making stuff

After yesterday's holding on blog which are the grim realities of lack of basic medicine, clean water and education. I wanted to bring you a little of the work that I have been doing, I work hands on with children adults, pregnant women out reach, anybody and everybody, but I also run training for healthcare workers, NGO'S, children on the streets to look at how they can use the arts to relay health education messages set up workshops to engage difficult to reach people to give people the opportunities to learn new skills and my biggest concern, looking at how the arts can impact on mental health issues in a country where there is very little mental health provision. This all happens from one suitcase of materials which always seems to bring a whole world of chaos in it's wake. I always travel light, clothes your standing up in, tooth brush, red lipstick and perfume, because nothing in the world can save you from some of those smells. So this is my travelling kit and the rest of my bags full of paint, glitter, beads, pencils, scissors. I always wonder how one bag can explode into huge chaotic messes of creativity, as you can see in the above photos in the middle of a hospital ward. The most brilliant thing there is health and safety is really non existent, people use there common sense instead Hoorah! I still find it hard to comprehend that there were children and adults who had never held a pencil. I just can't imagine. My khmer is limited there English lots better than mine, but we don't need words. The paintbrushes dance and we have a universal language.