As to renew my visa for Thailand, I planned a trip to Vietnam and took the chance to visit some of the CPI colleagues. Although I had been in Vietnam before, the different culture (and cold weather!) still surprised me. Some days of hassle and struggling with officials passed by before I finally got that new sticker in my passport. It was a strange feeling, leaving my base in Mae Sot (Thailand), while there�s so much going on. It doesn�t feel right to look from the sideline, forced to leave my hands in my pockets, while there�s so much to pick up. Again I realized how much I got into this work, this world. How much I got attached to these people, attracted to their culture. The situation sometimes seems perspectiveless, the problems unsolvable, but somehow people manage to continue their fight for a better future. To be working, eating, sleeping, dreaming, thinking� living within such an intense environment is a lifechanging experience. Getting involved with CPI is like getting adopted by a new family. A group of strongly motivated people, connected by the same devotion. Meeting the CPI-staff in Dong Ha was like meeting some brothers, sisters, cousins that I hadn�t met before. I knew they were there, I knew what they were doing, but to meet with them brought up that great feeling of connection. Of sharing the same dreams. The same goals. And of encountering the same difficulties, facing comparable challenges.
The clear presentation of Dong Ha�s CPI-staff drags me into their projects and for a moment I forget that I�m part of the same organization. I am amazed by the difference they make in peoples lives; it deserves great respect. I see pictures of amputee-athletes, people challenging themselves and each other, building up their lives again. I hope there will be a time that I can take these sort of pictures in the Thailand or Burma. For now, we�re still in the struggle to survive; a primar goal of providing a prosthesis is to increase the chance to escape in case of an attack by the Burmese soldiers. Knowing that there�s so much more possible is sometimes frustrating, but to see what the people in Vietnam are working on just revives my dream of getting to that point one day too, with the amputees in the Thai/ Burma area.
A visit to the Othopedic Center in Da Nang was yet another experience. I was quite surprised by how big a place it is! Very busy, people working hard to rebuild what was destroyed. It takes blood, sweat and tears, and I almost want to scream �Keep on going, it�s a pain now, but a gain later.� The problems are big, but the results are great.
Going to different places refreshes the view on your own daily environment. Looking around, I silently made my wish-list: a knee joint in the upper leg prosthesis, proper training material, sufficient and well-trained personnel. Material things are important, but what�s high up at the top of my wish-list: a safe environment where people can actually stay as long as needed for treatment, not being on the run or hide, concerned about their families. Getting the health care that they need so desperately, still puts the people from Burma at great safety risc: the patients themselves, but also their families that they have to bring or leave behind, the backpack medics, the care providers and many others.
Vietnam or Thai/Burma border, two different places that cannot be compared. Let alone Cambodia, Afghanistan, United States, Canada and all the other places where the CPI family spread itself out. Let�s continue all together making a difference in people�s lives (not only in the landmine survivor�s).
A big thank you to the Vietnam staff! I learned a lot from the short visit and have great respect for what you all do. Keep up the good work!
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