2015 March NuPo FINAL Report Rotary General

7/21/2019 2015 March NuPo FINAL Report Rotary General

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NuP

Mae Tao Clini

January 2015 H

o Karen Refugee Camp

and

Orphanage and Boarding S

aling through Arts delegation

hool

Report


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Background:

There are over 100,000 Burm

border. The Karen are one of

repressed by successive milit

P.E.A.C.E. founder, Dr Phil

the Mae La Oon camp. This v

or more Burmese Karen refu

Due to subsequent personal

NuPo camp who now lives in

NuPo camp was more practic

PEACE visits to NuPo subse

The first two visits essentiallythe camp residents, the histor

camp and of course developi

camp figures and organisatio

Me

ese Karen refugees in nine camps along th

many Burmese ethnic groups that have be

ary dictatorships that have ruled Burma sin

est, first visited a Karen refugee camp in 2

isit was a first step in establishing a PEAC

ee camps.

ontact with Eh Paung, the former Camp S

Australia, it was decided that a P.E.A.C.E.

al. NuPos population is approximately 11,0

uently occurred in 2012, 2013 and then in

involved developing more knowledge abouy of the Karen struggle, the general life and

g the necessary personal relationships wit

s.

bers of the PEACE delegation, 2013

e Thai-Burma

n brutally

e 1948.

09. This was

project at one

cretary of the

roject at the

00.

anuary 2015.

the needs ofculture in the

important


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Map sh

owing Bangkok, Mae Sot and N

Po


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The following images are of o

rdinary camp residents during their daily ro

cleaning

tines in the camp.


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The Karen and the politics of Burma: a (very) brief history.

The Karen are one of many ethnic communities in Burma who have faced severe

repression by military dictatorships that have ruled Burma continuously since

check1948.

Only in the past 2-3 years has a degree of democratisation occurred in Burma, but this

is far from complete and the military still controls most of the economy and social

institutions. In the meantime, tens of thousands of Karen continue to live in the camps

along the Thai-Burma border and may not feel safe to return for many years to come.

A majority of Karen are Christian, having been converted by German missionaries in the

19 Century. The second largest religious grouping is Buddhist the majority religion in

Burma.

The first refugee camps were established in northern Thailand after mass political

repression following elections in 1988 in which the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyiwon around 65% of the votes. The military had allowed the election, but perhaps

thought they could control the process and ensure victory by compliant, military-aligned

parties. This didnt occur and losing was too much of a shock! So Aung San Suu Kyi

was imprisoned under house arrest for the next 20 years and thousands of Burmese

were tortured, murdered, disappeared or imprisoned.

Now, a second generation of children are being born in the camps. Due to the

confinement and restriction of camp life, the younger generation of Karen are losing

traditional agricultural skills as there is no room for normal crop production at the camps

which are very cramped. Residents receive food rations from international aid. This alsodevelops an aid dependency which is very debilitating in the long run.

Many also have war and conflict-related trauma. At the height of the military repression,

hundreds of Karen villages were burned and people were forced to flee to the

mountains while being chased by the military. Elderly or sick sometimes had to be left

behind and children died of illness and malnutrition. Their trauma and scars are deep.

Cont


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A second generation of Karen

agriculture and o

re being born in the camps and losing knowled

her economic, community and cultural tradition

e of traditional

s.


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P.E.A.C.E. in Mae Sot and N

This PEACE trip took place b

Boarding school in Mae Sot a

The trip was financially suppothese clubs for their generosit

Bendigo: $100, Rotary Club o

Rotary Club of Tullamarine: $

The ideals of PEACE are em

Healing occurs when these i

The healing work of P.E.A.C.

activities that the children in t

the lack of resources: colouripaper cups and other relativel

beads, glitter-glue and so on.

Many activities may appear u

a purpose relating to self-este

development, co-operation as

Happiness heals.

