Combat Health Disparities for Kachin Women (2)

Dear Donors,

It's summer, which not only means wonderful weather, but marks an opportunity for GlobeMed at Dartmouth to interact more directly with our partner organization, the Kachin Women's Association Thailand, with our annual GROW trip! 

This year, three of our members traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand earlier in June to work with members at KWAT headquarters for two months: Since arriving, they have been working on assignments including putting together the annual activity report detailing KWAT's activities for donors and other interested persons, giving English lessons to members of KWAT and novice monks, and translating testimonials of the human rights violations on the Kachin by the Burmese army. This work, particularly the latter, has reminded us of the real people affected by the conflict in Burma. Writer and historian Marcus Rediker wrote that statistics are a violent abstraction of the real human cost of sufferring. Similarly, our GROW trip members wrote that the testimonials consisted of "story after story of unwarranted shootings and cold-blooded rapes" that left them feeling "horrified, emotionally drained, and intrigued...[and] more connected to the organization than ever." 

Despite the tragedies of these stories, these testimonials remind us of the GROW trip also illustrate the importance of the work done by our partner organization and why we want to and need to continue our efforts with KWAT. In addition, our members report positive interactions with the KWAT members and novice monks, from introducing Skippy peanut butter to the women at KWAT to petting tigers and exploring the mountain of Doi Suthep. We are excited to see the cultural exchange occurring between GlobeMed at Dartmouth and KWAT. 

We are gratified to see the effect of our work, thanks to generous donations from people like you: Last year, we focused much of our work towards funding the Ja Reng Yang Clinic in Mai Ja Yang, and our GROW trip members report that the clinic serviced 13,464 Kachin patients in 2014, providing testing for patients' glucose levels and HIV, heptatis B/C, and malaria statuses. Each of those 13,464 patients is a real human being with a unique, individual story, that KWAT, we, and yourselves have contributed to helping. This year, our main project aimed to help mothers requiring surgery or hospitalization due to complications during childbirth by creating an emergency fund. We hope to continue to see the effects of our work, your contributions, and, of course, the hard and magnanimous work of KWAT -- and to keep you, our generous donors, up-to-date! 

Thank you, again, for being a part of this valuable work.

Best wishes,

Hae-Lin Cho