Forthview Visits the Thai / Burma Border

Thank you Forthview Teachers for our uniforms

2010-07-24T10:48:00.002Z

Very quietly around Christmas, two Forthview teachers sent Headteacher Thazin money to buy school uniforms for the Grade 6 children going on to High School. All the Grade 6 children we met said thank you for this. As they are scattered around the high schools, we only managed to get photos of Phyu Phyu Win and Si Si Win in their uniforms but here they are. 'Thank you teachers. We always remember you.'

Hle Bee's ever improving building

2010-07-24T10:35:00.008Z

Mon Sein showed Geoff the impressive water purification system, which was installed last year and which he manages. He's Thazin's brother and the tuk tuk driver/janny. Here you can see Mon Sein's new house. He lived in the demolished tuck shop. It's a bit like a gatehouse now because they've built a gate to secure the school site. You can see it on the left of the picture below.

Last year, we watched them build the teachers' house on the right. It's finished now but the teachers are all new, we don't know any of them.

A new wee house has been built for headteacher Thazin and for Wei Hei, her niece. The tuk tuk is parked in front of it.

The building at the back is the one that had its leaf roof blown off in the storm and has been rebuilt with a metal roof and made bigger.

Better shot of the gate which slides along.

Finally, Dr Elisabetta had just had 2 bags of rice delivered to cook for the children's meals. Hard times continue at Hle Bee. Mon Sein told us, 'No curry, only rice.'

The Hle Bee family

2010-07-24T10:28:00.004Z

We made a last visit to Hle Bee on Friday, the day everyone was celebrating the start of Buddhist Lent and sadly the only people at school were Mon Sein, his wife and Y Sander Way, the baby Louise has always been very fond of. Wei Hei was there too. We had brought some presents for Y Sander Way, Wei Hei and Toto, the children of Hle Bee staff. Each year, we bring photos we've printed of the baby Y Sander Way and this thrills her mum and dad. She is almost 3 and loves them now herself.

Aung Aung

2010-07-24T10:22:00.003Z

We got a lovely surprise last Sunday night when we got a phone call, 'Teacher Sheila, it's Aung Aung. Can I come and see you?' So on Monday morning, we shared a wee breakfast with Aung Aung, who was the oldest boy at Hle Bee when we first went. He was Jason Cunningham's friend and he immediately asked us how Jason was. Somebody please tell Ruby to tell Jason.

Aung Aung is now 17 and is at New Blood School in Grade 9. He is a boarder but goes home every week to his home in the paddy fields. Yup that's the one I fell in. His English continues to improve and he looks great. We took the laptop down to the cafe and sat and showed him photos of himself 4 years ago when he was 13. We were touched that he made the effort to find us and see us. We haven't seen him for 2 years. Just lovely.

Hle Bee 2010

2010-07-24T09:48:00.010Z

The Campie teachers visited Hle Bee on Friday 9 July, after their first visit to CDC. It was right at the end of the week and the classes were mostly working on their own as the staff were all having a meeting. The children were as friendly as ever as you can see above. The Grade 3 and 4 children were delighted to see Louise Laing as she had taught them from August 09 - January 2010.

The classes and buildings have changed a bit since last year. Thazin, the headteacher, has discontinued the Grade 5 and Grade 6 classes as there were so few children in them and so many further down the school. Funding played a part in this and Hle Bee has continued to struggle for funding this year. Additionally, a storm earlier in the year blew the roof of the Grade 4 building, which was the big building at the back so they used this opportunity to knock down the tuckshop house and extend those classrooms and put a new metal roof on the back building from funding they managed to obtain.

I was delighted to see the Art Teacher there. He was teaching Grade 3 and has been one of the constants in Hle Bee's ever changing staff team for the last 4 years. He told me he had read about Campie's Tent Arrests for Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday and was one of many to ask why I had started a new partnership. They find it hard to understand that I am at a new school now. Also that nobody has come from Hle Bee to Forthview and that has halted the funding for the partnership.

There were one or two children in Grade 4 who remembered Teacher Irvine from last year. Way Lu Kyaw is in Grade 4 for the 4th year running, having failed his examination every single year. He was the only child there I really knew well, having visited his family the day I fell in the paddy field ditch. The Grade 5 and Grade 6 pupils have gone on to high school OR back to Burma OR out to work. We were happy that so many of them have made it on to high school.