For the children in the camp (

countries are thinking about tbit more peaceful and joyful, i

long-lasting.

upo, January 2015.

tween Jan 9-12 at the Mae Tao clinic Orp

nd Jan 13-17 at the NuPo camp, Thai-Bur

rted by a number of Rotary clubsand wey: Rotary Club of Altona City: $600, Rotary

f Eaglehawk: $100, Rotary Club of Carlton

100.

ath , care, loveand sharing.

eals are put into practice.

. is done through often basic and simple a

e camp and at the orphanage can usually

g in, painting, drawing and craft activitiesy simple items such as ice-cream sticks, st

assuming, but are structured in way so th

em, community development, sharing, skill

well asjust feeling happy!

and the adults too), just knowing that peopl

em and wanting to share with them and ms very powerful and can have an impact th

anage and

a border.

incerely thankClub of

North: $100,

tivities but

ever do due to

ith balloons,eamers,

activities have

and

from other

ke their lives at is deep and


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The team

The PEACE delegation this year was made up of PEACE Founder and President, Dr

Phil West, Ph.D, Art teacher and graphic artist, Claudia Salazar plus two Bowen

Therapists from Bendigo, Leanne Meeny and Samantha Hamilton. Bowen therapy

relieves physical ailments plus helps release emotional stress and pain.

The P.E.A.C.E. Team: Rear: Phil West and local camp contact person and Bendigo Karen

Community Leader, Eh Paung. Seated L-R: Claudia Salazar, Sam Hamilton and Leanne Meeny.

_____________________________________

One day, Leanne and Sam performed Bowen on a severely traumatised young woman

of around 17 who had only just arrived in the camp from Burma. She had been the

victim of an apparent gang-rape by soldiers and was being cared for by the Karen

Womens Organisation (KWO). She was not talking. For all of us, she was the most

traumatised person we had ever seen. Her eyes appeared as if hollow, she was

expressionless and you could actually sense the terror she had been through. It was as

though part of her humanity had been wrenched from her. After a therapeutic session of

Bowen, the girl actually smiled a bit and then asked if she could receive another Bowen

session the following next day.


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Bowen in practice

The Art workshops.

Art, music and craftwork activ

workshops.

Images rather than words be

however, a short description i

Respect, concentration, be

The Karen children in the ca

humanity.

The camp children rarely hav

by P.E.A.C.E. At all times the

joy at the activities they are in

at the camp on a make-shift table in the school

ities form the basis of the P.E.A.C.E. Heali

t illustrate the PEACE activities carried out

s necessary and informative.

aviour and happiness.

p present an extraordinary symbol of our s

the opportunity to carry out the type of act

show deep appreciation and respect and

volved in.

all

g through Arts

at the camp,

hared

ivities provided

xpress their


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Children as young as just three years-old deeply appreciated the activities or were just

so happy to be doing them that they concentrated in a way that many 16-year-olds I

have taught in Australian schools cannot!

However, the most remarkable expression of the community spirit of the Karen, their

sense of shared purpose and their grass-roots religious conviction is demonstrated inhow the children treat each other.

They always share and are very polite and respectful to each other. Not once did we

witness anyone grab something out of anothers hand or scream, cry or complain about

anything. And this observation wasnt a once off.

During my last visit, a group of pre-school children aged 3-5 were doing activities such

as colouring-in and simple craft activities for an hour. Not once did any child grab

materials off another, push another and not one child cried or had a tantrum or hissy fit.

I really doubt that in Australia, a group of twenty 3-4 year olds could do art and craft foran hour without one child pushing another, grabbing scissors or a pencil off another or

crying about something.

For me, this is a realisation of how spoiled our children are in countries like Australia.

Children who are used to almost nothing, seem to naturally share, respect their fellow

children and just enjoy the moment of happiness and joy without interfering negatively

with others. They also dont have ADHD and other similarly-labelled emotional ailments

common in developed, industrialised nations.

Photos illustrative of team-work and cooperation


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This little girl was onl

maraca masterpie

colour textas, whic

about two years-old. However, she fully conce

e for about 30 minutes. Her joy and fascination

h she had never used before in her life, was hea

trated on her

with using

t-warming.


