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Wheelchairs & Surgeries Hill Tribes

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Trike Ride Fundraiser to support the Burma Children      Medical Fund (BCMF) with funding for wheelchairs and medical  treatment. Mae Sot, Thailand.

May 9th, 2017

Dear Friends,
I share with you today an ambitious fundraising campaign I am launching to raise money for the Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), an organization that supports peoples’ access to health care regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion or legal status. BCMF is based on the Thai/Burma border and raises funds to provide medical services for people from Burma as well as some Thai patients, including some from the Hill Tribe Karen, Lisu, and Lahu minorities, ethnic groups that I have personally worked with for the past 17 years. People come to BCMF suffering from a wide range of disabilities and medical conditions. These include: muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, polio, various birth defects, and the need for a whole range of surgeries including cardiac, neurological, gastro, liver, orthopedic etc. Due to their poverty, these people are unable to afford adequate care and treatment. Despite recent political changes in Burma, the majority of the country still lives in poverty. The money raised will go toward the purchase of equipment such as wheelchairs as well as helping them to receive the medical services they so desperately need. 

Part of my work in hill tribe areas of northern Thailand is now in collaboration with the Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF). We made formal contact after I was searching for “rough-country” wheel chairs for some disabled kids in the villages I work in. I have seen how neglect and poverty can lead to adverse health conditions, and I have admired BCMF's work with these communities for many years. These disabilities represent a significant burden for family members who are already struggling to provide for their daily needs and many of whom are in extreme poverty. I am confident that providing wheelchairs, medical treatment, and support to these children and their families will reduce the hardship and suffering that these wonderful people are exposed to.

As some of you are aware, almost 70 years ago, my mother, father, two sisters and I moved to India. Tragically, my mother contracted polio as soon as we arrived in Bombay and was wheelchair bound for a year before having to wear a brace for three years and spending the majority of her life walking with a cane. In her later years, she contracted “Post-polio syndrome" which is the equivalent to getting polio again and was once more wheelchair bound until she passed away in 2011. In addition, my father contracted a rare virus in India and for the last 10 years of his life was left stone deaf as a result. Clearly, for me, this is also a personal “quest” as my family experienced living with disabilities for many years. My sisters and I were raised experiencing what it’s like to have family members with disabilities. However, we were very fortunate as we weren’t caught in the circle of poverty that many of these villagers experience as they cling to life along the Thai/Burma border. We were lucky and able to get “modern” medical care and therapy. Without support, these children and their family members will never get the help they need.

 So, my plan has been to ride a trike through the Western US, heading east towards the Sun. If I get out of a parking lot in the morning, then that’s a “pedal in the right direction.” I will try to go as long as my 71 year old body and 4 year old trike hold up. Hopefully, my effort will stimulate students, friends and family to contribute to this worthy cause.

The campaign will be routed through this popular social fundraising platform “GoFundMe.” For your information, their service fees are roughly 7.8% of donated funds along with a 30 cent charge per donation. 100% of the remainder will go directly to BCMF. All expenses incurred by myself during this project will be paid by me entirely. I get no funds or reimbursement of any kind from anyone. Everything will be transparent and accessible for all to see at any time.

Naturally, nobody is obligated to contribute money to this cause but I do ask that you pass the word along, with the links that will be provided, to as many friends and family members as you can.

At this time of political uncertainty, when the world seems to be losing sight of what empathy and compassion towards our fellow humans really means, we have the opportunity to improve the lives of some kids and their families in a forgotten corner of our planet who due to circumstances, are far less fortunate than we are.

Thanks in advance to all of you for your kindness and support in whatever form it might take.

All the best, Kim

Background Information:

It was suggested by a friend that I put up a little background info. on myself, so that people know I am “me.” So here is a life in a few sentences:

Kim was born in the US and went to India with his family when he was three, living and being raised there for almost 15 years. He spent 4 years in the military, and after his service, traveled on a sailboat for several years, before finishing university. He has a graduate degree in medical anthropology.  

Kim has traveled extensively during his life overseas and as a science teacher, primarily in American International schools for the past 37 years. In two years, he will have been physically out of the US for ½ a century.

In 1997, he started the small “service oriented” environmental and cultural conservation company, “Into The Wild.”  In 2002 he left the classroom to work full time leading student and teacher groups on service learning and adventure trips in India, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Nepal.

Kim spends about 5 months of each year in the “North Woods” of Wisconsin, and 7 months in SE Asia. He now works primarily in the Hill Tribe communities of Northern Thailand.

Links: 
http://burmachildren.com
http://wheelchairsforkids.org
http://intothewild.org

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Donations 

  • Lynne Johnson
    • $100 
    • 6 yrs
  • Joyce Belgum & John Gabbert
    • $50 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Karen & James Harrison
    • $100 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Lorie Alisbah
    • $500 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Kathryn K2 Alisbah
    • $500 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
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Organizer

Kim White
Organizer

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