Report 11 When I witness people, impatient to expand their gardens, striking bomb-contaminated land with picks and shovels, I’m reminded of a family that I met a few years ago in Xieng Khuang Province. The parents had three young children and were dependent on a small garden and rice field for their livelihood. As...
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Report 10 Hats off to the Dutch! I arrived in Vientiane a day too late to meet the surgeons from the Netherlands who were in Laos under the auspices of the Dutch non-government organization Bridge the Gap. They had completed their annual surgical mission to Laos the day before and had already departed from...
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Report 9 I sat out under the stars for nearly an hour last night. We are so far removed from any light pollution that the night sky flaunts a lavish profusion of stars. We’re lucky in northern Wisconsin to have dark, star-studded skies but I can’t recall any night scene as striking as what...
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Report 8 In spite of two tough days on the road and a late arrival last night Chomrong, our Team Leader, had everyone up early this morning. By 7:00 AM with equipment in hand the team was aboard the truck and we were all bouncing down the road toward Dak Den village and our...
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Report 7 As we went about our work yesterday, Yai and I were both keenly aware of the ten-year-old girl lying in the clinic next to our camp. Not that any sound came from her room. There is anguish on the child’s face but she bears the pain in her broken arm bravely, silently....
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Report 6 En route to a new worksite we always visit hospitals and clinics along the way to determine what resources are available should someone on our team need emergency medical attention. The hierarchy runs from provincial hospital, to district hospital to village clinic (sometimes labeled “dispensary”). The provincial and district hospitals typically have...
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Report 5 In previous years our work with unexploded ordnance has taken the form of “rapid response.” We’ve employed the simple strategy of moving into a remote village that has a known history of contamination and telling residents that if they lead us to problem ordnance we will make the device safe within forty-eight...
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Report 4 Yai and I always arrive on site at least a week ahead of the rest of the team. We meet with village leaders, pick a site for camp, arrange for delivery of food and water, and begin logging reports of problem ordnance. By day six or seven we’re always eager for the...
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Report 3 Our camp is in good shape. Our tents are on flat land next to a small building that should protect us from the prevailing winds and the dust they carry. We’ve found a safe spot to build our cooking fire. (It’s dangerous to build fires on uncleared land. Less than two weeks...
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Report 2 Today was a roller coaster: highs and lows, good luck immediately followed by bad. After being out of phone range for several days, my morning high was hearing Marty answer her cell phone in Wisconsin. However, we only talked for a few minutes before Yai, my interpreter, interrupted our conversation to convey...
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