Burma Night at Campie

Only the second day of term and we had our first Campie School community event of the year, which was very ambitious. However, the fundraising team worked together in the holidays and with a lot of help from our Burmese and Forthview friends, we enjoyed a great evening together. Well maybe ENJOYED isn't the best word.

Lisa Houston gave us a heart moving presentation about the work of Mae Tao Clinic (www.maetaoclinic.org). Mae Tao Clinic was set up after the student uprising on 8.8.88 in Rangoon, when Dr Cynthia Maung fled to Mae Sot and set up a clinic in her home. It is now THE ONLY HEALTH SERVICE for half a million internally displaced Burmese and Karen people in East Burma and on the Thai border and serves 120,00 poor Burmese and Karen people working around Mae Sot.

Most moving was when Lisa herself was overcome as she spoke of how desperate people's lives are that sometimes the best choice they can make for their babies is to abandon them at Mae Tao Clinic because they know they will be fed, cared for and given education and a home in the boarding houses.

It's the Dry Food Programme that feeds children in the boarding houses, that Campie School Rice Fund supports. We were all shocked to know what the monthly ration for a child was. We'll talk about this more at Campie.

Apart from Lisa's presentation, we enjoyed the 'best Burmese food yet' and a wee dance. Thanks to Irvine and Gail from Forthview for leading the dancing, even if we had run out of time! It was great too to be joined by Don Ledingham, our Executive Director, Angus Tulloch of the Maitre Trust and Fiona O' Donnell, our MP. It all went to creating a unique and magnificent evening. Thank you Lisa.
PS If anyone has a good photo of the night, send it to me and I'll post it! My batteries ran out.