Nathalie Abejero

Good contest on health care reform

31 March 2010 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

I love this webzine. Good is having a contest to create an infographic about the new health care bill. It has a great roundup of links:

The piece from The New York Times helps sum up the major changes. This piece in the Washington Post shows how people in the House voted, and how much money they took from the health-care lobby. Here is a great bullet-pointed list from CBS. Here is the full text of the bill, and here is the Congressional Budget Office’s estimation of how much it costs. Feel free to supplement this with any data you find yourself. And please, help each other. No one will get extra credit for using special data, so if you find something cool or helpful, please post it in the comments.

Turning the consultancy leaf

30 March 2010 by Nathalie Abejero 1 Comment

I just concluded my employment with the GTZ Health Programme, who I’ve been with since 2006, on a team collaborating with the Ministry of Health and partners on social health protection strategy and policies for Cambodia. Concurrent with health financing initiatives, the programme is active in developing quality accreditation processes at the provincial, district and facility levels. I was responsible for monitoring, evaluation and reporting, the Safe Motherhood programme and patient rights advocacy.

Vastly challenging and rewarding though working on this programme was, after much thought about my role on the team, I finally came to the conclusion that it was too limited on the community mobilisation side, a personal interest that is simply outside the mandate of the programme. I opted to cut the salary ties and go the independent consultancy route. I found myself in a second-guessing cold sweat for several weeks after that decision, but in the end there is no other option.

The disconnect between policy/programme priorities and the goals of the community was not being addressed, and vertical programming is inadequate to address the social issues among the population. Amid the rapid changes in Cambodia’s health care system, it’s a crucial time to build upon the grassroots infrastructure. So I’m currently exploring options for lifestyle messaging trainings. In this I’m referencing primarily safe motherhood/delivery messages considering the high maternal and infant mortality rates (MMR and IMR) in Cambodia (two of our millennium development goals). Having worked on health financing initiatives and in light of Cambodia’s social health protection strategy, in addition to the personal financial planning gaps highlighted by the global economic downturn, I’m also investigating financial literacy as a component of such public health messages.

Another project I’m involved with is developing a Centre for Exchange in Phnom Penh and Vientiane. Back in college, friends and I set up an Asian American organisation under the leadership of a smart businesswoman I greatly admire, Latsamy. Today it is still very active in advocacy and networking. There was a lot of great input from members, and mentorship from a Pakistani activist, Asma Barlas. We’re aiming to set up a platform for Khmer-, Hmong- and Lao-American students to network with fellow students in Cambodia and Laos to promote, advocate and develop sustainable solutions to issues in these two countries.

I’m still concepting the programming strategy for both and bouncing ideas around with fellow consultants and startups. I’ll keep you posted :-)

Guinness surger unit hits Phnom Penh on St Patrick’s Day

19 March 2010 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

This year’s Guinness quest took us to Pacharan for happy hour. Celebrating St Patrick’s Day at a spanish tapas bar might sound a bit odd, but they were temporarily hosting the Guinness Surger Unit. This nifty contraption uses ultrasonic pulses to stimulate the molecules and release the nitrogen, transforming your sad can of Guinness into a cream-brimmed glass of velvet, just like a draught pour. Funky eh? The unit isn’t expensive; I’m amazed these Irish bars around town haven’t caught on to it as it’s been around nearly 4(?) years. And for $3.50 a pint, it sure beats the other bars selling the widget cans for $6.50!

Great piece from Good, on getting to know your Éire-inspired words, from Irish apricots to Irish wolfhounds: Get Your Irish Up!

Like it or not, part of Irish history involves a metric ton of colloquial terms that have the word “Irish” as a describer. While you’re hoisting a Guinness or chasing a leprechaun, take a minute to appreciate this small but vibrant subset of the huger linguistic impact of the Irish. As a substantially Irish person myself, I can appreciate that not all these terms are flattering, but they’re an undeniable fossil record of how people have perceived the Irish, and the prejudice they’ve faced. Dictionaries—accurate ones, anyway—have never been a safe haven for the squeamish; they record the sins, errors, prejudices, and foibles of humanity in all their ugly glory.

late night soup messenger clak-clak-claking down the street

15 March 2010 by Nathalie Abejero 3 Comments

So Keith and I were the other night having a few drinks at Rising Sun by the river when the Soup Messenger came by. Here’s what it sounded like:
[audio:https://www.abejero.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Sound-clip-clak-clak1.mp3|titles=Sound clip clak clak|righticon=0x0000ff]

It’s a relic of the olden days, when food carts roamed the city streets and a little boy was sent ahead to let people know the food is coming. The kid taps a stick against a piece of bamboo, the sound of which the dead of night really carries– especially back when houses were mostly wooden. (The concrete shophouses along the river also bounce a healthy bit of noise). The sequence and rhythm of the clak-clak-clak is code for what kind of food they sold – bohboh (rice soup), nom ban chok (white noodle soup), etc. If you want some, the kid will run back to the cart and bring a bowl of soup to you. The cart pusher will wait until you finish eating (cuz s/he wants his bowl and chopsticks back), and the boy will go on ahead looking for more customers.

When we heard the familiar clak-clak-claks, Keith chased the kid down for a photo (we’ve been trying to catch a picture of him for months!). But it just doesn’t really do it justice. So when the kid came back around to go into the opposite direction I chased after him for a sound clip. It was dark and hardly a soul was out on the streets, so he was probably thinking how loony foreigners are.

‘Round the World in 8 Bottles!

13 March 2010 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

On my final day with the team at the GTZ Health Programme, my fellow technical staff and I were treated to a wine tasting event with Remie (@Vinotage). Got to support a budding entrepreneur and also Java Arts Cafe, which is a great advocate for and supporter of the budding artistic community in Phnom Penh. This group fostered a great environment for success, both on personal professional level and in reaching project goals. I’ll miss them.

offerings to the small lost souls..

10 March 2010 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

This post is about Merenang Kang Veal, the memorials and offerings to those who’ve passed into the next life while still very young (from the aborted to the stillborn to those who died at a very young age). The relationship with nature and all living things whether still on earth or physically gone is still very tangible and real in Asia and the Khmer’s Buddhist tradition. These shrines and offerings are an effort by those still alive to pay respects and appease the wandering and lost spirits. Notice the toys and miniature clothes, food and water given as offerings. We’re doing some research into these to find out more about them. Stay tuned!