Chronicle of Philanthropy Features CPI

This week's issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy features Clear Path Interntational it its FACE OF PHILANTHROPY section. This article is only available in the printed version, so I cannot link to it from here.

If you get the Chronicle, check it out!

January 27, 1973: Vietnam Peace MIlestone

From the Washington Times
Vietnam peace milestone
By Stroube Smith
January 29, 2006

"Friday marked the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam Peace Accords, the agreement that was supposed to bring "peace with honor" and end the conflict in Southeast Asia that bitterly divided Americans.
Some of the current vitriol in U.S. politics dates back that far, a poison that still seems to frustrate any effort toward civility and bipartisanship on almost anything.
Fittingly, the ceremonies in Paris were marked by an eerie silence, with no word or gesture to reflect relief that years of war were coming to an end."

Read the rest of the article here.

Audio Post: "Why We Fight"

Clear Path International advisor Joan Widdifield, in addition to her tireless work for our cause, is also a film critic. She recently saw the documentary film "Why We Fight".


Her review of the film (she liked it) is posted here as an MP3 file.

Clear Path Advisor on the Thai-Burma Border

Clear Path Advisor, Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, is visiting one of the Clear Path funded clinics on the Thai-Burma border. He has sent in this report.


After enduring a near-record number of consecutive days of rain in Seattle, we were happy to come to the dusty but sunny town of Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border and visit the CPI-funded prosthetics workshop at Dr. Cynthia's Mae Tao Clinic. In the bustle of pickup trucks, mopeds, noodle shops and internet cafes, it's easy to forget that only a few miles away inside the jungle mountains of Eastern Burma, landmines are being laid as the Burmese army uproots and displaces ethnic hilltribe villagers away from their resource-rich homelands.

By chance when we arrived, the prosthetics team was taking a hot sheet of thermoplastic out of the oven to drape over a below-knee prosthesis mold. It was a little jarring to see this modern polymer material being used in a clinic where bamboo-roofed teashops abut open-air aluminum and cinderblock buildings. The atmosphere in the workshop was one of hushed concentration as the longyi-clad technicians smoothed and trimmed the plastic over the mold. I felt the same way I did when I watched a 747 fuselage being mated to the wings during a tour of the Boeing plant.

The head of the prosthetics workshop, a solid Karen hilltribe gentleman named Saw Maw Kel (himself an amputee) told me that their workshop has produced more than 300 prostheses in the past year, and over 70 using the new time and cost-saving thermoplastic technology. So far the durability and acceptance of the new legs have been good. The workshop has made some cosmetic and functional changes to adapt the prostheses to local conditions: a more natural looking ankle, a groove to keep the rainy season waters out of the stump, an ankle bushing made of a locally available wood to use when the metal bushings run out.

Who knows how much of this tinkering will turn out to work in the long run, but I felt good to see that they had taken ownership of the technology. Still, they are hungry for more teaching and information exchange. Saw Maw Kel had one request for the CPI team: for the next visit, come and stay a couple of weeks longer!

Clear Path's Humanitarian Work Recognized

On January 23, 2006, leaders of the Quang Binh Committee for Population, Family and Children (CPFC) paid a visit to Clear Path's Vietname Office in Dong Ha town, Quang Tri province. Mr. Le Thanh Tan, CPFC chairman, was authorized to award CPI a Merit Certificate issued by the Quang Binh Province People's Committee. The certificate recognizes Clear Path's active contribution to humanitarian work in the province.

Quang Binh is one of the two provinces that CPI offers all of its services towards Landmine/UXO survivors, their families and their communities. In the last two years of 2004 and 2005, Clear Path had implemented over US $ 80,000 in the province under four major components of Emergency Outreach Service (EOS), Supplementary Beneficiary Service and Scholarship (SBS & SC), Medical Equipment Donation (MED) and one full-scale project of Accident Survivor Assistance (ASAP) in Le Thuy district.

Since its first operation in the province in November 2003, Clear Path's list of beneficiaries has come up to 429 todate.

14-Year-Old Boy Lost Hand in War-Era Munition Accident

It was Sunday, January 8, 2006, a day off school and Nguyen The Thang was busy in the backyard moving some bonsai trees to plant in the front entrance. Tet, the Vietnamese traditional Newyear festival is coming in two weeks, and everyone is busy preparing their home for a new appearance to welcom the lunar new year.

While planting the third tree, Thang dug up something metal. The conical shape of the item attracted his curiosity. Thang bended down, picked it up for a close look. The item was a bit heavy, rusty looking and stuck with dirt. The 8 grade student sat down and tapped it against a rock to get loose the dirt. Beyond his expectation, the thing detonated right in his hand.

Thang was immediately transported to the commune aid station for first aids and forwarded to the provincial hospital for intensive treatment of his injuries. The doctors have saved his life but unable to keep his left hand as the blast had totally crushed it.
Thang is from Hoa Thuy commune, Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province. His village is just north of the former DMZ.

Thanks, Jim! Subscription Donations are Catching On

Our latest donation (from our good friend Jim in the Netherlands) is a monthly contribution of 10 dollars a month automatically charged to his credit card. These monthly donations are EASY to make and are a great way to help us sustain our organization. Jim's donation amounts to 120 dollars a year... that's no small thing, especially for a guy with a new baby in the house!!

If you would like to make a donation to CPI, this is a great, affordable way to make a big difference.

Please check out this page for more information!

Thanks!
PS> Jim, congrats on the baby!