Lobke is Home Again on the Myanmar Border

I came back from my trip to Vietnam, happy to be �home� again. It was early morning, 5.30 am, the best time of the day in Mae Sot. When it�s still quiet, the sun slowly rising, the rice fields covered under a mystic dew, the barefoot monks walking the streets for their daily alms. That�s Thailand at its best. I decided to work on some reports before taking off to the Mae Tao clinic, and as always time flew by.

A quick coffee, breakfast and once more I questioned myself how life can be so good here for me, while the people I share the streets with face problems we can hardly imagine. I tell myself to do what I can, which is a lot more than most people think themselves being capable of. Being around people with the same motivation is a great support; fortunately Mae Sot sees quite some dedicated people.

With this thought in mind, I joined a meeting at the clinic when a tall, healthy looking young woman walked in the room. Soon I understood: this must be Astrid, freshly arrived from Italy. She came here by an other organization. A moment of recognition, although I had never met her before. Did I instinctly recognize her as a colleague physical therapist, or was it her enthusiastic, ready-for-some-action expression? Eitherway, I was relieved to hear her speak the words �it doesn�t matter which organization brought me here, we work all together for the same people, right?�. Right!

After learning about CPI�s activities in the area, Astrid offers her two hands, her knowledge, her skills to use as much as possible. She starts to pick up some things in the Mae Tao Clinic, that I had been preparing over the last months. This is great! Unfortunately, my hands have not been touching patients too much lately, but even so more the computer�s keyboard, meeting tables and all sorts of vehicles in order to reach the remote sites where we plan the new projects.

Organizing, preparing, breaking ground and paving the roads is important and so far very rewarding, but in the end a physio�s hands are made to work with patients. And there they were: a good pair of Italian hands! Within no-time she sets up the rehab-room (a space where the amputees can go to exercise), refreshes the medics� knowledge and skills I thought them in a course a few months ago, mobilizes people in the inpatients department, spreads out her energy over the clinic.

She�s interested to volunteer in some more projects for CPI, like the Care Villa in Mae La camp. Talking over dinner about her experiences and impressions, reminds me of my own first few weeks here. What started for me as a comparable volunteer project, got a bit out of hand. Here I am, 7 months later, not at all ready to go �home�. Who knows where we will see Astrid in half a year?