October 29, 2006 Bringing Supplies and Volunteers to the Refugee Camp
By Cathy Downham

We left Sunday with two of the Eastern Township Education volunteers – Ashley and Leannah and Marvel, Kshakalu's 11 (going on 30) year old daughter. Because there were a possible four volunteers and our pick-up is small, Kshakalu (who is up every morning by five had done the shopping), picked up Marvel at her grandparents, delivered a truck full of food and gasoline, sports equipment –kick, foot and volley balls, plus nets as well as shorts, a few T-shirts, nails and wire to the Hostel an hour away then returned for us at nine.

We loaded some old rebuilt computers and headed off .We never go directly anywhere so the first stop was to pick up a patient at the clinic that needed returning to the Refugee Camp. After a short search we learned they had found an earlier ride. Then a stop for gas, buckets, another for 100 tubes of toothpaste, masses of laundry soap, needles and thread and large laundry buckets, a short time for a bit of late breakfast early lunch we arrived at the camp about 10:30 to find many of the kids eagerly waiting at the gate.

I have been worried about the 29 small boys as we had no adult care giver and while disciplined and willing the small boys (they become part of the Big Boy group when they start to sprout hair – here and there – no Kidding!) are small boys and just can't get cleanliness, and cooking quite organized to healthy standards. I had designated this day as washing and repairing mosquito net etc day but nothing ever happens quite as well as planned. The Hostel has 3 units – the 2 boy's areas and the girl's enclave. There are 27 there, the youngest is 10 and they are clean, organized and work well together. We went there first and as we sat inside I looked around the room., I realized they had followed my advice from 2 weeks ago and the nets were a pristine white, but then I turned to Mee Mee's space and realized –not everyone! I took down the net which was a perfect example, -slightly smelly, full of holes from the scratch plastic mats and candle burns from late night studying after the generator must be shut down.

We took it outside and like an old fashioned quilting be we gathered around the net and Ashley and Leannah some of the girls and I started to sew up the holes and there were lots! Of course like any other ‘Bee' the talk started and the English and Karen started to mix and learning began on both sides. Kshakalu joked about how 3 Canadians had come around the world to sew for the Karen. The time flew and so quickly and since the water is already low in the camp and we could wait no longer we decided to take our handiwork to the small boys show it off and wash it there.

They were waiting for us but too late – last week, Kshakalu had bought several huge 5-in-a-bed nets for the boys so we had them lay out their clothes and I started to look at what they had and for what they needed. Everything was neat, sparsely sufficient, but thick with dirt. We are just at the end of the rainy season so there is some reason but last time we did have several cases of scabies so the elder boys and the one hostel student alumni teacher who does look after the small boys promised to get them cleaned.

About that time a familiar face walked into the compound – a very nice Uncle who I had gotten to know last year. He had just walked in from deep in Karen state (5 days journey the safe way) having heard that the mountain that soars above the hostel had avalanched onto the camp and our hostel. He has two sons with us. He was very glad to see us all safe and has said he will stay and supervise until the end of March and will also send for his wife to come. She can come more quickly by truck and boat as the SPDC do not bother older women so much. So discussion about all of this superseded net mending and washing. The small boys are at the midpoint on the mountainside.

Next with our well sewn example net we climbed up to the Big Boys Hostel. There are 50 of them from about 15 to 22. The dorm and grounds were neat and orderly though getting old now. The main dorm repaired many times is 6 years old now and only bamboo. We gathered in the study hall and Ashley and Leannah made encouraging speeches. Kshalalu translated then talked about uncle coming. The Karen travel with absolutely nothing – consistently. Drives me crazy! So 2000 baht for small boy's slippers and 500 to get a blanket net and 2nd longyi for uncle. 200 baht for healthier (a chicken, some milk) food for Myo Aung who looked very sickly and thin. He apparently felt awful and went to a distant uncle's house in the camp and only had his blood checked 10 days after the fever started. Malaria PV. He is on the mend now. The Big boys need a new rice pot 2400 Baht. The boys from Brigade Seven High school needed school T-shirts at 120 Bht x 7 boys. We nixed that.

We had planned to continue on north to the college for the week so put the girls on the line bus back to Mae Sot picked up a very ill farmer who was coming back from the clinic where he had been unconscious and close to death, our medic trainer, and a couple of students and a soldier and set off.

On the way I had a chance to investigate my depleted wallet. The day before I had taken out only 20,000 Baht about $600.CAN, thinking we had to be very careful and if I took less we would spend less. HAH! There are no ATMs in Karen country and no one takes Visa!!, so we decided to drop off the passengers at the college and come back. We had a couple of old computers in for repair and we could get them and a few other things we needed and bring a young college student who we had learned had to check in for her UNHCR registration and another rather independent Hostel student.

Traveling back – it's about 3 hours, at night was eerie. The guards at all the checkpoints are military now and even they were sleepy. The refugee camp of 50,000 was dark. Our only flashlight a slim wallet sized LED light that my son, Chris had given me which I leant to the kids for their walk back up the mountain (it was returned to me yesterday). Then home? To Mae Sot, an ATM and toast.

The next morning by 8:30 Kshakalu had done the shopping delivered his son to school we picked up the now repaired computers and 2 more returning patients, gas, stopped again at the Refugee Camp to deliver to the waiting boys, then on for another week which was different, painful and so sad and rewarding. I'll get it off tomorrow.