SIAST Group 2012

The opening of the kitchen, dining hall and laundry area for the Safe House

The following speech was given by 5 SIAST students at the opening of the kitchen, dining hall and laundry area for the safe house at Mae Pa Farm.

Hello, Everyone. As some of you may know we are from Canada and here with the organization that wants to better the lives of the Burmese. The five of us have done many different kinds of fundraising to be able to provide you with this building and we are so happy to do so.

We heard about the project, the girls, and the situation they were in and we all felt we had to do something to help. For us there was no ignoring it.

After meeting you we saw how wonderful each of you are. We feel even more proud to be a part of this project and your lives. We are happy that we are able to give you girls a safe place to live, a place where there are no worries, where you there will always be someone there for you.

We will always be thinking of you, you all have a very special place in our hearts. We want all of you to know that each one of you is special and you are an important individual. We would love to see you complete school and reach your full potential; we know that you can achieve great things. Know that there is always going to be someone there for you!

We see how much you care for each other and hope that you care for yourself the same way. Your future is bright. Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you will land among the stars.

Thank you and God bless.

The students delivering the speech were: Jesse Mehler, Janessa Malinowski, Kaitlyn Juba, Michelle, Kornuta and Ben Colclough.

Last day in Mae Sot

We woke up with the realization this was our last day in Mae Sot, we had met so many amazing people over the past 10 days. 　We had one last day to pack full of experiences and today was no different from the rest but yet different. 　Morning market after a Muslim breakfast, the market has everything from fresh fish and meat; clothes; electronics; spices, fruit and vegetables. We shared the narrow aisles with scooters and bikes who seem to have the right of way. 　

We then toured Mae Tao clinic, which is a hospital for migrant displaced Burmese. 　The clinic provided all around care, including eye care, dental care, maternity (3,000 babies were delivered in 2011) and amputation and prosthesis services. 　The amputees are primarily victims of the land mines in Burma. 　We were fortunate to meet Dr. Cynthia who started the clinic and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace prize for her work in Thailand for the Burmese people. 　

　A local artist, 　Maung Maung Tin, acted as our guide through the clinic and then honoured us with a showing of his work. 　He has an ability to capture the spirit of the Burmese people in his paintings. 　

We ended our day with the girls that will live in the safe house the team has raised money for and worked on this trip. 　They entertained us with songs both English and Karen. We laughed, sang, danced and cried when we said goodbye. 　They are,very special children.

Naida Kornuta

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Write up by Michelle Kornuta (December 12, 2012)

We had two distributions today. The first was in school in a remote village. We brought them clothing, blankets, toys, food and school supplies. We also brought them blackboards because what they were using looked like 1 x 6's painted black and didn't erase very well. After taking a boat across the river and piling onto a tractor cart type thing we were taken to the school. We introduced ourselves and then split into groups. Katie, Kacey, Janessa and I had the little girls to play duck, duck goose with. The teacher helped us explain how the game worked and we got started. At the beginning many of the kids were very shy and didn't run when they got the goose. As the game went on though all the kids were laughing, having fun and itching to be the goose. The kids really enjoyed it and we had a blast playing with them. When we finished playing we gave them toy cars and teddy bears. It's amazing how something so small like that can give them so much joy. For a lot of them they didn't even need the toy, just a smile does the trick. We had a great time taking pictures with them. I gave them my camera to use and they just loved looking at the screen to see what was in front of us. There was one little girl that I absolutely fell in love with and it is sad to think that she isn't safe and that at any moment the army could come and that would be the end. None of these people deserve it and it frustrates me to know that they are in that situation.
In the afternoon we did a food distribution at Sky Blue School, for 115 families who make their living recycling at the local garbage dump. The conditions these people live in are unlike anything you could imagine. It stinks; it's dirty, very dirty. It's unhealthy. But living in these conditions is better than where they came from. It is very disturbing for me to think about and it is also very frustrating. It is also frustrating to think about the families bringing children into this. It is no place any human being should have to live let alone a child. These people get arrested because they are illegal but they return. It is a terrible situation for these people to be in. We brought them food because that is what they needed and they were very accepting of it and we were happy to be able to provide them with it.

Michelle Kornuta

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Our Story. (November 2012 Work Tour)

Our story began in the early part of 2012 when we met Dave Heppner at the Compassion Resource Warehouse in Victoria whilst helping to load a 40 ft container to Thailand. We have been part of the "warehouse" for a couple of years helping to sort, bag, box and load medical/school supplies, clothes, tools, sewing machines, toys and everything in between that is useful to developing nations. Graham discussed with Dave about making two foot powered wood lathes as he is a wood turner and thought they would be useful to refugees as a possible way of earning a living. Dave thought this was a good idea and suggested we come to Thailand in November. We were at the Farm when the container arrived containing the two lathes. We spent our days unloading the container and distributing the goods amongst various schools, orphanages and refugee camps and medical clinics. Graham was able to demonstrate how to use the lathe to a school in Burma and the students were very interested. The lathe and tools were left at the school along with plans for making more in the future as required.

Our whole trip was full of different experiences and we were amazed at he amount of work that has been accomplished and the ongoing projects that Global Neighbors are involved with, they are making such a difference to many lives. It was a life changing experience for us.

Thank you to our fellow travellers, we so enjoyed your company and we had lots of fun. We really hope to return to Thailand and play a small part with Global Neighbors.

