As this past calendar year comes to an end, I would like to thank you, our members, donors, project partners, and friends for your service and support. We could not have achieved so much without your individual contribution. My family and I sincerely wish you a wonderful and rewarding year ahead!

December was another busy month for the Chiang Mai International Rotary Club. At the beginning of the month we wrapped up the collection phase of the annual Children's Winter Clothing Appeal. Ever since, our club has been busy delivering those warm clothes, jackets, blankets, shoes, and toys to vulnerable hill tribe, local Thai, migrant, and refugee populations in Northern Thailand. The success of this project exceeded our wildest imagination. So far, we have distributed donations to twelve remote, hard-to-access locations in six Northern provinces. We have two more deliveries left. A big thanks to our generous donors and the businesses and schools that hosted our donation boxes!

Rotarians Bill and Nicha Trempus continued their work with the Human Rights and Development Foundation and the Chiang Mai Trust to assist our club’s food initiative in distributing an additional 200 survival food packages to the San Kamphaeng, Saraphi, and Mae Taeng Districts.

Secretary Nick Dale reported that more Teddy Trekkers completed their mission and are now at home in the arms of their new young owners. All of these new owners are undergoing serious medical treatment in Mae Sot (hence the need for this project). While Nick’s story provides greater detail, I would like to recognize that Nick continues to praise the contributions that Burma Children Medical Fund B.K. Kee Patient House residents (all of whom are undergoing serious medical treatment as well) put into this particular project. They design and paint the individual bags the bears travel in.

Rotarian Craig Clark and his late wife, Ann Gfeller Clark, who fund our agricultural projects, enabled club members Niwatchai Suknaphasawat, Charter President Roger Lindley, Past President John Schorr, Bill & Nicha Trempus, and Myrna Muyana to pay a visit to our club’s avocado project sites. All three of these sites are located in remote Lahu villages in the Mae Hong Son Province. Project Champion Niwatchai, who is of Lahu descent, led the trip. Of course, we did not go empty-handed. We brought Christmas presents for the villagers and I helped deliver 1,238 pounds of clothing that we collected last month from our donation boxes at Rimping and Makro Supermarkets.

The Burma Children Medical Fund B.K. Kee Patient House held its big annual Christmas party. Project Champion Bill Pierce and Nick Dale helped organize the event, complete with presents donated by club members and supporters. As a way of saying thanks, the B.K. Kee Patient House residents sent the club a video of patients singing Christmas songs in both English and their native language.

At present, the COVID-19 vaccination rate in Thailand is over 65.1%. The vaccination rate in Thailand is now well above the world average at 48.3% and higher than the United States average of 61.8%. Most of our club members are fully vaccinated. Now, some are even getting their third shot. My wife, President-Elect Viki and I plan to get our third shot (a.k.a. booster) after the mandatory six months pass (we both received two doses of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine).

In closing, I am happy to announce that we are officially resuming our in-person club meetings at the Royal Peninsula Hotel starting on January 4, 2022. Water and hand sanitizer will be provided. Please wear a mask when not consuming water. While all future guests and members are required to be vaccinated before attending meetings, this rule does not apply to current CMIRC members. In the interest of health and safety, we are establishing a safe zone for any currently unvaccinated members. The established safe zone will be the couch by the entrance door and it will be cordoned off by blue tape on the ground. While fellowship is an important part of all Rotary meetings, we kindly ask that vaccinated members not enter the cordoned-off safe zone and vice versa. This is important because most of our members are still in the at-risk group regardless of their vaccination status and it's possible for vaccinated people to be asymptomatic and transmit the virus. Please send a copy of your most up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination record to secretary@cmirotary.org. This is a required action prior to your attendance. If your certificate contains information that you would like to keep private, there are various apps that allow you to blur specific content in a document.

The Chiang Mai International Rotary Club completed the collection of donations for the annual Children's Winter Clothing Appeal on December 1. The response from the public has exceeded our greatest expectations and wildest imagination. In December, President and Project Champion Dylan remained busy delivering warm clothes, blankets, shoes, and toys to children and families living in isolated hill tribe communities, refugee camps, or impoverished settlements in Northern Thailand.

So far, we have distributed donations to thirteen remote, hard-to-access locations in seven Northern Thai provinces, namely Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tak, Nan, Phayao, Mae Hong Son, and Uttaradit. Among the beneficiaries were refugees, hill tribes, migrants, and local villagers - people of Lua, Palong, Lahu, Lisu, Karen, Shan, Thai, Burmese, Kayan, and Mien origin. In addition, the Burma Children Medical Fund delivered donations on our behalf to newly displaced refugees in Mae Sot, Tak.

