New in 2009: Solar power for medical clinic and Student dormitory on the Burma/Thailand border
Since 2004 Green Empowerment and Border Green Energy Team (BGET) have installed 35 Karen medical clinics and 2 hospitals along the border in Burma (see below). Building on the success and experience of the previous solar systems, we plan to bring electricity to one large clinic and a student dormitory. The clinic is located in Lay Ton Ku village and currently serves about 13 villages on both sides of Thai/Burma border. The solar electric system will power a vaccine refrigerator, microscope lights, operation lights, and other medical equipment. The dormitory is located in Bueng Klueng village, southwest of Umphang along the border, and is home to around 30 Karen children of all ages whose families are unable to support their education at home. These children stay at the dorm where they are housed, fed and supported in many other ways. All of the children attend the local Thai school. The dorm has been in operation since 1998. The solar system will power a computer, satellite internet, and lights. YOUR DONATION IS KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF THESE PROJECTS. THANK YOU.
(click on the Donate Now button on the left)
2008: Expansion of the Burma relief project, and maintenance and retraining for solar clinics
In 2008, we helped the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) by providing solar electricity to their training center inside Burma. FBR is a multiethnic organization which trains 43 backpack relief teams to assist IDPs in the whole Eastern Burma. The teams receive training in public health, first aid, medical and dental care, as well as leadership, conflict resolution, human rights reporting, counseling, wilderness survival, and solar power use. Teams also learn to teach nutrition, sanitation, food preparation and personal hygiene.
The solar power equipment installation was completed at the end of October 2008. our partners BGET and SEPI provided the design and installation supervision, and trained FBR personnel on how to install and operate the system.
See the final report on the FBR installation (pdf)
In November, a training refresh session was conducted in partnership with the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW). As the existing 35 clinic and hospital solar systems are essentially in a war zone, there is a high turn over in personnel, as well as unusual equipment failures. At the training event, replacement equipment was delivered to those technicians who needed it, so that every clinic electrification system can function as planned.
2004-2007: Karen Solar Clinic Project
In April 2007, Green Empowerment, in partnership with the Border Green Energy Team (BGET), the Karen Medical Welfare Department, TOPS and other organizations, trained indigenous Karen villagers, refugees and medics on practical solar power skills.
The trained medics carried solar power equipment back from the training to their remote clinics deep within Burma. This training builds upon similar trainings held in 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003--bringing the total number of clinics with solar power systems to 35.
Each clinic serves 3,000-5,000 people and will have a major impact on the quality of health care that can be provided at these remote bamboo clinics. With solar power, they can have light for operations, electricity for computers (which they use to search CD-ROMs of medical information), battery chargers and medical devices.
Each year, new and experienced medics from all 35 clinics come to a central training refresh session where they can learn and compare their experiences, and receive replacement and repair equipment. There is plenty of turnover and demand on the equipment in this conflict zone. On-going funding is needed for this yearly activity.
See the full Dec 2007 clinic report (pdf) here.
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 | IDP Solar Hospitals Project
In December 2007, Green Empowerment, in partnership with the Border Green Energy Team (BGET), Solar Energy Power International, the Karen Medical Welfare Department, and other organizations, installed larger solar power systems in two IDP (Internally Displaced People) hospitals.
These facilities have numerous beds for longer term patients and serve as referral clinics for the smaller clinics around the region. They offer vaccinations thanks to solar refrigerators, more medical tests and treatments, and cataract surgery.
See the final report on the solar hospitals (pdf, January 2008)
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Background The Eastern area of Burma (often referred to as Myanmar), along the border with Thailand is a zone that has been under siege for the past several decades. The Burmese military have been constantly oppressing the indigenous peoples of this area, burning villages and crops, forcing men and women into slavery, raping, and killing.
In the past, it was possible to escape to refugee camps within the Thai border, and currently there is a string of refugee camps along the border with Thailand, the largest of which houses 45,000 people. However, political developments between Burma and Thailand have made it increasingly difficult to come to Thailand. Consequently, about 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) live in hiding surrounded by landmines without health care and permanent shelter. One of the largest of the indigenous groups in this area is the Karen people. They have a population of over 200,000 people on the Burma side of the border. | map... |
Due to the nature of their oppression, medical assistance is not supported by any governmental agency, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are not permitted to operate in this zone. Therefore, the resultant structure that has evolved for providing aid to this population is one supported by Karen groups on the Thai side of the border.
These groups are the Karen Health and Welfare Department (KHWD) (not part of the government) and the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (IDKP), an NGO. The KHWD has, over the years, built up a network of medics and clinics operating inside Burma. They support over 28 clinics with a roster of approximately 75 surgeons, medics, and nurses. The medics treat landmine victims and other casualties of the conflict and grinding oppression. |  |
