August 2002 - Annette Culpan

We have reached ‘half time’ of this World of Difference year and this month has been my toughest yet. With four volunteers out in August the planning required was full on. I have always been the sort of person that puts 200% and this has been my downfall this month – I find myself completely shattered through sheer over-work.

For me the saving grace in all of this was spending 5 days up in the villages seeing to patients and their progress. This is especially the case with my most loved patient Made who is 80 and crippled from leprosy. He gives me an amazing welcome and huge smile every time I pop into his hut. Made’s wounds are healing well except a deep wound on his hip. One of our volunteers Sue Cowie, who takes extraordinary care when changing dressings sang a Maori waiata while doing his. I have no doubt he would have loved it. It is this time in the field with magical volunteers and patients unrelenting spirit that keeps me motivated and my passion for the cause alive. It was great to finally see Julia in the field with patients who clearly adore her.

It is such fascinating and fulfilling work. We discovered one leprosy patient who begs for a living but is married with six little girls who he can barely care for. His village chief asked us if our team would be prepared to take a couple of the girls and look after them. I felt heartbroken he had even asked. Our solution for this family is to help with food, education and leprosy treatment for the father - a plan that keeps them together and stops the leprosy/ poverty cycle.

My main role when visiting villages is recording patient histories and injuries. The digital technology provided by the Vodafone NZ Foundation to take photos of a patient’s face and injuries has been a godsend in this regard. When you have a face as a reference it is so much easier to locate the patient again for follow up treatment.

A visit earlier in the month to the John Fawcett Foundation provided me with me with a real shake. On this visit it was emphasised just how critical Trust registration in Bali and Indonesia was and it was very clear that we should only be working in Bali once this had happened. This has been something of real concern to myself for some months. Thankfully Trust management arrived mid-month to tackle the issue. Their reception by Balinese leaders from village level right up to the top has been reportedly encouraging. The Trust was even donated a clinic on the northern coast to achieve trust status in Bali – this will be a huge milestone as well as key risk mitigation for volunteers in Bali. I look forward to the day when we have this fundamental piece of paper attributing confirmed legal status.

On a personal level August has been a month of great happiness. On the 17th my partner (and best friend) proposed to me on our one-year anniversary. We were on a visa run to Singapore at the time and had taken shelter under a bridge from a tropical downpour. Of course I said yes and a Bali wedding early next year is looking likely.

I was brought back down to earth soon after with the tragic news that my dad’s little brother Denis had died from an unexpected brain aneurysm. We are a really close family and I flew home immediately to support mum, dad and the rest of the family. These times in life are an important reminder that nothing is a certainty, that ‘time and tide waits for no man’ - we need to make the most of every day & try to be the best people that we can be. A huge thank you to Vodafone NZ and to the Trust for your wonderful support over this time.

August marks the sixth month and ‘half time’ of my World of Difference year. There is so much left to do. Rome wasn’t built in a day and things happen even slower in Bali. The next month will be packed with preparation for Kuta Remembrance Week (if anyone would like to assist with this please contact me directly) after that, I’ll be ready for a bit of time out.

Annette

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