It was 10 years ago when I was in the 12th grade. Graduation was soon approaching, and with it came the uncertainty of what I would study after grade school. What major would best match my interests, what kind of career would I prepare for? I was excited to begin a new phase of my life, but I had many questions, and the future was unclear.
This blog updates on the Cambodian national disease reporting hotline project, a collaboration between the Cambodian CDC, Skoll Global Threats Fund and InSTEDD. For background information on the project visit here.
The Khmer Writing App was developed out of an InSTEDD iLab iCamp to address low country-wide reading and writing scores among young children. Since its creation, one school has had several months to test and experience the benefits of using this educational, entertaining teaching aid.
Phnom Penh is one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. One of the side-effects of such rapid expansion is a struggle to contain waste management. For example, many Phnom Penh waterways are littered by so much trash that one can’t see the water’s surface beyond styrofoam containers and other plastic waste.
“I was nervous to take this first trip alone, and unfortunately once I landed, the airline lost my baggage. However, I borrowed a shirt from another female EpiHack participant and over the course of the event we developed a close relationship.”
“I also found the EpiHack organizers and other local participants were very helpful in assisting me in getting settled in, including helping me until I received my bags.”
“As for the event, I found it interesting to learn about the current system of technology that has been used in Sri Lanka and to learn about the problems that we could help address.”
“The theme of the event was Dengue Fever. During the first day of the event, I was a little lost with the language. The local people spoke so fast and I was not familiar with the tonation. However by the second day onward, I felt more comfortable and I found myself getting used to the tonation and the speech became easier to process.”
“The biggest challenge, however, was working as group to get a prototype done before the closing of the 5-day event.”
“What I enjoyed the most was the field trip. I found it very fascinating. We got to meet with the local people and learn about their needs directly.”
“The trip was a great experience which changed me. I’ve gained new inspiration from the way the group worked together during the event. Participants collaborated extremely fast and used critical thinking skills. I feel like I am not quite at that rapid level yet, but I will be. And I also realized that I need to be better prepared when traveling if an airline ever loses my bags again.”
EpiHacks are collaborative week-long events that bring together public health officials, epidemiologists, and technologists to to create digital solutions for improved disease surveillance. Since 2013 EpiHacks have been held in countries around the world including Tanzania, Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
InSTEDD iCamp is a one-day rapid prototyping workshop designed to give an opportunity to all agricultural development actors to discuss their work challenges and to both propose solutions and to validate ideas with real farmers.
Recent research from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has shown that students in Grade 3 struggle with writing proficiency in their native language, with a 65% failure rate at writing sentences correctly.
Controlling dengue requires timely reporting from the affected community. Simply put, if mosquito larvae can be controlled, dengue can be controlled.
It was a different world. Under a scorching daylight, we were trudging along a gravel road, not quite knowing which direction to turn. There were no signs of neon lights, concrete or ubiquitous Lexus’ from the streetscapes of Phnom Penh. The color pallet was mostly of browns, greens and blues of the sky, instead of the usual grey. The air felt drier and cleaner.
Controlling dengue requires timely reporting from the affected community. Simply put, if mosquito larvae can be controlled, dengue can be controlled.
