Mar Paw is an ethnic burmese refugee living in San Diego. Her mother, her three sisters, and her two cousins and their families are still stuck in Thailand and Burma. Two of her nieces have already died in the jungles of southern Burma due to untreated high-fevers (one died in 2012 and the other in 2007). Together, we can help Mar Paw try to keep the rest of her family members alive long enough for them to either be granted access into a safer country or for the Burmese Government peace talks and political reforms to succeed in decreasing the violence in southern Burma to a level that allows her family members to begin to rebuild their villages in peace.
For any questions or inquiries please email Mitchell Hamlbey mitchhambley@pacbell.net.
Where will your donations go?
Mar Paw hopes to raise $1500 to send to her family members stuck in Thailand and Burma. Mar Paw's sister Toe Koe lives in the Mae Ra Moe refugee camp in Mae Hong Son, Thailand with her paralyzed mother, father-in-law, husband, and four children ages 11-months to 6 years (see photos in gallery). Mar Paw's two sisters, Ti Ku and Me Key, live in the jungles of southern Burma together with Mar Paw's two cousin's, My Yweh and Ple Blu, and their families. Ti Ku has six children ages 7 to 14. Me Key has five children ages 6 to 12. Ple Blu and My Yweh are single mothers each caring for three children ages 5 to 16 and ages 6 to 15 respectively.
For those donors who wish to recieve a report detailing exactly where their money ended up please email Mitchell Hambley at mitchhambley@pacbell.net with this request.
To see specifics on some of the difficulties Mar Paw’s mother, sisters, and cousin's families are currently experiencing, please refer to the 5th, 4th, and 3rd paragraphs up from the bottom of the short story below the wish list.
Wish List:
$5 = 2 kgs (4.4lbs) of cabbage
$6 = 1 kg (2.2lbs) of fish
(Two weeks ago, the eldest niece in the picture above, Mu Ne Krit, snuck off towards a Chinese market to try and sell her 11 month-old brother. After her mother caught her half-way down the hill, Mu Ne Krit confessed that she wanted to earn some money to buy food for her and her two younger sisters. Mar Paw's family members in Burma also are in dire need of this crucial source of protein.)
$7 = 1 treatment of antibiotics for bacterial infection (doxycycline).
(Bacterial infections are currently a common cause of death for those fleeing from the civil war in the Thailand and southern Burma. Mar Paw's family members are especially susceptible to infections due to malnourishment and unsanitary living conditions.)
$10 = 1 treatment of anti-malaria medication (artesunate).
(Because Burma and Thailand are tropical areas, malarial infections are very common. 12-pills of artesunate are given to the infected individual to injest over five days. In most cases, one treament of this powerful drug is enough to get rid of the malaria)
$15 = One 4 kg (8.8lb) bag of rice
$20 = 1000-pill bottle of Tylenol
(Two of Mar Paw's nieces have already died in the jungle due to an untreated high fever. Tylenol can help keep the fever temperatures down. Also Tylenol would help to relieve some of the discomfort Mar Paw's parlyzed mother's experiences living her life on lying on the floor)
$30 = 100 diapers and 10 bars of soap.
(As you can see in the picture above Mar Paw's 11-month old nephew, Ja Mu, walks around with just a t-shirt. Mar Paw's mother, Mu La Hey, and her sister's father-in-law, Joe U Chu, (whos picture's can also be found in the gallery) are also in need of diapers. A months supply of diapers would decrease the risk of infectious diseases for Ja Mu, Mu La Hey, Joe U Chu and the rest of their family members who may otherwise come in contact with their urine and excrement.)
$50 = 1 baby pig
(With $50, Mar Paw's sisters in Burma could buy a baby pig that they would feed until it was an adult, slaughter it, and then sell it's meat. With the money they raise from the pork they could buy another pig and continue this self-sustaining income process.)
Wish-List (continued)
Mar Paw's sister's family stuck in Thailand refugee camp: Food, medicine, clothing, soap, caretaker, boots, sandals, and one bed.
$2 = One shirt or one pair of shorts
$3 = One sweater
$5 = One pair of sandals
$8 = One jacket for the "rainy season"
$20 = One pair of boots to allow family members to walk through the muddy refugee camp the coming months of the "rainy season"
$30 = Pay for a caretaker to help Toe Koe care for her father-in-law, her paralyzed mother, and her four children for one day.
