Story
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Hello, and thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">As many of you may know, after working within the performance/strategy/policy/project side of health and social care over the past 7 years, I have looked for a new challenge...</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">…so…</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">...on the 9th February 2011, I will be leaving the UK for a 2 year placement in Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My placement is through Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), and I am working within VSO’s health programme.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">This programme has the overall aim to support the development of stronger, more inclusive and accessible health systems to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specifically, I will be working within Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health, which provides both clinical and management support to improving the quality of midwifery services within government hospitals, pre-natal services, safe delivery and improved nutrition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The health programme also works to provide management support, sexual health advice and training of health workers.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">My volunteer role within Cambodia will be as a Hospital Management Advisor, where I will be based in rural hospitals and health centres living and working alongside local clinical and administrative staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My role will be incredibly varied, from providing basic management support to HR and other ‘business’ functions, through to helping to improve referral and information systems for patients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will also be helping to support the local health authorities to review acute, non-acute and public health services, as well as collaborating on new bids for greater funding from international organisations.</span></p>
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<p><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">As you can imagine, I am very excited at the prospect of such a challenging and daunting adventure!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></strong></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">VSO ask all volunteers to try and fundraise at least £900 before they depart, not to pay for their specific placement, but rather to contribute to the overall funding of VSO; this enables future placements to be funded and new volunteers to be supported.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever you may be able to donate, however large or small, would be sincerely appreciated – your money will make a real, tangible difference to the lives of the poorest and most deprived people across the globe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">So, please dig deep and donate whatever you can – rather shamelessly, from the point of view of this JustGiving page, ‘it’s all about the Benjamins’!</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Thank you for your support,</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Pete</span></p>
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