Thailand 2010

Hi everyone,

It seems strange to be about to write about Caim's time in Thailand while outside my window everything is white and freezing and it's snowing heavily. It was winter in Thailand too but each day was dry and sunny reaching a temperature somewhere in the mid twenties centigrade - it's all relative - the locals were wearing their winter coats!

We began our time in Thailand stepping into a night of "winter" warmth at Bangkok airport and staying at Bangkok Christian guesthouse. That was a welcome oasis in a long journey - two flights and 7 hours in Dubai airport. Still an overnight bus journey to go though before our first destination, the border town of Mae Sot. This was where we were based last year for our day trips to Mae la refugee camp and also where I met Peter Willis, Chairman of H2O (Help to orphans) - a meeting which resulted in this second visit to the border.

At first it was deja vu as we were given the same hotel room and met up with friends made last year at corner cafe. The first few days back in Mae Sot were more than just a much needed respite from travel though as we met up with a teacher from Scotland, Karen, and a writer from Ireland, John, who took me out to Sky Blue migrant school on the edge of Mae Sot - a school for migrant kids living with their parents on a rubbish dump. These are Burmese refugees who have found a little work being paid to scavenge on the dump for recyclable materials. The school was impressive - growing their own vegetables and mushrooms and catering for 100 students of mainly primary school age. Jacynth and I arranged with Karen to return to this school and several others in our last week in Thailand after our visit to Umphang orphanage which was the main reason for our visit to Thailand this time.

Jacynth had hoped to follow up on a hostel in the refugee camp that we had visited last year but had to be satisfied with wrapping Christmas presents for the children in the camp at Partner's office instead. Foreigners were not being allowed into the camps due to unrest caused by the impending Burmese elections.

So - we travelled to Umphang the following week through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in Thailand. The journey took about 3 hours - there is a shorter route but it crosses into Burma at parts and isn't safe for travel.

I put up on my facebook page that I left my heart in Umphang Orphanage - and I did! The generous hospitality and friendship we received from Orphanage parents Esther and Gum-San was only part of it. We were accepted into a loving Christian family - there's no other way to put it. These kids that have been through so much - abandoned, orphaned, beaten in some cases, homeless, escaped from a war zone - each one had a story - they were some of the most loving, well behaved, well adjusted children I've met in my life. They are told that the orphanage is their home, that they are part of a family and the other children are their brothers and sisters. The older ones look out for the little ones, they all help with chores around the place and they all have fun! I watched some old pieces of tubing being turned into hula hoops one morning but the best was when Jacynth opened up the brightly coloured parachute we'd brought for them and everyone ran round and round in a huge circle with it shrieking with laughter, Esther laughing the loudest!

So why were we there? At first we were only needed each evening after school homework had been done (the older children attend the nearby Thai government school). We taught some of our songs and a little dancing - a prayer dance called "gifts" and the Scottish "Gay Gordons". Then the children had a couple of days holiday from school and teaching became all day except for a rest time in the early afternoon - the hottest part of the day. Esther needed Christmas songs and ideas for a nativity play for both the older children and the little ones - so Jacynth worked hard with each group separately. Designing costumes for the nativity was not one of her better skills but she had a go! A young man, Moses, from the nearest refugee camp stayed for the week to help us interpret but also to learn from us as he would then come back for Christmas and carry on preparing the children for the nativity event. Moses also taught the older children a rap dance to Jingle Bells which was strange to hear on the warm night air the first evening we were there. I bought a Christmas CD of Boney M on Amazon while I was there so they could have "Mary's Boy Child" for their dancing too.

Saturday evening we were all invited to a man's house the other side of Umphang and Jacynth and I were asked to give a concert. All the children came and to our amazement they sang along with everything that they had learnt from us - these are kids who do not speak a word of English. Doubt if I could have learnt one of their Karen songs so quickly - I'm having enough trouble learning to say good morning in their language.

Sunday, we sang in the worship service. There is no Christian church in Umphang so Gum-San has had a bamboo church built in the grounds of the orphanage for the children and staff but also for folk from Umphang village. Best church service I've sang in for a while!

Monday came and it was time to return to Mae Sot - with half the orphanage with us! Esther and Gum-San and the girls piled into the back of the truck we were travelling in so they could have a night at an orphanage in Mae Sot and take one of the older children for a clinic visit there. The boys and two workers stayed behind - their turn next time. So we travelled those magnificent mountains again to the strains of Gum-San playing the harmonica we'd brought him.

I found it hard to re adjust to life in Mae Sot after our time in the country at Umphang. We'd left Mae Sot the previous week just as thousands of refugees had been fleeing into the town over the friendship bridge border. Apparently we'd missed a week of unrest with journalists all over the place while we'd been safe in the hills. Everything was quiet again though when we returned and it was time to concentrate on some more children in the migrant schools. We also sang for some students learning English at the friendship library run by Burmese buddhist monks near the Burmese market in Mae Sot and so you don't think it was all work and no play - we were invited to a night of Thai dancing one evening.

Our final destination before flying back to Bangkok was a bus journey and stop over in Chiang Mai where we were scheduled to give a fund raising concert for a new church building at Nu Poe refugee camp - the same refugee camp near Umphang where our helper at the orphanage,Moses, came from. After the concert we were treated to an evening at the water festival which was happening in Chiang Mai at the same time. The floats on the river were spectacular but the hot air lantern balloons floating all over the night sky were magical.

Next destination for Caim is Wisconsin and possibly also Florida and Kansas in Feb/March 2011. We are of course looking forward to this tour and meeting up with friends made on previous tours to the US but I hope we get a repeat visit to Umphang. I'm writing a brochure to raise funds for various needs they have - their own transport mini bus, more land and buildings so they can bring more children into their family, a braille teacher for a partially sighted boy they have with them etc. If you would like a copy of this brochure emailed to you please email me at cluniemusic@hotmail.com

Deep peace this Christmas season. Stay warm!

Heather

PS Almost forgot - Al's CD is finally at the printers - expected any day now.