Jauary 13 , 2008  Letter to the Board
By David and Cathy Downham

Dear Board,

Cathy & I realized we had not written to you for a long time. Our apologies. She has been very busy, getting the accounts up to date and spending a good deal of time at the Hostel and the College. Both need some money spending on them. In the hostel, the required temporary nature of the buildings, makes periodic refurbishing inevitable. Recently it became obvious to Cathy that the small boys needed more looking after – so we are planning to incorporate the ‘girls' and the ‘small boys' cafeteria and kitchen. Having the girls with the small boys should help tidy them up somewhat and the girls can look after the little boys more easily. At the same time the girls shower, toilets, study hall and dorm needs new split bamboo, concrete flooring and fixing up elsewhere.

These are the children who performed so amazingly in the Karen dances. We felt that this initiative needed every encouragement. We bought them the traditional costumes and they performed at Cynthia's Clinic on her Birthday and then at Paw Ray's School at a Christmas Celebration there. These were very big occasions – my guess over a thousand people there each time. They were completely together – a mosaic of a dance, with singing – a traditional story telling of the people. Plans are being made for them to perform on ‘Revolution Day', and they are also going to perform at Doh Tah in the Buddhist temple above the village – a further bonding of these Karen and Thai-Karen people – we think very valuable. We will have to see where they go with this in the longer term from here.

At Doh Tah, we also need a major repairs to Boy's Dorm, a computer room, to move the kitchen so all can cook and eat together at a specific time and set up a common room/sleeping quarters for the staff. Cathy is trying to get in touch with a developer from Sasketchewan, David Heppner, who runs an NGO that has done a great deal in Mae Sot for the building of schools and the education of the children of migrant workers to see if we can get some expert advice, on what and how he thinks we should do this.

Kshakalu has for now evacuated everyone and everything of value except the soldiers from Kaw Tha Blay College sight in Karen State because the SPDC are doing their best to persuade the DKBA soldiers to attack the area – the Buddhist Karen are not keen but are stuck with their previous alliance with the Burmese Army. With a total of about 8000 soldiers only a guerrilla campaign can be possible faced with an army of ½ a million. Maybe it will be possible to get the kids there in the hot months – Mae Lah is not really livable in then – we are hoping so.

Today Kshakalu brought one of his soldiers to Mae Sot to see me. He had fallen in the Mountains 2 months before. He limped into the house. His leg was tender below the knee and it looked as though he had broken it, but with the time extending over two months it appeared to have pretty well healed and the X-rays showed just that. It is a constant wonder to see how amazingly stoic people these are and what sacrifices they are prepared to make to defend their country.

The Clinic seems to be going along much the same as before in most ways. Although the deterioration in the political situation, I believe, is partly, and quite understandably mirrored in people's mood. The major NGO's can make very different decisions sometimes making great improvements and sometimes chaos. Child's Dream, a very wealthy organization from Switzerland has just taken over the financing of all children who need referring from the Clinic. This has made a huge difference almost as much for the Medics as it has been for the children who are in such need of their help. Their decision and capability has changed the world here. But yet at the same time MSF has suddenly decided they will no longer treat people coming from Burma with TB. There is no treatment for the Burmese if they can not afford it - which the vast majority cannot. The reason that MSF gives for this decision is that the numbers failing to complete treatment is very large and that these are therefore encouraging the development of resistant forms. The reasoning for the decision is understandable – sort of. But the situation begs a different answer and this is certainly not it. It does not answer the problems of the people with the disease, nor the people trying to help them. It is an attempt to answer the concerns World Health Experts with an inappropriate Medical solution to a national and international Civic Disgrace. Today I saw a boy of 6 with TB – we cannot not treat him – but it is going to be much more difficult to do so.

We also wanted to ask your opinion about another matter. The Clinic has 3 or 4 trucks used for collecting provisions and also for transporting people. It also has 3-4 lower powered motor cycles – I believe the Lab has one to take specimens and the liaison Medics who work with the Thai Authorities in the Mae Sot General Hospital also have them, and a few other have them too. Getting backwards and forwards fairly rapidly makes for much greater efficiency. Both the senior medics and I feel it would be very helpful if the Trauma Department had one too. There would have to be very stringent rules by whom and what for the bike would be used. Gas would not be a big expense. Police Fines limited to lack of a license (impossible for the non-Thai) should not be too frequent and is 200 baht. Repairs hopefully would not be too bad. Cost price is $1500. What do people think? Cathy's main concern is the possibility of injury – but I frequently ride pillion on a ‘borrowed' bike on various missions, and have so far been pretty happy with my drivers – it would make life easier and I think it would make the Medics feel they are more of a somebody – and anything that cheers them up – I would go for! But leave that to what you think. We have also committed to giving $1200 for radiation and care of a young woman with possible Hodgkin's lymphoma – test results pending since before Christmas!!!

I am going to see if I can find a few pictures of the Dance to send on to you separately and maybe one or two of the Clinic too.

Please give our love to everyone.

Cathy & David

PS from Cathy. We have been having a lot of computer problems – I with my Vista (now changed to XP for $12.00 Can.). And for both the high speed limiting our ability to send and receive. We have just discovered we are being drained by the neighbourhood so will get a password tomorrow. Sharing goes only so far!!!

And more

Dear Friends of Project Umbrella Burma

The above is, just as it looks, a letter written to the PUB Board by David with the usual ‘PS' from me. We have made very little contact with our supporters and apologize. We have had the above mentioned technical problems AND are getting a little ‘more mature' and a tad slower than we would like to admit! We are now getting straightened out in most directions and we wanted you to know what we have been doing with your support.

My accounts are still not up to date (I have a baggie full of receipts that are awaiting translation) but John Mayo tells me our accounts from last year have been reviewed and accepted by our wonderful and respected expert auditor, Ben Cole, and John has filed these with Revenue Canada.

Daughter Christine has created a powerful new website and we will have a place to publish these figures there with our annual spring(ish) newsletter.

The website will have its soft launch tomorrow. We are paying Christine for her efforts but at a very low rate per hour. She has done it with the added difficulties of constantly trying to get pictures, information and organization from her technically challenged parents. The soft launch of www.projectumbrellaburma.com new website is tomorrow. We will have corrections to make and items to add. If anyone has input to give we would be delighted to receive correction and advice. Give us a couple of weeks first.

We haven't purchased the motor cycle yet. I think David has almost persuaded a larger NGO to pay for it so the delay might be working!!

The kids continued to perform and won first prize in a Done (Karen traditional dance –pronounced doan) contest. I have a quote for internet for the college but we haven't made a final, final decision on the location of the computer room. There is dust everywhere during this season and mold the rest of the time so this is critical. The satellite dish will be $235. And depending on the number of terminals we will need to pay @$50/month for the service. Looking at the receipts on my table here I see soap, short pants, nails, nails and wire –gasoline big time; it is the same price as in Canada – batteries, chili, fish paste and late school fees. The exam fees and school maintenance costs for the camp schools are just around the corner as the ‘Roof Leaf Tree's' leaves are just about to fall and then exams and more repairs.

This week we had a desperate call from one of our students that her 25 year old cousin had been brought in by his sister from Karen state because he lost the use of his legs just ten days ago. He was diagnosed on Tuesday with TB of the spine. As MSF is no longer paying for treatment of TB and as he is curable and because of our connection we did not feel we had any option but to support him. Unhappily we will not be able to do this for all the cases that will come across.

More coming soon.

Very Best,

Cathy and David