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Published: December 17th 2006
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I took the motorcyc out tonight in the dark…first time cheating death. Sheesh, you can’t see anything at night here even with a headlight.
We rode out to Ban Muang and the restaurant for the going-away- party for the volunteers tonight. The kids were all dressed up in their finery and having a blast…any excuse to wear makeup and costume is a fun occasion around here. The staff did a little performance as well. All comedians…every last one of them. Jenny was awesome as he (she?) did a lipsync version of some Thai pop song….
I purchased a few CD’s the other day of a variety of Thai music for anyone interested…it’s so funny. I have two “popular” music choices, some traditional stuff and a CD of the monks chanting…so far though I have only been brave enough to blast the popular type stuff on the village. There seems to be a three hour window where every household has a competition it seems as to which can produce the loudest, still recognizable, music. I have joined the club. My current favorite is a female pop star called Palmy. Her CD jacket shows her dancing through a field of flowers
in a very 1960’s Hippie get up. The first song on the album is a western take off of the OK Corral…go figure…
Oh, did I mention that three hour window coincides with the breakfast hour. Yep..starts at 7am…sharp. (The roosters are chronically messed up in this country too...they call out in the evening…
So our weekend plans have changed a bit. Instead of Patong, we are headed to Karon…apparently less commercial of a rebuild since the Tsunami. Patong is now over run with Burger Kings and Starbucks….I miss the Patong of before…Ladyboys and streetkids. Ah well, progress.
We are leaving on Monday to do a shopping trip for the orphanage. We gather supplies at two local markets there…and Tesco Lotus of course. That means mass quantities of rice and other non-perishables. Then in the evening we will tag along with the volunteers to karon beach where they swung us a great deal on a bungalow on the beach.
Works for me….I just need a soft bed and some water now and then.
It is remarkable how little there is here…or all the “stuff” I have at home, and how “okay” that is. Hmmm…..
A few notes on the children and the orphanage:
I have been promoted to secretary for the duration of my stay as the other volunteers (the only ones with English) are leaving. My new duties will include all mail responses and email replies to queries etc that the orphanage receives. (Those in English and French anyway. The German and Swedish ones….. I dunno.)
I also learned more about the two new children at the centre, Jing Jang and Kai Dum (P).
First of all they are not Thai at all. They are Burmese. Their parents were laborers here (or nearby) and were killed in the Tsunami. During December of ’04 there was a King’s Project going on here with a crop irrigation project and their parents were (assumed to be) part of that project. The Burmese are primarily the laborers in this area, although most construction was small scale before the Wave hit. Now there are Burmese “teams” everywhere as the construction is almost constant here.
Anyway, the kids (three of them, although the older boy has stayed away from the orphanage) ended up separated at one of the survivor camps in the following days after the
wave. The older boy was the one who left and found Jing Jang. He left her with the old man he had been sharing a tent with and went off to find Kai Dum. It took a week, but he found him with a group about a days walk away (not sure where exactly). The three of them sort of stayed close to the old man after that. This is also apparently when Kai Dum stopped making noise or talking at all. Though he was only two when the wave hit.
The old man came yesterday to the orphanage to visit. It was good to see, but you could tell the kids were not sure what to do. Jing Jang especially has really become comfortable here. After the old man left the kids were really withdrawn. Jing Jang was silent and really withdrawn.
Marrin thought we should cheer her up, so this morning we went out and bought some nail polish. Purple and Green. It took some time , but she came around after a while. I had to just sit with her yesterday for about two hours with the knee touching her back as she lay on
the patio. I sang a few songs (Thanks Papa! Who knew that “Hava Na Gela” and “It was Midnight on the Ocean” would make an appearance in Southeast Asia…) and after a while she was a bit less tense.
Anyway, the combination of songs, comfort and nail polish worked and this afternoon she was back playing again. At the party tonight she was absolutely a different child. Smiling and all gussied up in a bit frilly gown. I did a double take when I saw her! Kai Dum was smiling too….still such children behind all that pain.
Two other children have been the topic of serious discussion in the last few days. One who clearly has an autistic disorder that is not being addressed and one older girl who has taken to self harm as a means to deal with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), depression, attachment disorder, or one of the host of other issues these children are dealing with.
We met with the staff today to discuss these children and what help could be offered them in this place and at this time. The psychologist who is associated with this centre is not enough. He is shared among many other centres as all the professional staff are.
The unfortunate conclusion is that there isn’t much that can be done at all. We did manage to agree that one staff member should be responsible for the boy with autism. Currently he sort of floats along with the rest, but he is clearly deteriorating and needs constant….assistance in managing on a day to day and hour to hour basis. Much like Miles, he needs to be taught to manage himself and thus his behavior around others. The staff member the volunteers and I recommended was one who works with him in a small capacity already...just out of an instinct that he needs more help than the others do. We’ll see what happens as she has not training and is a survivor herself.
The other child, the older girl who is cutting herself…well, there isn’t much at all that can be done for her other than normalizing her feelings and being aware and there for her. Professional help is out of the question here besides a once monthly group visit from the psychologist.
We did however, discuss turning one of the rooms upstairs into a “Safe Place”. A room where the children and staff know they can go to talk and be heard and cry or be afraid and it will all stay private. This won’t happen for a few months until the boys new room is finished in the back of the building, but it is a good start. Normalizing the kids feeling is the first and most necessary approach to take. Those that have night terrors (many do) need to know that it is ok…they need to be able to believe that fear and sadness and anger are normal and okay. Then they can be taught how to express it and deal with it. There is years worth of work here to be done…..years.
I have told Rotjhana that I would help with furnishing the “Safe Place” when it is complete. Likely on my next visit down here.
Well, it was sweltering today…no afternoon rains to cool off the heat. I am sticky, salty and cranky….time for a cold water wash down, a white chocolate kit kat, and a Spy.
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Mom & Grandma D
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Hey Steph: I have been to Nanaimo and am just catching up with your blogs. We purchased all the meds on your list. Will ship it out tomorrow, hope it helps. Cannot get 1% cortate without a prescription, but we got 1/2% cortate cream. Don't know if you're able to track a parcel, if you have internet you can. I will e-mail you the tracking number when I send it off tomorrow. Love to you all.