We have distributed donations to:

1. the remote Lua village of Phou Khe in Nan Province near the Laos border;
2. a 300-member Palong hill tribe on Doi Ang Khang mountain in Ban No Lae, Fang District in Chiang Mai Province;
3. a 500-member Lahu hill tribe in Ban Huai Ya Sai, in Mae Suai District of Chiang Rai Province, on the dangerous Myanmar border;
4. Mae La Refugee Camp with over 50,000 ethnic Karen residents, in Tha Song Yang District of Tak Province along the Burmese border;
5. the Ban Huai Muang Nursery School in Mae Na Wang, Mae Ai, Chiang Mai Province;
6. Ban Pong Noi Kao, a Karen village of 300 residents in Mae Win, Mae Wang District, on Doi Inthanon;
7. a 100-member Kayan Long Neck tribe and the nearby Baan Mai Naisoi Temporary Shelter Area (a refugee camp with 8,000 ethnic Shan residents);
8. Ban Pang Tham Sakha Ton Phung, a Mien village of 90 families in Rom Yen, Chiang Kham District of Phayao Province;
9. the Thai Ban Pang Makham Pom School, in San Sali, Wiang Pa Pao District of Chiang Rai Province;
10. the isolated Lisu hill tribe village of Ban Doi Chang with about 120 residents, located at 1,700 meters above sea level in Pai District of Mae Hong Son Province;
11. recovering patients of the Burma Children Medical Fund in Mae Sot, Tak Province;
12. the ethnic Lahu Ban Pha Pheok village in Pang Mapha District of Mae Hong Son Province, and
13. the waterfront Thai community of Ban Huai Ta, in the middle of the Queen Sirikit Reservoir in Tha Pla District of Uttaradit Province.

These trips often looked like a survival reality television show. President Dylan drove across rivers, navigated in river beds, and balanced on the spine of mountain ridges. He climbed down shaky ladders. He got lost looking for abandoned villages. He frequently lost internet and phone service and was often without access to toilets. Road conditions put horsepower, 4WD capability, and driving ability to the test. During his most epic journey, Dylan transported clothing donations by a two-hour boat ride to a community that was only accessible by the waterway surrounding the Queen Sirikit Dam. You can read more interesting details and watch videos of the delivery trips on the CMIRC Facebook Page and Instagram.

We cannot thank you enough for the help of our generous community, friends, and Rotarians. We are grateful for your contributions! Special thanks to the Rimping Supermarket chain, Makro, the Interact Club of Chiang Mai International School, the Interact Club of Unity Concord International School, and Lanna International School for making it possible for us to place our donation boxes on their premises. Extra credit goes to Jarus Print, C. T. S. Packaging, and Pern’s Foods for their impeccable service assisting our project. We are grateful for the assistance provided by Philanthropy Connections and  the Burma Children Medical Fund.

December has been a rewarding experience for all concerned. The need for food supplementation in Chiang Mai province continues to be great. CMIRC continues the crusade fighting hunger, raising 63,630 THB in December, and contributing 36 hours of volunteer time for the December 2021 Food Initiative.

We continued our partnership with The Human Rights Development Foundation.  In December CMIRC supplied them with 200 bags (pictured, left), each containing 2 kg of rice, 3 cans of fish, 6 packages of noodles, oil, fish oil, milk, and sanitary napkins that they delivered to migrant worker camps in San Kamphaeng and Mae Taeng.

The dedicated staff at Urban Light’s community center for boys at risk of exploitation www.urban-light.org continues to provide community support in efforts to provide food for the hungry. As requested by Urban Light, CMIRC is providing only nonperishable food items to the community center (right). Urban Light is in the process of relocating to space across from the Northeast corner of Old City. We wish them well in their new location!

Many thanks to all the people so generous with the time and money. The need is great and the generosity is deeply appreciated.

Picture, at left, by resident of B.K. Kee House.

This month we made two supply drops to the Burma Children Medical Fund B.K. Kee Patient House delivering our normal supplies of hygiene supplies and supplementary snacks.

Interns Dianna and David continue to provide literacy instruction to the patients and caregivers as well as health awareness workshops. Their work and simply their very presence has made a huge impact on the lives of those staying at the house. We hope that the day when restrictions are lifted folks will be able to come out and see the amazing work that is being done.

On December 19th, Rotary members Nick, Bill P and volunteer Pink brought a car full of gifts, snacks, and an assortment of party supplies for the annual Christmas Party. Employee Klao ordered a few Burmese dishes for the patients and caregivers and Nick and Pink had ice cream delivered later in the afternoon for dessert. After we unloaded everything, Klao and Intern David played guitar and the patients and caregivers sang three Christmas songs that we recorded to share with the other CMIRC members. We were very touched by the beautiful singing and guitar playing. It was a special gift since this year we were unable to invite members to join the festivities.