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The Healing through Arts

The activities carried out by P

song and dance and the follo

Balloon self portraits Bead necklace making

Painting (acrylic and w

Colouring-in

Hearts of Hope activit

artwork and write mes

Rubber Loop Jeweller

Maraca making (two w

and which are then tap

Own hand trace, cut

Finger panting

Mixed art posters

Here are some photos of the

orkshops:

EACE with the aid of our wonderful translat

ing art/craft activities:

nd/or fantasy faces

ater paints)

featuring cardboard hearts on which child

sage of love, hope and peace to others.

hite cardboard cups placed end to end whi

ed together and illustrated by the children).

ut & colour-in activity.

arious activities:

ors, included

ren cover with

h contain rice


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A beautiful a

d expressive artwork made in cooperative pair


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Above: Fun with stickers,

dont have access to in th

no regular art classes as

avai

ice-cream sticks, glitter glue and other items th

e camp. Despite how creative the Karen children

part of the school curriculum as the materials a

lable. Below: Balloon faces and posters.

t the children

are, there are

e simply not


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The NuPo Camp Special Devel

The NuPo camp has a populatio

with physical and/or intellectual

about specific needs of the SDS

In essence, the conditions are avery much like to provide suppo

lopment School (SDS)

n of approximately 11,000. There are of course

isabilities in the camp. PEACE met the teache

school and ran a Healing through Artsprogra

rocious and the school has almost no materialt to this school. Here are some photos.

some children

s and learned

.

. PEACE would


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Hearts Across the World:A P.E.A.C.E. initiative ready to go GLOBAL!

In recent years, two shocking acts of violence occurred in other countries that resonated

with ordinary Australians: The Norwegian youth camp massacre and the Newtown high

school shootings in Connecticut, USA. These random and tragic acts of violence

prompted PEACE to take action to show support to the survivors and the families ofthose killed.

PEACE liaised with a number of schools in Australia and the school children made

cards with message of support plus a canvas mural to send to the affected

communities. The purpose behind this project is for the ideals of PEACE to positively

impact our local children as well as the children touched by the particular tragedy.

The young people and families personally affected by a shooting, massacre,

random murder or terrorist attack are going through grief, loss and trauma.

Receiving messages of love and hope from unknown children from the other sideof the world can help their healing process and to perhaps understand that the

world out there is not so bad after all. The act of solidarity is quite simple, but

can be significant.

For the Australian children, they can express their feelings about what happened

while also opening their hearts by sending messages of love and solidarity.

Young people at the best of times, but especially now with the shocking violence that is

occurring everywhere, cannot really understand why these things happen but still feel

grief and shock. Even if they would prefer not to hear or learn about the incidents, the

news and images are all over the TV and social media. There is no escape.Often theyoung people can relate to the incidents - such as the school or youth camp shootings

or the murder recently of the 17-year-old school girl simply walking through a park

listening to her i-pod or the young teacher murdered just before her wedding day.

At such times, young people can be shocked, angry but also feel sadness and fear.

Being able to express their feelings and take direct, individual action makes them

realise that they can personally make a difference and have an impact across the globe.

Stemming from these initial actions, the idea of heart-shaped cards was

developed by Dr West based on the centrality of the heart symbol in thePEACE logo.

Thus, instead of just a usual flat (and boring) card, a heart could literally

be sent across the world. Related actions based on the theme could

be developed. For example Hearts for Hope (perhaps after natural

disasters) and Hearts to Heaven. This latter idea was developed after the recent

murder of the young schoolgirl and the school-teacher bride-to-be in NSW. The idea is


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that the affected communities (school children in these examples), could make their

PEACE Hearts that could then be attached to helium balloons. Thus, the Hearts

containing their heartfelt messages and artwork could literally be sent to Heaven. This

would be a beautiful and symbolic act during time of grief.

The Hearts Across the Worldidea was put into practice during this recent trip to theKaren camp. A sample of around 20 Hearts were made by school children in Melbourne

with artwork and messages of peace and love for us to give to children in the refugee

camp.

