Imbert from Vietnam

Imbert Matthee is currently leading a trip of CPI supporters through Vietnam... he will be posting regularly... or so he promises!

I have stopped counting the number of trips I have made to Southeast Asia since we started Clear Path International five years ago. It's getting into the double digits. But that doesn't mean my annual journey to our project countries -- Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand (Burma) -- has become routine. Not by any means.

As on previous trips, I am blessed with the company of a handful of compadres equally passionate and interested about doing firsthand work with or on behalf of landmine accident survivors here. In addition to meeting the beneficiaries of our programs and seeing their recovery in progress, traveling with my compadres is the most rewarding and ever-enriching part of my regular returns to Southeast Asia.

I'd like you to meet them because for the next 17 days, they too will write blogs about our spring trip to one of the world's most heavily mine-affected regions of the world and share their daily experiences.

Wolfgang Brolley (45)

I will start with Wolf since this is his second trip with Clear Path International, making him the most senior compadre in the group. He is a physical therapist from the Center for Physical Arts & Rehabilitation in Seattle. A Buddhist, Wolf wanted to travel with Clear Path to personally work with recovering landmine and bomb accident survivors as an act of compassion. Since our last trip in August, he has created a very simple sheet of exercises patients can perform at home to improve the use of their residual limbs and foster their physical mobility. The sheet, which will be shared with health care providers, staff and CPI partners for distribution among beneficiaries, uses only illustrations. Wolf's laid-back personality and sense of humor contribute a lot of the glue making our small group feel bonded.

Dana Servheen (41)

Wolf's partner Dana wanted to go on the August trip, but couldn't. An English-as-a-second-language instructor at North Seattle Community College and a Seattle-based marketing software developer, Dana is looking for a way to contribute to an international project. She taught English in Hungary and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity in that country. In Zimbabwe, Dana worked with bee farmers in a project supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Just as easygoing as Wolf, she is looking forward to getting to know the part of the world where Clear Path works and the families we serve.

Effie Skinner (61)

A craniosacral therapist from Yakima, Effie was introduced to Clear Path by veterans liaison Frank Cole and his wife, Susan, who have been supporting CPI for several years. Frank and Susan hosted a Night of 1000 Dinners evening at the New Thai restaurant in their community which Effie attended.

Erin Fredrichs (25)

Introduced by one of Wolfgang's physical therapy patients, Erin found out about Clear Path's work and was immediately interested in traveling to Southeast Asia to do a Master's of Communications photojournalism project for Ohio University in Athens. Her subject will be the effects of war after conflicts end and the guns go silent. As an undergraduate student in Journalism at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., Erin spent four months in Nepal documenting and studying Nepalese culture. Some of her other photojournalism achievements include a magazine article on the world of taxi cabs in New York City and Section 8 housing in Albany, Ohio. The question she hopes to answer as part of her graduate project: After years of suffering from conflicts, how do people in former war zones survive amidst unexploded ordnance and find hope in the future with the help of relief organizations?

Imbert Matthee (46)

That's me. I started working in humanitarian mine action six years ago after a 15-year career as a journalist. My focus at CPI is fundraising, Thai-Burma project work and medical equipment donations to mine-affected countries. Clear Path co-founders James and Martha Hathaway got me interested and excited about working in Southeast Asia. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.
So, now that you know all of us look for our travel blog here.
More soon,
Imbert