Klao sent photos of the party later that day of the patients, caregivers, interns, and staff enjoying the festivities.

Currently, we are still doing supply drops only every other Sunday.

The hours below include an estimate of time that some of our members spent shopping for gifts. We would like to give special recognition to members Roger, Nancy, Gary, John, John’s wife Phijitra, Nick and Nick’s partner Pink for donating presents or additional funds for the party. Thank you so much!!

Hours for December: CMIRC members - 30, Volunteers - 8.

Fundraising continues by the District 5230 Rotary Clubs https://rotary5230.org/ for this project in which CMIRC will provide logistical support. The proposed project will bring clean water and sanitation to several hill tribe villages in Northern Thailand.

Mike Mann, Executive Director of the Integrated Tribal Development Foundation (ITDF) https://itdfinternational.org/projects/ will give a presentation to CMIRC at the Royal Peninsula Hotel on Tuesday 18th January 2022 on the work of ITDF and progress on the water and sanitation project. If interested in attending this meeting please contact secretary@cmirotary.org.

Since 1990, the Integrated Tribal Development Foundation has been assisting the poor hill tribe communities in northern Thailand. The holistic approach focuses on improving communities in many aspects of life, including clean water, sanitation, agriculture, education, health, and cash crops. This approach provides an effective kind of development, because it allows ITDF to work with communities beyond a single project. ITDF also partners with international and local work teams from many countries.

The headline for this month is that our CMIRC School Vision Screening Project has learned that Ophthalmologist Tayakorn Kupakanjana, M.D. (Dr. Nickie, left) of the St. Peter Eye Hospital has agreed to work closely with the SVSP and act as our medical advisor. This will add another level of care and referral for children with serious eye problems that cannot be resolved with glasses alone. Dr. Nickie received his M.D. in the UK and later was the chief resident at the Department of Ophthalmology at Thammasat University Hospital in Bangkok. He has now joined the medical staff at St. Peter Eye Hospital. Dr. Nickie gave an excellent presentation on children’s vision problems at our December 21 CMIRC meeting.

So, now, along with our excellent optician Khun One, and the surgical support from the Rotary Club of Chiang Mai North’s Eye Service Foundation, we should be able to address children’s vision problems and provide help at every level of care.

Unfortunately, due to the continued resurgence of Covid-19 in Chiang Mai, we continue to face delays in our CMIRC School Vision Screening Project (SVSP). We still look forward to screening all 3rd and 5th graders at the 11 municipal schools and the Wat Suan Dok School this winter and spring in partnership with Optician Khun One at Chom Jun Optic, the Rotary Club of Chiang Mai Wattana, and, if pediatric ophthalmological surgery is needed, the Rotary Club of Chiang Mai North’s Eye Service Foundation.

We are tentatively planning SVSP volunteer training for mid-January, with screenings in the municipal schools and the Wat Suan Dok School beginning in late January or early February. Because we will probably have only two months to complete our screenings and prescriptions for this academic year, we will need to screen at least two or three schools per week when we get started. We are hoping to train a large contingent of volunteers so that there will be trained substitutes for each of the screening stations. We recognize that many volunteers cannot be on call every week. Please contact Project Champion John Schorr if you’d like to volunteer and be trained: johnkschorr@gmail.com, English or ไทย.

Once again, we’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the generous support of our partners, sponsors and donors, so here is a list of these generous organizations, beginning with the Rotary Club of Spokane 21 whose donation of $2,500 this year will fund about 80% of our program !! THANK YOU ROTARY CLUB of SPOKANE 21!!!

The total program budget for next year is estimated at about $3,000 US dollars, so we are still somewhat short. If you wish to learn how you can help, please contact Project Champion John Schorr at johnkschorr@gmail.com or tel.: 66 (0)8 5030 2143, US Skype # 386 490-8100  CMIRC Member Volunteer Hours for the Month of December: 20  (Chair, 6; Committee Members 4, Volunteers 10 ).

Our 2021-2022 School Vision Screening Donor Team:

The Thai Thaim Foundation, Park Rapids, MN  

Eyewear Designs, Bethpage, NY

Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC)-Kru Payu  Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program (CWSDPP) 

Unfortunately, the schools where we conduct our CWSDPP remain closed due to Covid-19. Since we are a school-based program, we have not been able to teach water safety and therefore have little to report for December.

There is hope that at least some of our schools may reopen this month, and our funding, swim instructor teams, and facilities are all ready to teach survival swimming and water safety when they do!