Dr Cynthia Maung of Mae Tao clinic called together a meeting of the 3 Mae Sot schools that now have a Global Schools Partnership. The Pirniehall teachers had arrived so it was represented by 5 of the 6 schools involved - Say Ta Nar and Pirniehall, Campie and CDC and Thazin 9pictured above) came to represent Forthview/Hle Bee. At the meeting, Thazin spoke of her fears of travelling outside Thailand. She is really terrified to go back to Burma in case she is arrested. However, her nephew Yen Yen, who teaches at the school is free to go to Burma as is our Guardian Angel so the plan is that they will get passports then try to come to Forthview next Spring. They will need money to pay for passports and visas. However, we have had a very effective fundraising group going on for most of the last year and together the 3 Scottish schools should manage this fine. So that is the plan to take Forthview-Hle Bee partnership forward. It would mean that 2 Forthiew teachers may be able to come to Hle Bee next year, which would make Hle Bee so happy.

This is a wonderful picture of our dear friends Si Si Win and Phyu Phyu Win, engaged in debate at CDC, working with Campie teachers. As you can see, the girls are very well and LOVING high school so much. They are very keen to know how Teacher Irvine and Teacher Fiona are and were disappointed not to see you both Fiona and Irvine.

Here is Little Htet, the very clever boy who was in Grade 6 last year. We met him while we were visiting Si Si Win's house and he looks great. Irvine, he remembers you! We told him we would show you this photo.

Finally, we also went to Phyu Phyu Win's house. You may remember during our second visit, Fiona and I were eating at the night market and they took us over to see Phyu Phyu Win's house and we were distressed because it was a tiny corrugated iron shed for 6 people to live in. Last year she had moved to a better house. We met her at CDC and arranged with her to meet her at her home then go to visit Si Si Win's family (Irvine and Fiona had gone to Si Si Win's house last year and we wanted to visit again.) However this year, when we went to PPW's house, she wasn't in. When we saw her at school on the Monday, she told me they'd been waiting and Si Si Win's mum had made loads of food but we didn't come. Eventually we discovered that Phyu Phyu Win had moved house again and she hadn't told us so we went to the wrong house! So Burmese. In this photo, you can see Si Si Win, Phyu Phyu Win and Su Pone Chit lying on top of Louise. They all love Louise here and she makes our visits so much easier because she can speak some Burmese. Don't the girls look great? Su Pone Chit is at Satoolay (not how you spell it!) School with Tominaing and Sau Tong Chit Win. The children were all asking for their Scottish friends. Si Si Win, asking for Sophie, Phyu Phyu Win asking for Christopher, Su Pone Chit asking for Steven Grieve.

It was lovely to be at Hle Bee but they really did miss their Forthview teachers.

Summer 2010 in Mae Sot

2010-07-08T23:31:00.002Z

Sadly Forthview are not able to come to Mae Sot this summer as we are waiting on a Burmese teacher from Hle Bee coming over to Forthview. However, Pirniehall are arriving in Mae Sot on 12 July 2010 and Campie are already there so keep up to date on their blogs.

www.pirniehall.blogspot.com

www.campieburma.blogspot.com

Beond Rangoon at Leith Festival

2010-06-07T21:17:00.001Z

To celebrate Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday, St Margaret's Church, Easter Road are showing the film Beyond Rangoon at 7.30pm on Friday 18 June. All welcome. Admission free.

Ms Vacher and family walk for Burma.....

2010-06-07T21:14:00.002Z

Ms Vacher might not be at Forthview just now but she and her family walked in the pouring rain on Sunday 6th June. They hope to raise about £200. Well done. That brings the total up to about £2200 so far. Here's a drookit photo of them.

A Marathon Effort to bring Burmese Teachers to Scotland

2010-05-29T07:29:00.003Z

Miss Vacher, Mr Stobie, Miss Campbell, Ms Laing and 7 Campie folk worked really hard on Marathon Day to raise the extra money we need to bring the Burmese teachers over to Scotland in September. 4 Campie teachers ran the Marathon in a relay and the children sponsored them £412.92......WOW!

Then 11 Forthview and Campie folk worked hard as a RACE CREW all day. We managed the relay changeover at Seton Sands and we were paid £165 for that.

So all in all £577.92 raised from our Marathon efforts.

Then Campie P6 and P7 had one of the famous Campie Cake Sales on Friday and they raised £191.

