Military Cross Award for Naval Medical Assistant Kate Nesbitt

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
Outstanding Foundation Award Winners
The Outstanding Foundation Awards for the Trust’s F1 and
F2 doctors took place on recently at the Plymouth Medical
Centre.
These awards are given to the trainees who have performed
above and beyond the call of duty and are nominated by
H H H H
Outstanding F1 Winner Rachel Clancy, Adrian Dashfield
– Director of Postgraduate Medical Education, Highly
Commended F1 Robert Rigley
Outstanding F2 Winner Eyston Vaughan-Huxley, Adrian
Dashfield – Director of Postgraduate Medical Education,
Highly Commended F2 Katie Williams
their peers, being judged on their performance, abilities and
portfolios. Congratulations to this year’s winners:
Outstanding F1 – Rachel Clancy; Highly Commended – Robert Rigley
Outstanding F2 – Eyston Vaughan-Huxley; Highly commended
– Katie Williams
Staff Achievement – Anne-Marie Hookway, Estates
Anne-Marie Hookway from the Trust’s Estates Team,
took part in an eight-week trip to help in an orphanage
in Sri Lanka earlier this year. Here she writes about her
extraordinary experiences:
After a very long journey to reach the Orphanage at Sister’s
Blessed Virgin in Gampola, Sri Lanka, I arrived late in the
evening after driving through the most beautiful, luscious
countryside. I was lucky to be able to spend my first week
with Liz (a volunteer who had been there since January). She
showed me around and gave me much valued information on
how the place was run and what would be expected of me.
With my own children being in their late teens I forgot how
loud a lot of children can be. But they were all so lovely and
greet you all the time by calling you aunty. The youngest girl at
the orphanage was just four months and the oldest was 19.
The older girls were so sweet and always so helpful, while the
gorgeous little ones wanted lots of cuddles and attention.
I will always remember being woken up on my first morning
around 6 am to hear children singing so beautifully and my day
usually started with breakfast at 7.30 followed by:
l English with the older girls
l An hour helping in one of the 6 Montessori Classes
l English with the Novice Nuns
l Computers with the older girls or sometimes play and feed
the little ones
l Lunch and rest/ own time
l Afternoon tea with the Nuns
l English with the 11–16 yr olds
l Play with toddlers and put them to bed
l 6.30 pm – Answer telephone while Nuns were in evening
prayer
l Supper
l English
with Sister
Rose
l Bed at
9.30
The Nuns
and Novices
at the
orphanage
were so
lovely and
jolly with
nothing
being too
much for
them. They
Anne-Marie with some of the toddlers at
the orphanage
really show great dedication for their vocations with the love
they give to all the children of Sri Lanka, each other and the
support they showed to me.
It was Easter Holidays halfway through my visit and most of
the children went home for as long as they could. The Convent
at the same time held a yearly retreat with a lot of Nuns
coming from all over the Island for the week. During that week
Sister Chandima and myself took seven children aged between
6 – 9 to a smaller convent further up in the hills as a mini
holiday with lots of walks.
I will always value the opportunity of being able to take part
in the Easter celebrations (I have never seen so many people
celebrating mass over the four days). How well behaved the
smaller children were sitting still and quiet for so long.
The only regret I have is being a complete novice to
volunteering and coming away feeling I could have done better.
Having experienced it now I would love to go back and help
more in the future.
6 Autumn 2009 Cascade