$50 = One bed mattress for Mar Paw's paralyzed mother
Mar Paw's families stuck in Burma: Food, medicine, boots, and clothing.
$2 = One shirt or one pair of shorts
$3 = One sweater
$8 = One jacket for the "rainy season"
$10 = One pair of shoes
$15 = 250-pill bottle of vitamins (500 Baht) particularly for young children and mothers with postpartum vitamin deficiency.
$20 = One pair of boots for family members to traverse rough jungle terrain, during the rainy season, to find food in the jungle, evade Burmese military troops, and to make the dangerous journies into Thailand for medicine, rice, and clothing.
Story
Dear freinds,
Just by offering your time and heartfelt attention you are already giving Mar Paw and I wonderful gift. Thank you.
In September of 2011, I begin volunteering as an English tutor and cultural broker for a refugee family living here in San Diego. They are members of the Karen culture, which is an ethnic hill farming population in Burma. This family includes five children (ages 4-17) and two parents. The father is currently living and working on a farm in South Carolina. He sends a small sum of money home to his family each week. The mother, Mar Paw, goes to school five days a week as she cares for her children.
Over the months I have developed a very special bond with this family. The role as a “volunteer” has largely given way to a mutually beneficial and informal relationship. When I am in their home I feel as though I have been a close family friend for many years. By request, I now refer to Mar Paw as Moe (Karen word for mother), the father as Pati (uncle), and the children as De-Mu (sister) and De-Kwua (brother). I will be referring to Mar Paw as Moe for the remainder of this story as well.
I’d like to briefly introduce you to Moe with just a few examples that may give you an idea about who she is as a person. Every time I arrive at her home, Moe drops what she is doing and offers to cook for me. When I leave, she packs me a few tupperware’s full of her spiciest dishes because she knows they are my favorite. What is noteworthy about this is that I know she is having a very hard time paying her own bills, yet she still is intent on giving to me in a variety of ways. On one evening visit, I told Moe that I just had gotten a job and wouldn’t be able to come tutor her children in English as often. She smiled and told me how happy she was for me that I had found paid work. Moe sings hymns from her ancient culture as she prepares food for her family. Her presence is one of raw simplicity, profound kindness, and remarkable generosity. At the same time, I often sense a deep sadness in her being even amidst her many acts of love. It isn't until just a couple of weeks ago that I begin to learn about what has been heavy on her heart for these past nine months.
I arrive at her home on Friday July 20th. I have learned a few days ago that Moe got a call from her doctor informing her that tumors have formed in her breasts. She is currently living in a two-bedroom apartment that is home to her five children and more than a few-hundred cockroaches. I have come to Moe's home today to tell her that I would like to try and raise money for her family. Too shy to say this to her directly, I tell Moe my birthday is coming up and that I plan to invite friends and family to make a donation to a good cause. I ask her if she knows of anyone who could use some financial assistance.
This is the moment when, after a year of curiosity and patience, I am allowed in to Moe's seemingly bottomless well of grief. Her face softens as she adjusts her sitting position. Moe tells me that she has been receiving calls from her mother and three sisters over the last nine months begging her to send them money (her sister's save up money to pay a Thai villager who charges refugees a small fee to use his cell phone). One sister lives in the Mae Ra Moe refugee camp in Thailand. Two live in make-shift encampments in the jungles of southern Burma. All three care for their children who go to bed hungry at night.
It is Moe's youngest sister, Toe Koe, who she has been hearing from the most and whose calls seem most troubling to her. Moe tells me how Toe Koe is currently caring for her mentally ill husband, her father-in-law (who is in his mid-90s), her four children (ages 11 months to 6 years), and her mother who is paralyzed on the entire left side of her body. Because Toe Koe has no money to buy a wheelchair or a bed, Moe tells me that her paralyzed mother is forced to live every minute of her life lying on the floor. Toe Koe is slowly deteriorating herself. Without any money to pay for an extra pair of helping hands, Toe Koe hardly gets any sleep. She and her family repeatedly come down with minor illnesses and infections as their bodies are weak from malnutrition and they often have no money for soap. Moe tells me that Toe Koe has to hide the family’s food (they get a very small monthly ration of rice, salt, and fish paste from the UNHCR) where her children cannot reach it. When her children have hit extreme hunger, Toe Koe will give them each a handful of rice and fish paste. She then has them drink large cups of water to fill up their stomachs. Last week Toe Koe’s 6 year-old daughter, Mu Ne Krit, snuck off towards a Chinese market to try and sell her 11 month-old brother. After her mother caught her half-way down the hill, Mu Ne Krit confessed that she wanted to earn some money to buy food for her and her two younger sisters. Five years ago, Toe Koe’s four-year old daughter died in the jungle of an untreated high-fever while they were fleeing from Burma. There was simply no access to medicine for Toe Koe and her family, and she is terrified that more of her children will suffer a similar fate in the refugee camp.
