"These visits showed me clearly that it
doesn't matter where or who you are, the basic needs are always the same."
Ramona
Teuber Intern Student, Germany Served MAKNA from October to December 2005
At
the end of my studies in Germany I was sure that I wanted to go abroad and do a
development internship. I was also sure about the region I wanted to go: Asia.
So I applied for an AIESEC development traineeship and as I saw the job
description from MAKNA (Majlis Kanser Nasional / National Cancer Council) and I
knew, this is the internship I was searching for.
If somebody will ask me back home, which experiences and moments I remember
most impressively, than my answer will not include the Pretonas Twin Towers or
the KL Tower. It will include my visits to cancer patients at their homes.
These visits showed me clearly that it doesn't matter where or who you are, the
basic needs are always the same.
If you are ill, you need medical advice and treatment;
If you are poor, you need financial help;
And if you are desperate, you need mental support
The first patient I visited was Madam Wong, a 54 years old Chinese woman with
breast cancer. As she came out of her bedroom to welcome my colleague and me in
the living room I was shocked about her physical status. I had seen pictures of
her taken during the last home visit and the woman now sitting in front of me
was not the same person! She must have lost a lot of weight during the last 4
months! Since I'm a nutritionist I know about the impact cancer treatment can
have on cancer patients but theoretical knowledge and 'real life' experiences
are always two different worlds.
During my three months stay at MAKNA I went also to a small town in Perak,
Taiping (about 250kms from KL) to visit the local hospital and four cancer
patients at their homes. In these areas travel expenses to the hospital put a
heavy financial burden on the patient and the patient's family. This is one
aspect of cancer I had never thought of before. Falling ill means not only
financial expenses for the treatment but it also means paying for getting to
the hospital and a lot of other expenses.
After having met all these cancer patients with their own individual story my
work at MAKNA got a "face". I knew for whom we are working and for
whom we even have to work harder to not only support them with a monthly
allowance but to give them the opportunity to break the vicious circle of
poverty by offering micro credits. I also realized how important mental support
is and that sometimes just a smile or holding someone's hand can make a big
difference.
I hope that all the projects in progress, either the Microcredit program or the
mobile screening, will be implemented successfully. Furthermore I hope I could
contribute at least a little bit to MAKNA's work, especially the effort to
build international networks to strengthen the fight against cancer worldwide.
My sincere thanks to everybody and hope to see you once again
