Glory2Glory Dental Clinic Trip August 2010

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Dear Family and Friends
I am starting up my blog again before we leave for Maela Refugee Camp on the border of Thailand and Burma. This time I will be travelling with my 15 year old daughter Abbey Lindley, my colleague Kylie Martin from Sunshine Coast Childrens Development Centre, and also Dr Norli, a dentist from Cairns. We will leave on Wednesday 18th August and fly to Bangkok, and straight through to Chiangmai. The goal of this trip is to offer dental care to the refugee children in Maela Refugee camp, which is about 6 hours west of Chiangmai. We will be based in Maela and travel up to the refugee camp every day. Ian Aitcheson from Effective Aid International will be our guide.
My role is to co-ordinate the team and to organise the dental clinic on a daily basis and to assist Dr Norli the dentist, so that she can provide dental care to as many of the refugee children in our time in the camp. Abbey will be assisting Dr Norli, as the dental assistant and has been training after school to learn the basics. Kylie Martin will be working in the clinic, mostly in the vital area of sterilisation.
Ian has also asked me to provide some trauma training to the teachers and social workers in the refugee camp, and I am very much looking forward to this training opportunity. Here is some info about Effective Aid:


Effective Aid International partners with key local leaders in developing countries, to provide projects that are pro-active in addressing the causes and results of poverty. Our current major focus is on the needs of the many refugees and internally displaced people suffering because of the active persecution and repression of ethnic minority groups in Burma.
Love, safety and care to homeless, orphaned and abandoned children.
Provision of emergency supplies, food and clothing to displaced families and new refugees.
Health and nutrition education.
Dental care to refugee children.
Delivering quality education to refugee children.
Developing tomorrow's leaders.
Baan Fah Sighy Children's Home is one of our projects that rescues and cares for babies in North Thailand who have been orphaned, abandoned or rejected by their families at birth. The responsibility for these children's future rests in our hands!

Karen Refugee Education - almost 1500 refugee children in full time schooling. In addition hostel accommodation is provided to orphans and children whose families still live in Burma, but in regions where educaiton is not available.

The Mercy House Project - provides emergency accommodation to patients and their families who travel long distances to receive medical care in North Thailand. The responsibility to deliver emergency aid to people in crisis is also part of this project's focus. Every year thousands of poor and displaced families are provided with emergency food, clothing and shelter.

The Glory2Glory Dental Clinic - The first permanent dental clinic in one of the border refugee camps. Caring for the refugee children and their famlies. Portable dental equipment also enables this service to be provided in other camps and remote villages.

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