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Rudy and I had discussed spending the night in camp, but I started getting sick and was leaning toward not spending the night. I wanted to go across the high suspension bridge to the other half of the camp, so we all piled into the truck and were taken to the edge of the river in Section 7. The only way into section 7-A was to cross the high swinging bridge and I LOVE IT! In the past we have normally walked to the bridge which takes about an hour, but since it was the heat of the day, we were all glad for the ride. If you have read any of my previous journals, you know that crossing this bridge is one of my favorite things to do.
More parents and children joined our little entourage along the way on the 10 minute walk to Po Nee Nee’s house where we always meet. Po Nee Nee came rushing out to greet us with her second child, born after my 2007 trip. We hugged each other and she told me her mother was not in camp but with her husband who is a soldier. Her mother, Markreet, and I have become very close over the years and I was disappointed to not see her on this trip.
Po Nee Nee set a small low table up and Kasu and I sat on the floor with cards on the table. Children and parents started coming in and soon there was just barely enough room for me to take pictures of the children. My long time friend and travel companion, Kyi Aung, pushed his way through the throng and gave me a huge hug. He was a soldier and never let me out of his sight when we traveled together in the past. He was talking excitedly to me in Karen. I could only understand a few words, but we fell right into our old routine. He would anticipate what I needed and would dig in my pack till he found it.
I had named his twin sons, Benjamin and Joseph, 5 years ago when they were only 2 days old. I am considered their Grandmother or “Pee Pee”. On the left is posted a picture of Benjamin & Joseph that was taken while we were registering the children. They have really grown this past year and both have impish grins and are full of energy. I nicknamed them “The Rascals!” Kyi Aung and his wife now have 5 children.
It soon became stifling hot in the house and I was starting to feel feverish. I was so thankful to be able to be with my Karen families that I just kept taking pictures and greeting parents. Children started bringing little presents for their sponsors and for me. I had to stop and write the child’s name on the package so I could get them to the right sponsor. By the time we left, there was a huge rice sack clear full of presents! I occasionally would look outside and see Rudy interacting with the children and taking pictures. I think this was a very positive experience for him. He had been in Mae La camp many times, but this was his first trip to Mae Rah Moo. I always love sharing these experiences with others.
We finally finished with all the pictures and I remembered that an American man living in Lampang with his wife had asked me to find him a 3 year old girl to sponsor. I asked Kasu to have some come to me for registration and pictures and within a few minutes I had some darling pictures of 5 little girls. Section 7-A is a poorer section of camp and most of the children and parents are not as clean as some of those in. the other sections There are a number of the Hill Tribe Karen that settled in Section 7-A. They were part of a group of about 125 families living in the jungle in 1995 when they were forced into the refugee camp in order to have food. I had stayed with the in the jungle for a month back then and developed a strong bond with all of them.
It was getting really hot as we started walking back to the bridge and I was not feeling any better. Two little girls took my hands and walked all the way to the bridge with us. Kyi Aung and scores of children and parents were right behind me. Some had gone ahead with Rudy and Kasu. We all climbed into the truck and drove to Section 6 where more children were waiting at the home of “Mr. Kold” as he is nicknamed. He was instrumental in having a little church built near the jungle hospital we built a few years ago on the Burma side of the river. We visited a few minutes, got the children’s pictures and by the time we were finished, I was having chills.
I was fairly certain I had urinary infection and knew I needed to get some antibiotics. We decided to head right back to Mae Sariang and not spend the night in camp. We dropped Kasu and the children off, gave everyone big hugs and promised to come again and headed back down the mountain. It was a long trip and it was after dark by the time we got back to Mae Sariang. We dropped Rudy off at a little guest house. He thought he might sleep a little better away from the rooster! After a quick shower, I crawled into bed and fell asleep immediately.