Moe’s two sisters who live in Burma are named Ti Ku and Me Key. Ti Ku has six children ages 7 to 14. Me Key has five children ages 6 to 12. Moe tells me their living conditions are even worse than that of Toe Koe’s family as they are continually forced to abandon their crops to avoid the Burmese military troops (click greay square button titled "Jungle Life" to see a video about life in jungles of southern Burma). The only way they can access clothes, rice, and medicine is to make the dangerous journey into Thailand. Thai authorities have recently closed their books to new refugees. Those coming from Burma are only allowed to visit the camps for two days. Ti Ku and Me Key have been calling Moe from Thailand to explain their troubles and plead for any help she can give. Moe tells me about how her sister’s rummage through the jungle eating insects, plants, and whatever else they can find. Ti Ku's youngest child recently died during a high-fever. On her last visit to Thailand, Ti Ku did not have enough money to purchase a reserve of medicines that could have easily brought down her child's fever. Moe's sisters in Burma are desperately trying to keep their families alive long enough to be granted permission to stay in a Thailand refugee camp.
Moe's two cousins, My Yweh and Ple Blu, are currently living with her two sisters in south Burma. Ple Blu has three daughters ages 5 to 16. My Yweh has two sons and one daughter ages 6 to 15. Five years ago My Yweh and Ple Blu's village was raided and burned by Burmese soldiers. Their families escaped into the jungle in time. The next day both My Yweh and Ple Blue's husbands snuck back to their village to try and recover some food for their families. Neither of them returned to their families. Later that week their dead bodies were found close to their village. My Yweh and Ple Blu have been since made contact with Moe's two sisters and they are all currently living together
At one point in the discussion I ask Moe what she remembers about Toe Koe when they lived together in Burma. She says that she does not want to try to remember because it will hurt too much and she may not be able to continue. I tell Moe I understand. There is a long pause of silence. Moe’s face deepens and she shares with me how Toe Koe helped care for Moe’s children as they escaped from Burmese soldiers (before they got separated in the jungle of Southern Burma). Holding back her tears, Moe tells me how she lies awake almost every night wondering how she is not able to save even just one extra dollar to send to Toe Koe now that she is in her time of need. Still unsure whether or not she has breast cancer, Moe's priorities in life have naturally sorted themselves out. She feels a deep sense of urgency and resolve in her wish to help her sisters and give back to the people of her home-country.
In an effort to minimize the length of this writing, I have decided to share only some of the problems that Moe’s family members face everyday. There is much I learned about their plight that I have left out. If you wish to learn more about Moe’s family in Burma and Thailand or have any questions at all please feel free to email Mitchell Hambley (mitchhambley@pacbell.net). Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story.
Extra Info
If you feel this is a worthy cause and are looking for an effective way to to support it, please consider helping us spread the word by email, facebook, twitter, and other methods of social networking.
You can find 10 photos and 2 videos (by clicking the green "gallery" button above) accompanied by detailed descriptions, to get a visual sense of how your donations will directly benefit numerous lives. (All pictures of Toe Koe and her family were taken on July 31st, 2012 by a Thai villager that charged me a small fee. We are still waiting for a chance to receive pictures of Mar Paw's sisters and their families living in southern Burma. I hope to have them up in the coming weeks.)
Mar Paw would like all to know that any amount of money that you can give will help (this website permits donations as little as $1) and also that she completely understands if you are unable to give any material support at this time (if so, she invites you to offer the less tangible but just as real support of keeping her family in your hearts, particularly in these coming months of Thailand and Burma's "rainy season").
Mar Paw would also like to encourage anyone whose heart was touched by her story (whether or not you choose to make a monetary donation) to consider sending a picture to my email address that we can try to deliver to her family members abroad. She believes it would help their hearts tremendously in their time of extreme adversity if they could see the faces of those who care about them.
