Thai Opus 2 - Bangkok to Chiangmai

Saturday, 8 January 2005

I’ve finally reached Fang – a small city 4 hours north of Chiangmai, very near the Burmese border. The morning is cool, and a moist mist envelops my cottage. In fact, I have even needed to drag out my jumper!

A great deal has happened in the last few weeks. I’ve travelled from Bangkok through central Thailand, across to the western border and now up to the far north. I’ve had some quality family time as we visited dozens of tourist sites, but finally said goodbye yesterday as the others departed for home. The next five weeks I’ll be spending here at Fang Hospital – hopefully seeing a bit of the surrounding hill-tribe communities as well.

So here goes for another quick update!

Kittapong – my sponsor brother
Child Sponsorship – “an artificial union between two vastly different individuals, families and communities that has the potential to produce lasting change”.

Like many Australians, my family and I are involved in child sponsorship. Aid organisations, such as World Vision, Compassion and CCF, strive to give a human face to their calls for contributions. They certainly seem to draw in the money, but I’ve always wondered about their true value. Are they simply a successful promotional tool or can they be something more?

Kittapong, my father’s 6yo sponsor son, is from a Karen village in the hills of Chiangmai province, Northern Thailand. Having been in contact with Compassion staff while in Australia, our arranged visit was to be one of the highlights of our time here. So, Wednesday morning we were up bright and early for a 7:30am start. [Unfortunately our first driver crashed his car on the way to get us, so we didn’t actually leave until 9am] It took almost 6 hours to reach the Compassion school Kittapong attended – winding up and down steep roads and bumping along pot-holed dirt tracks.

Climbing out of the car we were met by a handful of smiling Compassion staff and an anxious looking Kittapong clinging grimly to his mother’s neck. After a tour of the school and boarding houses we set off again to Kittapong’s village. Here we met his younger sister and a host of extended family members.

Kittapong and his family live in a three-roomed hut, mounted on wooden posts. The floor, roof and walls are made of bamboo and there is no electricity. Cooking is done over a fire pit in the corner of one room, the bathroom was “out bush”. With no furniture the floors were clear for working, playing and sleeping. A few clothes hung from one corner, but other possessions were not visible.

Mum pulled out a few gifts from Australia – pen, paper, toiletries, Tshirt, beanies etc. The children first reacted warily, then began curiously exploring these foreign trinkets. Kittapong’s mother helped pull a T-shirt over his head. As he stood to admire the Tasmanian Devil picture a big grin broke out. The first smile we had seen, sheer joy radiating from his face.

Unfortunately we all too soon had to leave. Having seen how treasured they hold our letters and photos; having heard how his family talk about his education, health and future; and having witnessed the joy our presence and a few small gifts can bring – I realise that child sponsorship is more than just a $400 transaction each year. And I will certainly be putting a little extra effort into my letters to my own sponsor child in the Philippines.

Travelling Highlights
Exchange Family – During 2002/03 my sister, Serena, went to Thailand as an exchange student. A few hours north of Bangkok is Ban Phraek, where she lived with her host parents, and sister, Mae. Having heard stories and seen photos it was a real thrill to actually meet them in the flesh. They toured us around the big attractions. Lop Buri - famous for its huge number of rogue monkeys, which are apparently led by a one-eyed dominant male. Ayuthaya – the ancient city ruins of a very wealthy empire. It also brought back many memories of my own time on exchange in the Slovak Republic (1998/99).

Moo Ban Dek "Children’s Village" – a morning stopover at a village orphanage school turned out to by a truly inspiring time. This is home to around 50 kids from six to sixteen years old. It is arranged in huts – each hut houses 12 –15 kids and two house-parents. During the day, house-parents double as teachers. It is run by children – they make decisions, farm, cook and purchase necessities. Interestingly, they do not have to DO anything – they are promised food, clothing and love regardless. School, work and chores are all a choice. Truly remarkable! Volunteers can come for stints of a year.

Death Railway – crossing Thailand into Burma, this infamous railway was constructed during World War II by Allied POWs and local labourers. The “Bridge over River Kwae”, in the city of Kanchanaburi, has been immortalised by book and film. Museums in Kanchanaburi pay homage to the events of this time and the many who lost their lives here. The Three Pagodas stands as a memorial up on the Thai Burma border, where the railway crossed over.

River Kwae Christian Hospital – also up near the Burmese border is this small but impressive hospital. It is run by Thai, Burmese and other local ethnic groups for the refugees and underpriviliged of the area. A few foreign volunteers are also involved in the work here. Particularly working with the intellectually and physically disabled. It would be a very interesting place for an elective.

Tsunami’s Wake – no doubt you’ve continued to hear updates regarding the Tsunami. It is encouraging to hear of the work of Aid NGOs, and the generosity of governments and individuals around the globe. Hopefully all these pledges will actually reach the local people in a tangible way.
I quote a comment from http://www.alertnet.org/:
“The most important question, however, is what role the region's governments, national and local, and non-governmental organisations and faith networks will be allowed to play. Only if they are at the centre of decision-making and spending will recovery efforts enhance local capacities and be sustainable.”
Here in Thailand, tourist resorts affected are reportedly back to 80% functionality. Of course, unlike the hundreds of local families, businesses and communities, the resorts have insurance!

Conclusions
That’s it from me. I hope you have enjoyed another update. You can view them all online at http://www.hamishthailand.blogspot.com/. Hopefully I’ll be able to put up photos here too.
Feel free to pass this on to others who are interested.

In love.
Hamish

Email: http://by103fd.bay103.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=7C412622-85E1-4D8E-BDCB-4917820A8B07&start=0&len=10376&src=&type=x&to=hamish_hammer_graham@hotmail.com&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=dab7afb5abe55ff3d3545f8437d60485