Bang Saphan is 3 hours away from Hua Hin and has our most vulnerable families that we work with. This village has approximately 120 residents scattered in various small groups of houses.
The trip had several aims:
- Perform medical clinic for villagers and school children
- Follow up on condition of donated bikes for school children in the village
- Pass on donations of clothing, school kits, personal and dental hygiene items, mosquito nets, and 500 kilograms of rice and 300 eggs.
Our volunteers met in Hua Hin at 7 am on Saturday morning. After brief introductions, our small team of 4 volunteers set off for the long drive to Bang Saphan.
We stopped at Makro in Prachuap Khiri Khan to purchase the rice and eggs in order to provide basic nutrition for the school children in the village. We loaded everything in the vehicle and squeezed back in before heading back on the road.
When we arrived at the village, all of the donations were unloaded. Our medical team set up and quickly started seeing patients. The volunteers included our nurse, Anne, who worked with Alicia, medical recorder, and Joanne acting as translator.
In total, 28 patients were seen during the medical clinic as it seemed that the changing weather had affected many of the people in the village. We were very happy to see that the woman from the August visit who was experiencing dizziness and lack of appetite seemed much better after being given iron and vitamins. Her condition was much improved.
In the meantime, Katrin checked on the condition of the bicycles that Jungle Aid had donated to the village last year to help the school children get to school. We had asked the villagers to bring all of the bikes to evaluate their condition and assess if any additional parts or tools were needed to get these bike in working condition.
A few bikes needed new rims for the wheels and the villagers said they did not have the tools to remove and replace the tires. These needs will be addressed in the December trip.
Current issues and solving them:
- Paid rent for 2 more months for the 14 children and 6 adults to continue living at this house.
- Followed up on condition of donated bicycles to help school children get to school and purchase additional tools and parts needed to repair bicycles.
- Distributed mosquito nets to households to reduce transmission of vector-borne diseases.
- Assessed the damaged bathroom door at the rental house and priced the purchase price for a replacement at the local construction shop.
Before leaving the village, we distributed clothing, shoes and other donated items. The second school term started November 1st, so our distribution of small tote and school supplies was very timely.
The children seemed very excited about the coloured pencils and the soft toys. As there had been many patients seen that day, we felt that we had achieved our purpose for coming to the village. It was getting late and we needed to start making our way back to Hua Hin, so we said our farewells to the villagers and promised to come back again in December.
Thank you for your continued support…….
