Organizational Background Information:
Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) is a non-profit organization and located on Thai-Burma border, Mae Sot Thailand. The KDHW is established in 1991 to provide primary health care and welfare to all people residing in Karen State, Eastern Burma. The foremost aim of the KDHW is to provide the primary health services and welfare to all people, especially mothers and children, the elderly, and the disabled. Between 1991 and 1997, the KDHW oversees hospitals and clinics in Karen State, but the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) offensive of 1997 devastates mostly the entire health care infrastructure. Apparently, the KDHW starts the first mobile clinic in 1998. Along with the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) and the Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT), the KDHW launches extra mobile health clinics each subsequent year and is now rebuilding stabilized clinics. Besides providing the primary health care, the Mobile Health Clinics (MHC) also provides dental care and community education. Nowadays, the KDHW is providing health care services and health education to approximately 200,000 of population residing in Karen State.
I interned as an Assistant Secretary from 3rd June to 3rd August, 2015, writing a Karen Herbalism Program concept paper to provide nutritional knowledge to Community Health Workers (CHWs) on Thai-Burma border, Paw Bu Hla Hta. I helped the Secretary of the organization, as a Herbal Medicines Program coordinator, to write the concept paper. I also went to another Thai-Burma border, which was a very remote area, to teach nutrition to CHW for one week. Before going to the place, I prepared nutrition lessons, collecting information from Professor Guldan’s slides and others provided by the KDHW Nutrition Program coordinator. After finishing the course, I also made a set of questions and organized a test for CHWs.
Besides two major tasks, I also did administrative work like translating Briefing Notes such as ‘Expanding Vaccine Coverage in Karen State’, from English to Burmese. I also translated Writing Test for Recruitment for Medic Initial Training, from English to Burmese; wrote a Human Resources proposal, a Fundraising Manager job description, did a proof-checking for KDHW policy handbook from English to Burmese; assisted Health Struggling System- HSS manager in terms of interpreting English to Burmese in Public Speaking workshop for health workers.
Not only did last summer’s internship in Karen Department of Health and Welfare- KDHW helped me explore my potential and my future career, it also taught me how to deal with colleagues in a workplace at an organizational level. It presented the perspective that lack of health and welfare services for people resided in hard-to-reach areas was one of the most important issues in Burma. For this reason, as a Public Health student, two of my foremost learning goals were to write a Karen Herbalism Program concept paper which would indirectly help people from remote areas of Burma through provision of health education to students who were deprived of such education in schools.
Honestly, I was not sure about taking Public Health Studies as my major since I did not have very good education when I was younger. Whenever I found myself facing difficulties in learning, I wanted to give up on Public Health. However, while working in KDHW, experiences which I was gradually gaining encouraged me to continue with the Public Health route.
While I was in the village of Paw Bu Hla Hta, where I went to teach CHWs nutrition, I learnt that their lives were more difficult comparing to urban people. Even though they faced difficulties such as lack of water, electricity, and daily necessities, they tried hard in learning and giving me desirable answers whenever I asked questions related to my lessons. They had more practical experiences in health care services than I did. They gave me respect, love, and care although some of them were older than me. Before leaving Paw Bu Hla Hta, I cried hard when I had to say goodbye to them. Most of them also cried hard. I realized that this was how we felt when we worked in a family-like workplace.
Overall, rather than giving them help, I got a lot to learn from them. The memories were unforgettable.
By: Mya Yun Hlwar