June has been exciting at the Burma Children Medical Fund's B.K. Kee Patient House with much activity. Every week has seen something new.
We had quite a turnover of patients and caregivers throughout the month and among other patients returning to Mae Sot was a 72 year old patient and his wife (pictured, right) who had been at the house for nearly three months. It was a tearful parting that mixed joy at his return home with sadness at his leaving us. He was not alone. A 15-year-old young man with urinary problems went home, along with some heart patients, a child with a brain tumor and others. That doesn’t mean the house was empty; there are always new patients, usually accompanied by a family member as caregiver.
On Wednesday June 5th we had a special treat with the visit of twenty-three students from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Rotaract Club. You will see in other stories in this bulletin just how helpful the students were on our many projects. That was very true of their visit to B.K. Kee patient house. The goal of the day was to paint several patient rooms and the outside of the kitchen that had paint flaking off and badly needed a new coat.
We had twenty-three brand new painters, most of whom had never held a brush, so we divided into four teams and we were good to go, with a "guide" for each team. It could have been total chaos if I were the only one guiding but fortunately, I wasn’t. I want to thank Rotarian Mike Lake and BEAM students Saing Sint and Mwe Kham for helping to guide groups of the students in the bedrooms. I really appreciate the help of Payap University Rotaract President Dylan Scott Low (standing, at left with his team from HKUST) who dived right in on the kitchen wall, first with a scraper, then with a brush to demonstrate to the HKUST students proper wall preparation and painting. He worked very hard all day without pause. 
We had a great lunch with several Thai dishes for the students, staff, patients and volunteers to enjoy. A few of the spicier dishes like som tam were not very popular but, as always, everyone enjoyed the pad thai and, of course, rice on the side. Many thanks to the staff at the house, Klao Wongsingsak and Mii Aye for coordinating the food and getting everybody happily fed. And at the end of the day we had a great group roundup before heading back to Chiang Mai! The end results: One kitchen exterior with a new coat of paint over exterior primer; five bedrooms painted with three adjoining bathrooms; two additional rooms partially painted and more than a few students covered in paint. (Oh, and one project champion painted, also). Smiles all around and clients with just a little bit nicer place!
One of the other projects that BCMF supports is what they call the “Stationary Project”, that provides school supplies for hundreds of poor students on both sides of the Myanmar border. BCMF Patient Liaison Coordinator Ma Myai (left), who normally works in Mae Sot, was at the house for several weeks during June. During that time, she guided several of the residents in sewing and painting hundreds of pencil bags for the project.
During our Sunday visits, Mwe Kham and Saing Sint plunged right in and helped with the painting. I tried one day; I finished one side of two bags. During the same time others were completing both sides of four to six bags.And this brings me to the next topic and a special-to-me pencil bag, pictured at the beginning of this story, top left. When you read this, I will have returned to my home in Portland, Oregon after two and a half years in Chiang Mai. I greatly regret that for personal reasons I must go back and, although I hope to return to Chaing Mai, I don’t see a way right now. 
One of the greatest joys of my life has been being of service to these wonderful people and during our regular visit on Sunday June 23rd I was surprised when the residents and staff had a going away party for me. I was greeted with a banner saying goodbye, a framed picture from the HKUST event, a tee shirt, a wonderful card and the special pencil bag. They had also made us quite a feast! Mi Aye made a traditional Burmese fish stew, "Mo Hin Kha" for my going away party. It was served with "kanom jin" (white rice noodles). CMIRC contributed watermelon, mangoes, and mangosteens. Later I was presented a Karen shoulder bag by Klao who was unable to attend the lunch.
One of the greatest joys of my life has been being of service to these wonderful people and during our regular visit on Sunday June 23rd I was surprised when the residents and staff had a going away party for me. I was greeted with a banner saying goodbye, a framed picture from the HKUST event, a tee shirt, a wonderful card and the special pencil bag. They had also made us quite a feast! Mi Aye made a traditional Burmese fish stew, "Mo Hin Kha" for my going away party. It was served with "kanom jin" (white rice noodles). CMIRC contributed watermelon, mangoes, and mangosteens. Later I was presented a Karen shoulder bag by Klao who was unable to attend the lunch.
Throughout the meal and our visit I had a new fan. The very feisty 2 year old girl (right) kept running over to me for a hug and wanted to be picked up. She has a wandering eye problem and is in Chaing Mai for diagnosis and treatment. It makes it very difficult to leave. Mike Lake, who has been a staple at the house for much longer than I have been, is unfortunately also leaving the Chiang Mai area and I had been concerned who would be champion. Please welcome Maliwan Kaew Amphai as the new CMIRC champion for the house. Maliwan will help carry on the traditions of training English and talking with the patients, playing games and with the help of other volunteers continue the Sunday visits. Also, being a Thai person, she will be able to help the patients learn basic Thai along with her helpers Saing Sint and Mwe Kham.