At the camp, children made hearts to decorate their community hall, for the PEACE

delegates and to be passed onto Karen children in Australia. The Hearts activity truly

showed the deep spiritual and emotional impact this idea can have. This was most

clearly seen when the children made hearts for the PEACE delegates. The children

really took the task to heart (excuse another pun) and produced beautiful and heartfelt

artwork and messages.

One girl who did her

heart for our

professional artist,

Claudia Salazar,

unexpectedly produced

another drawing for

Claudia the next

morning.

Her amazing drawing

represented the

emotional link

developed between her

and Claudia through the

making of the heart.

The emotion relating to

her happiness and joy

at our visit and the

activities and fun shehad enjoyed came to

the fore. This is better

described by images of her artwork. The image above shows the first PEACE heart

which features drawings of Claudia and herself. The following page shows a close up of

the second drawing.


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Below: An example of another PEACE heart. The words are simple but expressive and

beautiful: I miss you, I am happy today, Sing=love

The second artwork featuring a beautiful drawing of Claudia (teacher) and the young girl


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The Boarding school at the NuPo Camp.

The children of the Boarding School are unaccompanied minors. Some have lost a

parent or were separated from family when fleeing military violence and were sent

across to the camp for safety and to receive a basic education. Life in the Burmese

villages over the border is precarious, there is usually no education available andmilitary repression is still occurring. In the Boarding School, the older children look after

the younger ones (some are siblings) and there are a number of adults who act in a

parenting role. The children arise at around 4:30, tend a communal vegetable garden

for about an hour, then have a shower and breakfast and start school at 9:00.

Above: Boarding school children tending the vegetable garden. Below: Children in class


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PEACE at NuPo and beyon

After three trips to NuPo, PE

strong links with the camp lea

support to the people of the c

This report is not the place to

detailed breakdown of possibl

approximate costs in order of

1. Support for the S

The school is in quite a dilapi

resources and general equip

are committed and do their b

high level of educational inter

: The next steps.

CE now understands the community, has

dership and is therefore ready to expand o

mp.

provide all details about planed future supp

e budgets, but the following provides a gui

priority.

ecial Education School

ated state of disrepair. Materials, educatio

ent are almost non-existent but the staff a

st. Suffice to say that the children do not re

ention, physical therapy or sensory stimul

eveloped

r role and our

ort and a

e and

al aids and

d volunteers

ceive a very

tion.


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How PEACE could support the SDS:

- Provision of specialist stimulatory educational equipment and toys. Most would be

sourced in Thailand while some items unavailable in Thailand would be brought

from Australia where feasible.

Approx. cost: $2,000 for initial year, $1,000 pa thereafter

- Provision of specialist rest/posture equipment and related health and physical aides.

Good second-hand items would be purchased if possible. Most items can probably

be purchased in Thailand.

Approx. cost: $5,000 for first year, $1,000 pa thereafter

- Materials and labour to repair the building including new leaves for the roof. The

roofs of the bamboo dwellings in the camp are made from large leaves which need

replacing each 12-18 months.

Aprox. Cost: $1,300

One weekly free lunch for the children and staff

Approx. annual cost: $3,000

- Funds to enhance the teachers salaries and for volunteer support.

Approx. cost: $1,000

- Costs for ground transportation (of purchased equipment) in Thailand and relatedcosts (fuel, insurance etc)

Approx. cost: $500

PEACE would also like to support the volunteering at the camp of some Special

Education teachers/retired teachers or final year Special Education Students and other

related professionals (physio-therapists etc) to work with the children but also provide

train the trainer programs for the staff and parent volunteers.

TOTAL approximate cost to support the Special Development School: $12,800 for the

first year, $7,800 thereafter.

Some of these costs probably appear quite low, however, costs in Thailand for most

items are of course much cheaper than in Australia and the costs in the camp are

extraordinarily low as it is not a real village in Thailand and there is no real economy

as such.


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2. Support for the Camp Boarding School and Dormitories.

This support would include money for Dormitory building repair (Including much needed

waterproofing for the rainy season) and to enhance safety for the children.

Approx. cost: $1600 for the first yearand then $1,200 annually thereafter,- Art, craft and musical supplies for the dormitory and the school

Approx cost: $4,000 in first year and $1,500 annuallythereafter

TOTAL approximate cost to support the Boarding school and dormitories: $5,600

for the first year, $2,700pa thereafter.

