Bongti Bon

We live in a village called Bongti Bon. Population about 2000 people...and us. It borders Burma, but we are unable to cross over from here because its not safe. Bamboo School is well known in the village. We have a small clinic and the residents come for medical help. Our most frequent patients have cough, diarrhea, and vomiting. Anything Major we transfer to Sayok Hospital (where Yok is a star) MomoCat ( The director of the school) can get there in about 12 minutes for emergencies.

The people in Bongti and the kids at BBS are Karen. Karen people have their own culture and Language but are displaced. I believe their history includes teaming up with the British against the Burmese, but then the British made a treaty with the Burmese and left the Karen out of it and Burma didnt give them any land/ wanted them out. So now they are refugees. The kids at BBS speak Karen, and learn Thai and English at School.

The patients here are many and we have some weird cases. So a man with a Bamboo stick protruding out of his leg comes in. one of the first questions we ask is "How long" whether its vomiting or fever or whatever. The man answered 4 days. FOUR DAYS!! why didnt you come in the first day!! ???

Sometimes Lizette and I will be the only ones at the clinic without a translator so we have to turn down patients and ask them to come back later when Momo is home, or when the kids get back from school. (if they are not an emergency)

So one day, a motorbike drives up with two ladies, two babies and a man. (Yes, all 5 on a motorbike) We happened to not have a translator so I had motioned for them that no one was here and to come back later. As one of the moms turns to leave, I catch a glimpse of the baby and its face looked like it was alllll burned! and !! It had some scabbing so it didnt just happen, it must have been a couple days already. I stopped her, ran to the phone to call Momo. She told me to take the baby to the hospital right away. But there was a problem...I didnt have a car. Momo had one, and Nick (another volunteer) had one at the local school, where he volunteers in the mornings. So I had to go with the stanger on the motorbike (I was so nervous!) to get the pickup from Nick, drive back, and Lizette took the Mom and baby in to Sayok.

Lizette and I have also been patients here at BBS. Charcoal pills are our new Best Friend! :) We have become believers of the Charcoal. Momo Gives charcoal for everything!! Thank God we have not gotten anything too serious, just vomiting and diarrhea....the other day we were taking a bucket bath and i had been feeling sick and had already thrown up earlier. I motioned for lizette to move out of the way. If she hadnt moved fast enough, she would of had a rice/potatoe/green curry/carrot and tomato bath. I know..Gross...

Its definitely not fun to be sick, but its worse when your away from home :( But we also get more attention here lol..the kids take care of us! We LoVe them!!!!

We will try to be better about writing blogs :)