs containing no active
antimalarial substance have been found in private drug stores throughout the
country.
http://www.prb.org/Articles/2002/FewerMalariaCasesinCambodia.aspx
We also took the bikes and
went over to the mountain of Phnom Chi. Brett accompanied me on this one and
faithful partner, John also came along. Rainy season this year did not pose
such a big deal here as most for the water already is gone. Lots of people already
left the forest areas, seeking for better places to find work. Many were on
holiday as we just finished the local holiday season. In Relose we found more
than enough people to help and once again the medicines came in handy. This
time we even met a man with serious Tb of the Spine. He can barely walk and
when he shows us his back, it all confirms the illness he is suffering from. He
does not want to go to the doctor as he does not have any money, but we advice
him to go as it can save his life. Tb meds are for free through a program from
the government. We can just hope and pray that he will make use of that. I will
check on him from time to time. It is always good to spend time with our
friends up in Kabal Domrey and encourage them to do better in proclaiming the
word of God. Please pray with us for this place as ground is hard and people’s
hearts are even harder for the Gospel.
On the home front, Toinette
is very busy with Gideon at home. We are encountering various forms of attitude
and resistance from him, but God is good to us and Toinette is getting better in
training him every day. Toinette is also enjoying teaching at Ywam on Women’s
Health issues. Anton is just the happy-go-lucky person he is all day and enjoy
life.
Love
Rossouw-clan
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