3. Support for the crisis intervention and general work of the Karen

Womens Organisation (KWO) including physical infrastructure repair to

their small office and purchase of supplies/aids/tools/equipment.

The KWO is a wonderful organisation that works in all the camps and supports womens

education, development, health, maternal health and issues surrounding family

violence. They also support women in emergency situations who enter the camp/s from

over the border after trauma of violence, family deaths or sexual violence.

Total approximate cost: $3,000 initially and $1,200 pa thereafter.

__________

General administration costs, volunteer support costs and manager travel costs: approx.

$2,500 per tripand $10,000 annually for costs in Australia (design & printing of

promotional materials/flyers, volunteer training, printing, telecommunications etc).

So far the trips have been each 18 months to two years apart. However, to properly

develop the programs and to maintain the important personal relationships that already

exist, three trips per year for the program manager would be ideal. Volunteers fund their

travel and accommodation/food costs. Thailand is of course in our region and travel

costs can be reasonably low if tickets are purchased well in advance. The main cost in

Thailand is for vehicle hire. Again, this is about a third of the cost compared with

Australia. For example, in January 2015, our four wheel drive hire with full insurance

was $50 per day.

Cont.../


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TOTAL approximate cost o

partners in the camp:

For the first year: $21,

For each subsequentPLUS admin costs of

admin costs in Australia).

$,

Support for the Mae Tao cli

PEACE also visited the famo

The clinic is really now a larg

It was established by Dr Cynt

servicing poor Karen women

delegation in 2013 visited the

through a Karen relative of he

the prestigious Sydney Peac

One of the PEACE volunteer

following our return to Mae SClinic as a volunteer at the Pr

The Clinic also runs the Orph

in the camp, the children at th

however; most are also orpha

Although the refugee camp is

priority of PEACEs work, the

school also has limited resou

PEACE developed a great relwith the school, the principal

general staff and PEACE wo

support these children too for

provision of art and craft supp

Photo: Children at the Mao Tao

during a PEACE Healing through

ALL support for PEACE activities and p

400;

year: $11,700pprox. $17,500 pa (3X$2,500 per OS trip p

ic Orphanage and Boarding school.

s Mao Tao clinic which is in the Thai town

hospital that services thousands of patient

ia Maung over 20 years ago as just a few

ho had fled the military repression. The P

clinic and Dr West has a direct connection

rs who lives in Melbourne. Dr Maung was t

Prize in 2013.

in 2013 was a post-grad Prosthetic engine

t from our visit to the camp, stayed for sixosthetics Lab.

nage and boarding school. Similar to the

e Mae Tao facility are also unaccompanied

ns as a result of the armed conflict.

the first

Mao Tao

ces.

ationshipnd the

ld like to

the

lies and

orphanage

rtsworkshop

roject

lus $10,000

$,

f Mae Sot.

s each week.

uts in the dirt

ACE

with Dr Maung

e recipient of

er and

eeks at the

oarding school

minors


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develop and on-going relation

Establishing a Child Sponsor

program will also be investiga

Photos showing inside and outsi

boys dorms which were destroyed

few weeks after PEACEs visit. Th

underneath is of the kitchen in w

food for all the children in coo

ship with the school and orphanage.

hip

ted.

de the

by fire a

photo

ich the

ed.


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PEACEs principal area of work is related to the provision of arts activities and

programs to support emotional healing of war-derived trauma. We do not heavily

support infrastructure. We will do this in the camp to some extent for our specific project

partners who are in dire need such as the Special Development School.

However, PEACE would like to support the orphanage in the following way:

- Provision of art and craft and musical supplies for the school. Approx. cost: $2,000

for first year, $750 pa thereafter.

- Once-off provision of equipment to properly and more hygienically stock the kitchen

and for the construction of some shelving and cupboards. Approx. cost: $1,500

TOTAL for supporting the Mae Tao orphanage and boarding school: $3,500 initially,

$750 thereafter.

