News from Esther in Burma

Hi Marjolein and Hilary,

How is life, in and out of the studio? Hope you are enjoying something like spring!

I am getting into a rhythm here, providing training in the laboratory,
currently I am focusing on explaining Tuberculosis diagnosis and
disease management. It is overwhelming what is going on here. The
people coming to the clinic ( a large area with small buildings where
either people are eating, undergoing surgery, making prosthetics,
delivering, receiving vaccination etc etc) are Burmese that either
live as a prisoner in this area, due to their illegal immigrant status
they are not allowed to move out of the small radius of this area,
police is continuously pulling people over and checking. Those people
do cheap labor at factory's. Others live in Burma and cross the border
for medical help. Most of the severe cases are people who come from
Myanmar. It is clear you are better off living in a confined area in
Thailand than living in a country as Myanmar. My co-workers (all
Burmese or actually Karen - an ethnic minority in burma) as well are
not allowed to leave the clinic ground, they live and work in this
area all days of the year.

My yoga experience and teaching to the patients twice weekly is now
bringing me several cases of patients who should undergo
physiotherapy, I am helping a young girl with cerebral palsy, a widow
with a severe frozen shoulder, a factory worker who has his femur bone sticking out of his hip socket and is really liking spinal twists, and two guys who lost a leg in land mine injury. The burmese military
government is the only government still actively placing land mine's
to prevent people from fleeing into Thailand. Anyway ofcourse in no
means am i a physiotherapist but at the least i can provide them with exercise and attention, this is not the place to be insecure about what you can or cannot mean for a person.

I really just wanted to email to say Hi, and explain what i have been
up to. The Yoga teaching at the clinic is ongoing for almost a year
already (two volunteers before me have been involved) and even locals healthcare workers teach. I am just providing them with feedback and stimulation. The patients love having me teach, i guess i provide some extra entertainment for them. Either way it is pretty amazing that Yoga is gaining grounds here.

I haven't been able to take nice pictures of the yoga classes but
towards the end of April I will write a small piece and
pictures for the YM newsletter.

Liefs Esther