We’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the generous support of our partners, sponsors and donors, so here is a list of these generous organizations!! This year we want to especially thank them for their patience as we have faced so many delays.

Special thanks also to individual donors Richard Murray and an anonymous donor, and for the continued support from Ian Bushell. If you wish to help, please contact Project Champion John Schorr at johnkschorr@gmail.com for more information.

CMIRC Member Volunteer Hours for the Month of December: Total: 3 (Chair, 3).

CMIRC Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Team and Sponsors:

The Thai Thaim Foundation

---

Vocational Service is the essence of Rotary and serves as the foundation from which we serve our communities around the world. Vocational Service calls on us to empower others by using our unique skills and expertise to address community needs and help others acquire or refine skills and advance their professional opportunities.

Originally only one representative from each business or profession (vocation) was invited to join a club. Paul Harris felt that if several members of the same profession were to join, they would either sit together and “talk shop” or compete against each other for other members’ business. The idea of “trade-boosting” was gradually eliminated and by 1912, Rotarians were no longer required to exchange business with one another.

Of Rotary’s five Avenues of Service* – Club, Vocational, Community, New Generations and International – Vocational is difficult to define, so it is sometimes called the “Forgotten Avenue of Service”. One reason is Club, Community, International and Youth Service activities usually involve groups of Rotarians. They enjoy the fellowship of Club Service, the satisfaction of serving the needs of their communities, and the hope that their International Service promotes world peace and understanding. But Vocational Service – the second Avenue of Service -- is generally conducted by individual members.

Vocational Service focuses on:

• Adherence to and promotion of the highest ethical standards in all occupations, including fair treatment of employers, employees, associates, competitors, and the public.
• The recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, not just those that are pursued by Rotarians.
• The contribution of your vocational talents to solving the problems of society and meeting the needs of the community.

Rotary’s Vocational Service Month is a great time to start leveraging vocational service in club projects and activities. The Vocational Service in Action handbook can help you gain a better understanding of vocational service and provide you with ideas to practice it through your service activities, in your personal life, and in your career. Download the handbook and share it with your club members.

CMIRC members were not able to have their regular every other Sunday morning visits to the patients and their families at Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) B.K. Kee Patient House here in Chiang Mai where members socialize, play games, bring food and engage in craft projects with the patients and their families. The Patient House remains closed to visitors during the upsurge in Covid-19 cases in Chiang Mai. Basic supplies are dropped off there every other Sunday.

Chiang Mai Expats Club breakfasts, where we promote CMIRC and swap "Change for Children" owl banks, were cancelled for December due to the Covid-19 cases in Chiang Mai.

Multiple warm clothing deliveries by President Dylan to people of Northern Thailand in need of warm clothing for the winter during the month of December.

December was Teddy Bear procurement month with Santa Nick delivering four to new patients at the B.K.Kee Patient House and Thai Post taking twenty to the Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) in Mae Sot.

Rotarians Nicha and Bill T. championed the distribution of survival packages of rice and essential dry food items to people in need in Chiang Mai, San Kamphaeng, Saraphi and Mae Taeng.

Friday, December 3, a ZOOM meeting of the Child Protection Policy working group (Rtns. Viki, Nick and Roger).

Tuesday, December 7, the first Tuesday in the month regular club meeting on ZOOM. The meeting was our club's Annual Meeting for nomination and election of leadership for Rotary Year 2022-2023. The club inducted three new members: Myrna, Cesar and David.

Thursday, December 9, at 9 pm we had our 9@9 ZOOM meeting to stay in touch with our club members wherever they may be in the world.

Sunday, December 19, the annual Christmas Party with patients, families and staff at the BCMF B.K. Kee Patient House.  This was a "closed" party due to Covid restrictions.  Nick and Bill P delivered gifts, snacks and party decorations on behalf of the club.

Tuesday, December 21, CMIRC third Tuesday of the month ZOOM meeting. “Dr. Nickie” from the St. Peter Eye Hospital presented our program.

Tuesday, December 22, the Interact Club of Unity Concord International School presented donations of non-perishable food items, hygienic products, clothes, and toys, collected during their Funds, Foods & Goods Drive to support a children's home in Northern Thailand. Rotarians Myrna, Nicha and Bill T. participated.

Monday and Tuesday, December 27 - 28, club members visited Avocado Gardening Project (AGP) sites near Mae Hong Son. Rotarian Niwarchai is championing this effort. Rotarians Niwatchai, John, Myrna, Bill T, Roger and Nicha (pictured, left, holding a piglet receiving a vaccination) participated in the visit.

Tuesday, December 28, the CMIRC Board Meeting in-person at the Royal Peninsula Hotel.