Warm regards

Gillian and Graham Cox

A Traveller's Perspective (Work Tour Feb 2012)

Thursday, February 16^{th, 2012; 5:30am in Mae Sot (4:30pm on Wednesday in Prince Albert)}

Yesterday was one of the harder days so far. We began at the Warehouse, loading two vans and a truck with bags and boxes, and the desks, to be dropped off at 2 different villages. The first village was in the midst of a farming area, carved into a hill, exposed to the daily sun. The school was a brand new one – a simple floor, no furniture at all, a sort of thatched roof; I am sure the desks were welcome there. The children were lined up greeting us, and we were waved into the small laneway by the villagers. It was a "small" village of new immigrants from Burma but they were so glad to see us. We were taken on a tour of the village (all of 5 minutes to get around) and then invited to come into a hut by one of the village women, who served us peanuts cooked in oil and cake as well as tea. It struck me watching her welcoming us into her home that while we might not consider her home to be anything but a hovel, it is, for her, a real home, and she occupies it with a dignity and a self-worth that her current circumstances cannot strip away. We laid out several large tarps and placed what we had brought on them. Then families came in turn and received what we were handing out: dried vegetable mixture, dried apple chips, cucumbers, chili peppers, garlic, onions, cabbage, sardines, bok-choi, and oi; plus a pillow case of clothing; we had enough for 40 families with some leftovers for the village to share. We laid blankets, sheets, and quilts out on one of the tarps and stepped back to allow the village elders to distribute these.

On our way to the next village, we stopped at a village that had recently experienced a fire: 31 homes had been destroyed; at least two people had been burned – one was still in hospital; the other, an older woman, showed us her arm, which still needed treatment. The villagers had already built a dozen new huts and were making holes in the ground for several more . . . 16 holes laid out in a 4 x 4 plan, each of which would anchor a thick bamboo pole forming the outer perimeter of the hut; then bamboo poles would be laid lengthwise to create a floor, and also in a triangle shape to form a roof, which would be thatched over. There was a team from Spain working with this village, and the one Spanish woman (early 20’s. I would say) informed us that it costs about 7,000 bhats to build one house (that is about $250 tops!) Hopefully, Global Neighbours can provide some support here.

The next village also had another group visiting, which had been there all day, so our tour leaders decided that we would simply drop off the clothing and food we had brought with us and move on, so we ended up at an established school, which we had helped build about 4 years ago. One of the young folk with us was on that earlier trip and expressed his amazement at how much the buildings had grown; the middle school had doubled in size. There were children playing soccer and volleyball. There were gardens that the children themselves cared for. There was a church and a weaving business. The girls (grade 11 age) who took us around spoke very clear English and were delighted to have visitors. There were 3 young American workers at this facility – one from Chicago, one from North Carolina, and one from ??? For all the negative things that I think about the US, there are good folk from there as well!

We drove through mostly farming area: corn, garlic, small onions, sugar cane, roses (fields and fields of roses!), potatoes, and other vegetables; it is harvest season for some of these, and much of the work is done by hand! I would say that the agriculture here is thriving. The soil is a shade of red not unlike that found in Prince Edward Island, or along the edge of Thunder Bay.

We also stopped in a mountainside viewing area to relax and have a picnic lunch and take in the amazing water falls . . . a sort of fanning out effect of water flowing over rocks and around trees, separating and coming together again in different patterns, all in the midst of a huge forest. How huge? Some of our group went on a small expedition and found a tree trunk so big that it overwhelmed the trees around it . . . probably 6 to 8 meters across at the base!

With so much time spent out of doors, I got sunburnt across the back of my neck and on my face . . . in spite of wearing a hat! And I was covered in red dirt from head to toe! My white socks were reddish-brown by the end of the day, and I even had to wash my sandals! I realized that I have not worked so hard nor gotten so absolutely dirty since I was a teenager and worked with the neighbours during the summer holiday, haying! And still, this is nothing compared to what I have been seeing around me.

Today we will spend much of our time at the warehouse, I think, . . . the cargo container from Prince Albert was on the highway yesterday and should have arrived in the early evening. It needs to be unloaded and sorted, and then we have to prepare 160 separate bags for the next "distribution" . . . I am learning a whole new set of terms here as well, just in the context of what we are seeking to do!

Rev Tony Thompson

Monday February 13^th

Today is our first full day at Mae Sot. Our group of 15 are a mix of first timers and many timers. As always the first day everyone is eager to get started…anxious to accomplish the work set before us, and anxious to meet old friends and spend time making new friends. We started our day by making a brief stop at the Friendship Bridge. It was early in the day but here people were busy setting up their stalls that literally hang between the two countries of Thailand and Myanmar. In the background, we could see the jumble of tarps, bamboo that make up the homes of the people who live here. The poverty is always shocking. Many school age children who live here attend Agape School which was our next stop.

To arrive at Agape School before classes is a treat. Children play in the school yard, many in uniforms, but many come from families that couldn’t possibly provide a such a luxury. We noticed several kids were barefoot. Hard for us to imagine as most wear flip flops that can be purchased for about 19 baht, less than $1. So many kids all running and playing with no supervision. This is something not seen in our country. Although the children are poor and so very needy, there is a certain amount of joy to be seen within the school area. The headmaster Dave is overflowing with joy and this joy is so evident when he speaks to his students, his staff and our group. This is a man who truly serves.

Later at the warehouse we worked diligently preparing for a distribution of relief supplies for about 70 families. Earlier in the day, we had noticed a beautiful little girl, but to our utter horror we realized that the writing on her little jacket made very graphic reference to sexual acts. We knew that we could not ignore this, but what should we do? As we sorted supplies at the warehouse we watched for some beautiful outfits for this child. When we met this little girl later in the day we were able to swap her jacket for several new things. She went off happily and we felt a sense of relief that we were at least able to do this much. We have no doubt whatsoever that she had no idea what her jacket said. It is unthinkable that a piece of child’s clothing could be manufactured with this disgusting content on it.

Erin Yeo