A Different Kind of Holiday: Lawrence’s Physio Trip in Indonesia
I am really proud of Excel Physio’s Lawrence Lin, who chose to spend his two-week holiday reaching out to remote communities in rural Indonesia. Lawrence, who has been working at Excel as a full-time Physio for over a year now, has been working tirelessly to upskill himself in the Physiotherapy profession – spending weekends on professional development courses. It was really good to sit down and chat about his motivations and experiences in Indonesia.
Where did you go and why?
I recently went to Bali for two weeks with four of my friends. It wasn’t your typical ‘holiday to Bali’ but we used our holiday with a different purpose in mind. After a year of planning, my friends and I, who are all health practitioners, partnered with a local non-profit organisation to see how we can use our clinical skills in a different setting and culture. Yes, I had to sacrifice my annual leave to go on this trip but this was a faith driven trip that was motivated out of love and compassion to those less fortunate.
What did you see and do?
We partnered with a local organisation called Access Life Bali. Their vision is to give hope and care to people with disabilities and to communities without access to clean water. We were involved with the mobility projects that aimed to provide mobility aids, physiotherapy treatment, and training to individuals within communities who wouldn’t otherwise have access to these. Together with some of the workers of this organisation, we sought to mobilise and provide hope to those less fortunate.
Everyday, we would drive 45-60 minutes through heavy traffic to a village or community where we treated a patient with a physical condition or disability. We would hang out with them in their homes, drink Balinese coffee, share some hope, provide mobility aids and physiotherapy treatment with whatever resources we could use. This was a very different environment to what I’m used to back in Sydney. I was not in my comfortable treatment room with all the equipment and tools that I normally use at my disposal.
What did you learn?
Never EVER judge a book by its cover. The people that we saw in these villages were nowhere near as well off as we are in Australia. Yet, they seemed content and happy with what they have. They were grateful of our time that we spent with them and the love that we showed them, even though most of the time we couldn’t do much physically because their condition or disability was severe.
We are very blessed in Australia. We probably have one of the best healthcare systems in the whole world even though we take it for granted most of the time. I have learned to appreciate our awesome healthcare in Australia.
Here is a short YouTube clip of Lawrence’s trip to Indonesia: