David - July 6
After going to breakfast at Canadian Dave's (after we finally found it, the portions were massive), we came back to meet Sheila & Geoff. They have clearly been here many times before and know people so they got a lighter, nicer and more modern room. We also met their Burmese friend Bobo and had a chat at a cafe table opposite the hotel while it poured with rain. Until recently, it has been pouring with rain all the time, Bobo said.
Sunday, 8 July 2012
Hello Mae Sot!
Maya, 5th July
We arrived at Mae Sot around tea time after a very very long day travelling from Kanchaniburi. We had our own private taxi and we were all very comfortable. We stopped a few times and went to KFC for lunch at a service station, it was my first ever KFC so it was rather bizarre having it in a Thai service station. There was also some Ed Sheeran and aJessie J cover playing and everything felt very Western. It couldn't have been more different when we got to Mae Sot. Everything is very local and there is few tourists here, when we are on the streets we stand out due to the fact we are pale skinned (me to the extreme) and are a large family with younger kids. Mai Sot is filled with a variety of people due to it location next to the Burma border, there is Koren, Burmese, Thai and others.
It is great to finally get to Mae Sot and I am very excited to go to CDC and meet the children and the school teachers including Say Hai and Thein Naing It is slightly surreal being here after we have talked about it for so long.
We arrived at Mae Sot around tea time after a very very long day travelling from Kanchaniburi. We had our own private taxi and we were all very comfortable. We stopped a few times and went to KFC for lunch at a service station, it was my first ever KFC so it was rather bizarre having it in a Thai service station. There was also some Ed Sheeran and aJessie J cover playing and everything felt very Western. It couldn't have been more different when we got to Mae Sot. Everything is very local and there is few tourists here, when we are on the streets we stand out due to the fact we are pale skinned (me to the extreme) and are a large family with younger kids. Mai Sot is filled with a variety of people due to it location next to the Burma border, there is Koren, Burmese, Thai and others.
It is great to finally get to Mae Sot and I am very excited to go to CDC and meet the children and the school teachers including Say Hai and Thein Naing It is slightly surreal being here after we have talked about it for so long.
Saturday, 30 June 2012
The Allen Family on their way to CDC
Gaynor Allen, David Lee, Maya, Seth, Imogen and Livvy Allan are on their way to CDC School, Mae Sot and to Rangoon, Burma. Follow their journey on www.ourthaiburmatrip.wordpress.com. (30.6.12)
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
CDC Boarders need food... please help.....
We are currently facing a very severe funding shortage of 18 million Thai Baht (US $600,000 or £364,000) and urgently need your support in helping us run our key services until the end of the year.
Despite the recent changes in Burma, we have yet to see a fall in patient numbers or a decrease in the number of children seeking protection and education. The continuing need for vital health and education services for the border community is evident, but it is becoming more of a struggle to raise the funds needed to continue our activities. We have not received enough donations to cover our funding needs in 2012, which will unfortunately lead to cuts in staff and services unless we receive further support.
In June, just days before World Refugee Day, the clinic held a series of emergency meetings to decide on measures that would minimise the funding shortfall. It was agreed that, effective immediately, staff would receive a 20% cut to their stipend. This will be very hard for everyone when our staff’s average salary is only 4000 baht (approximately £75) per month.
We will also have to reduce the number of staff at Mae Tao Clinic, which is also very distressing; Mae Tao Clinic is not just a workplace for our staff, it is also a home. 95% of our staff are displaced people from Burma.
We are also going to have to reduce our services; this may include any non-essential services and any non-emergency referrals. We are currently also very worried that we will be unable to continue providing dry food rations to the 3,000 unaccompanied children staying in boarding houses.
If there were genuine change in Burma, we would see fewer patients, since Burmese government hospitals would be fully equipped to deal with our caseload and provide affordable health services. We would no longer have such large numbers of unaccompanied children, separated from their families in order to access education or to escape from the threats of forced labour.
Until the day there is genuine peace in Burma and the government can provide quality health and education to all of its people, Mae Tao Clinic will continue serve those in need. But we really need more support to do this. To make a donation, please visit our donate page. Please also pass this urgent message on to your friends and family.
Despite the recent changes in Burma, we have yet to see a fall in patient numbers or a decrease in the number of children seeking protection and education. The continuing need for vital health and education services for the border community is evident, but it is becoming more of a struggle to raise the funds needed to continue our activities. We have not received enough donations to cover our funding needs in 2012, which will unfortunately lead to cuts in staff and services unless we receive further support.
We will also have to reduce the number of staff at Mae Tao Clinic, which is also very distressing; Mae Tao Clinic is not just a workplace for our staff, it is also a home. 95% of our staff are displaced people from Burma.
We are also going to have to reduce our services; this may include any non-essential services and any non-emergency referrals. We are currently also very worried that we will be unable to continue providing dry food rations to the 3,000 unaccompanied children staying in boarding houses.
If there were genuine change in Burma, we would see fewer patients, since Burmese government hospitals would be fully equipped to deal with our caseload and provide affordable health services. We would no longer have such large numbers of unaccompanied children, separated from their families in order to access education or to escape from the threats of forced labour.
Until the day there is genuine peace in Burma and the government can provide quality health and education to all of its people, Mae Tao Clinic will continue serve those in need. But we really need more support to do this. To make a donation, please visit our donate page. Please also pass this urgent message on to your friends and family.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
The Power of a Photo
Being a follower of Borderline Collective on facebook (the art gallery and coffee shop in Mae Sot), I was sent a link to an article in The Irrawaddy:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22861
This photo was taken on the rubbish dumps outside Mae Sot. This is the kind of situation many of the Burmese students see or have been through in their lives. Brings tears to your eyes.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22861
This photo was taken on the rubbish dumps outside Mae Sot. This is the kind of situation many of the Burmese students see or have been through in their lives. Brings tears to your eyes.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Political Prisoners Released Today
Today in Burma some of the highest profile political prisoners (people almost as important to the Burmese as Aung San Suu Kyi) were released. Is this a good sign?
The government released – Min Ko Naing, Ashin Gambira, Khun Tun Oo, Ko Ko Gyi, Khin Nyunt and many more. There is still a great deal of suspision surrounding the government though but we can at least hope this is a step in the right direction. We hope our Burmese friends feel the same!
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Leaving Scotland .....
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