PEACE delegations would of course continue to visit the orphanage and school andwould like to provide medium to long-term volunteer teachers and other professionals to

work at the Orphanage.

So the NEW TOTAL for ALL support includingsupport for the Mae Tao

orphanage would be: $42,400 for the initial year and $29,950 for each year

thereafter.

__________________

Hearts Across the World Project (incorporating Hearts for Hope and Hearts to Heaven)

The Hearts Across the Worldidea proved a great success in the small trial at the

camp. The heart is a universal symbol of love and hope across all religions and

cultures.

PEACE envisages that this beautiful idea could become global if the right support and

marketing is done and one or two celebs come on board as Ambassadors. But there is

nothing to stop this program being put into practice immediately. As well as being

enacted in Australia after tragedies such as the murder of the Melbourne school-school,

the hearts could also be made by children from schools and other organisations and

sent to children suffering loss and grief after school massacres or acts of violence and

cruelty such as the recent university massacre in Kenya or the kidnapping of the

schoolgirls in Nigeria.

This could become universal and the project trademarked, logos copyrighted and sales

could generate income for the project.


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For example, at community festivals or events, PEACE could run a table for the Hearts

Across the World program. Kids/parents would purchase a blank heart for say $2 and

the children would complete a finished heart on the spot which would be sent to say a

refugee camp. Additionally, because of the very strong emotional appeal of the PEACE

Hearts, Children could also purchase extra hearts to take home as the hearts could be

used as Mothers Day cards, birthday cards and so on. There would surely be potential

for retail sales or for partnership by a large retailer during a designated International

Hearts for Hope Day or similar.

PEACE wishes to get Hearts Across the Worldstarted as soon as possible!

A quote from Precision Forme Printingshows that the production of 2000 A4-sized

Hearts would cost $750. This is less than 50c each. Obviously cost per-unit is reduced if

more are printed. The Hearts would be blank on one side and the other side would be

lined in part but also present information about PEACE and partners (eg a Rotary Club)

with logo/s. These promotional markings on the card plus contact information would besuitably visible but appropriately subtle.

__________

Summary

The trip to NuPo was very successful particularly in terms of:

Strengthening relationships made during previous trips

gaining further understanding of the needs of the people and how PEACE canbest support the NuPo community.

The resilience, strength and uncomplicated religious convictions of peace, love and

goodwill towards others of the Karen was a joy to witness.

Their happiness and delight in having an opportunity to extend their creativity,

imagination and to express their feelings through participation in the Healing through

Artsactivities was a raw emotional experience for all involved. The power of The Arts

to awaken, inspire, increase self-love and bring hope, joy and to relieve trauma

was strongly evidenced.1

1Up until now, the healing through artsactivities of PEACE have not been based on formal Arts Therapy.

PEACE is not philosophically opposed to formal therapy and would appreciate the involvement of

formally-trained therapists in further development of our programs. However, the lived experience of

PEACE in the camp and in workshops PEACE has carried out in Cambodia and Colombia, demonstrate

that a less formally interventionist approach which essentially provides traumatised children the chance to

have fun, be creative, imaginative and cooperative with others is amazingly healing and therapeutic.


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Above all, the practical application of the Hearts Across the Worldprogram

demonstrated that this idea is very powerful and opens up creativity, passion, raw

emotion and the manifestation deep human love and compassion. The practical testing

of this idea has inspired PEACE to commit to make this project a Global reality with

hoped-for participation by Rotary, UNICEF and other international organisations.

HeArtwork by a 15 Year-old Karen child at NuPo Karen refugee camp, January, 2015

Thank you for reading this report

Dr P West, Leanne Meeny, Claudia Salazar, Sam Hamilton

March, 2015


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How to contact PEACE:

Dr Phil West: 0435 611 324; e: [email protected]

FB: facebook.com/creativepeaceforchildren

We look forward to the PEACEHealing through Artsand theHearts Across

the Worldidea being supported by YOUR club!

We look forward to your support, suggestions, ideas and participation!

We will contact you shortly.


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Documents

2015 March NuPo FINAL Report Rotary General