The Brothels Continue...

Hello EVERYONE; to those in the north, in the south, in the east and in the west!! Juum Reep Sua!! It's evening time here right now and it's raining outside...again!!

We, at the clinic, have decided because of our lack of funding that we have to stretch out our "brothel outreach"days to once every two weeks. Although we were able to visit a brothel community in need of medical attention this past monday. We went with one of the girls from the centre who lives amongst and used to work in the brothels. We walked along the river and under bridges and around shanty homes and around chickens and inbetween buildings and finally found our way through a narrow passageway to a brothel. Sometimes I can't even tell which ones are brothels or just homes. It's not like the girls stand out on the corner like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman! (sigh...I love that movie) There are no high boots or blonde wigs. There are just girls, with dirty skin and normal faces. Girls that think it's just normal to do what they have to do.

You can spot easily some brothels though. Usually the ones with long corridors and multiple rooms off the hallways with only beds in them are the more obvious ones...like the one I visited in Svay Pak. Our girl proudly introduced us to the girls and we got down to business (no pun intended!). Vitamins, de-wormers, amoxicillin, STI meds and....CONDOMS were mainly given out this time(which they grabbed with a shy smile!). They were very thankful which made me so happy too. There are two brothers, about 11 and 13 who come to the Daughter's school. They followed us from the centre even though they were seriously advised not too and became our Bag Carriers...they were so cute sitting right beside the women as they talked about discharge, itch or failed home abortions! Acutally, to be honest...these boys are a bit fruity and dainty (if you know what i mean) Which makes me feel more protective of them!!

I have a sense of gratitude when I walk into their worlds. Like I'm the lucky, priviledged one who is blessed to visit such a place. Out of so many westerners, I am the one that they trust enough to speak of their attrocities with and accept medicine from!! I try to soak it up. So I can hash it all out in my mind and heart later. I feel like I am walking into their community with the feet of God Herself: eventhough that is COMPLETELY the most cheesiest thing I've ever heard or said...it's so freaking true, I just have to say it! Uhhh, I annoy myself sometimes!!

We had our first birth this week too! It was a baby girl and the mama wished to keep her! We visited her in the hospital to see she was getting the care she should (we took some girls to the dentist on monday morning and they refused to treat them: b/c they were ex-sex workers...I was spitting mad!) and also pay for the delivery (20 dollars for the birth and 10 for the nurses bribes!) I was shocked by the size of her episiotomy: 4th degree for sure (for those nurses in the crowd). Apologies to the qweezy ones in the crowd!

Here's a video of me "showing off" my clinic. Let's just say as a prepatory suggestion: don't judge my growing brunnette roots, try not to be annoyed with my hand gestures and forgive the bum/gitch show!! (Mall and Shawna should be VERY accustomed to the gitch show! I am repeatedly told that they hang out....sorry!?)
Oh, and the t-shirt I'm sporting in the video is one of the designs that FREED, the t-shirt business, created that the girls run from Daughter's.