Bamboo School

(Momocat feeding Momocho)

(This is Doc Mai (in Thai), or "flower" in english, Who could abandon something so cute at the hospital?)

Founded 8 years ago by a New Zealand Nurse/Teacher/Everything expat, this place is located 30 kilometers outside of Sai yok in the dense jungle of the Thailand/Burma border. The village is Bong Ti and every building is made from bamboo and maybe even concrete. Tucked in the jungle, a little 3 classroom school and multiple building structures sit where 70 something children, this aforementioned nurse and a rotating cast of volunteers live in a communal compound called Bamboo School. We arrived during dinner time where little fingers were diving into rice and vegetables while a talkative Kiwi showed us around and explained how the school is run by the children who are mostly orphaned or deeply disadvantaged (to Western standards) in some way. The stories of these beautiful Karen (native indigenous group to region) children, and one grandma, are filled with atrocities by the Burmese army, unchecked diseases gone wrong, runaway young mothers and drunken good-for-nothing fathers. You melt with compassion when you hear of the story of John a blind and deaf 2 year old with cerebral palsy whose mother had gonharnnrea when she birthed him and abandoned him do to his deformities. You swallow hard when you meet the two brothers who lost their mother only 3 months ago. You shiver when you hear of stories of rape by desperate, lowlife Burmese soldiers that I cannot even bring myself to type. But you smile when you see a happy, creative and productive environment that allows them to go to school, eat well, live well and live in peace amongst each other.

(Peaceaby, resident grandma - cold in 70 degree temperature)

Our first trip was short, but once I returned to Bangkok to send Karolina away to the airport, I decided I needed to give back on this extraordinary trip of mine and headed to Bong Ti (village of Bamboo School). So now here I am, driving the kids to and from school every day while doing odd tasks ranging from fixing bamboo floors to nailing in tin roofs. One minute I am barreling down a beautiful lakeside road to the hospital with a hepatitis B patient in the back, eating ice cream with 3 pre-schoolers and staring at the road smiling at the jagged karst cliffs of Burma. The next I am watching the sunset and the moon rise over Bong Ti while soothing the twitching baby John while he comes down from tripping out in his deaf and blind little world of confused emotion. I have changed diapers filled of stinky pee, bathed from a bucket, learned a few words of a tribal language that I may never use, I have taught English, I have seen West meet tribal East in ways I have yet to understand, and I have laughed at an abandoned 83 year old grandma’s spurts of “I like you, teacher, I like you”. Bamboo school has its troubles. There has been a bit of a mutiny among the 16+ year old boys while thievery has reared its ugly head. There are even lessons and concepts I don’t agree with. But in reflection of my beautiful short time here, I have loved all of it.

(Momocho, aka "curious george" mopping)

Why? Why care? Why set aside a few days for other people? Because people have done it for me and many readers will do it for me in the future. But leaving that behind, I really love it because it is the realest of the real, life at its bare bones with all the skin, flesh, nerves, muscle and blood pushed aside. It is sad, but it is happy – there is hope, there is love. And love, well that’s all you really need…

(lil' John, just waiting for someone to hang out with)

My stay is done here tomorrow morning where I hope on the 5 hour train to Bangkok and then head south to see more of the sun and sand… but I won’t soon forget my stay at Bamboo School.

(some of the kids hanging off the roof of the truck on the way back from the daily trip to school)

(my ice cream companions)

(Bong Ti Bon school)

Taylor PS- There are many stories I have left out of Bamboo School, for reasons of their graphic nature and just because they are better told than wrote (and I don’t have the time to type them out), feel free to ask me about it when I get back!

(locals, straight chillin in the village, note Karen house in back -all bamboo. Army man even gave me a papaya for free!)

For more information, pictures, Momocat's blog, etc, visit www.bambooschool.org