Putting that with our Kilts N Longyis ceilidh and some Campie chidren having sales outside their houses, tat brings our total for the Burmese Teacher Fund to £1727. That pays for 2 Burmese passports! And a bit left over for visas, travel to get visas and passports. We still have 2 cake sales to go, Spree books to sell and a Sponsored HOUSE ARREST to go.

Thanks to all the Forthview, Campie and Pirniehall folk making this possible.

Forthview and Campie work together at Edinburgh Marathon

2010-05-23T19:57:00.003Z

Today, a team of Forthview and Campie teachers, friends and parents joined forces to work as Relay Changeover Team 3 so that we could make some money towards helping our Burmese teachers come over to Scotland in September 2010. The workers raised £165. We guided runners, matched up relay runners, picked up discarded water bottles, lugged tons of water and juice as a chain gang and dismantled fences. Hard work but at the end we collapsed into Ms Laing's garden (aka The Burmese Embassy in Port Seton) with ice lollies and cold drinks. Well done team!

4 Campie teachers were sponsored to run as a relay team and the money is going to THe Burmese Teachers' Fund so we probably raised £500 today altogether. Awesome.

2010-05-15T21:21:00.002Z

Pirniehall, Forthview and Campie Schools are trying to raise extra funds to support bringing our Burmese teachers over in September.
We are expecting Pho Cho and Nee Shar can come to Pirniehall.
We are expecting Bobo to come to Forthview.
We are expecting Say Heh to come to Campie.

Their passports and visas cost more than Global Schools Partnerships can provide. We had a ceilidh and raised £700. Many of you came to that. Thank you. But we need to do more so we have embarked on a fundraising drive and believe we will get all we need by the time we go there in the summer.

We are making a RACE CREW TEAM at the Marathon to make another £200ish. We are short of 5 members. Can you help? We’re covering the 3rd relay changeover so it’s at Port Seton. You have to be over 18 and free between 9 and 3.30pm.

Email Ms Laing on slaing@campie.elcschool.org.uk if you are free.

Kilts n Longyis Ceilidh March 2010

2010-03-09T18:38:00.002Z

On Friday 5 March, the teachers who have travelled to the Thai Burma border over the last few years gathered with old and new friends of the Burmese people to celebrate the Scotland-Burma link at St James Church, Leith Links, Edinburgh.

We enjoyed Burmese and Scottish food and Scottish dancing. Our Burmese friends present were too shy to dance for us! Maybe when our Burmese teachers come to Scotland, we can have Burmese dance at our ceilidh? And that's why we were having this ceilidh, to raise money to pay for the passports and visas, our Burmese teachers have to get, at great personal cost, to travel to Scotland.

A huge thank to everyone who cooked, helped and supported the event. We raised £700. Wow!

The Return of the Kilts n' Longyis Ceilidh

2010-02-18T23:50:00.002Z

On 5 March 2010, a group of Forthview/Pirniehall/Campie teachers are holding a fundraising ceilidh at St James Church, John's Place, Leith Links between 7.30 and 10.30pm. We are raising money to support our Burmese teacher friends in Hle Bee/Say Ta Nar/CDC schools as they try to get passports and visas to visit us in Scotland. It's going to be a very good laugh with lovely Burmese and Scottish food. The teachers that visited the Thai-Burma border this year will each say a wee bit about their experience. Prices are Adults £8, Concession £5, Children free (but bring your own bottle). You can buy tickets on the door. Hope to see you there.

Kind Kids create OUR BURMA BOOK

2009-11-21T19:11:00.003Z

On Friday 13 November 2009, the children from Balgreen, Forthview, Pirniehall, St Mary's Leith and Tollcross Primary Schools who worked with 3 Burmese refugee schools to produce OUR BURMA BOOK, received a Kind Kids award. The award was presented by Edinburgh's Lady Provost and was for the children's kindness in telling the story of the Burmese people through their book and exhibitions. Well done, everyone. (Sorry it's such a poor photo. If anyone there has a better one, send it in!)

Run for Burma

2009-10-10T21:14:00.005Z

Fortunately, Mrs Jenkinson and Ms Vacher were out at the race to capture all the highlights! Well done, Mr Wright and Mrs Thomson - we both agreed we could not have done it and that you both did really well...

though, personally I was a bit disappointed Mr Wright

decided not to run in his longyi as did some of the other runners!

This is the front of the 200 or so runners just been given the off!

Here's Mr Wright approaching the finish line looking remarkably fresh!

Closely followed by Mrs Thomson!

"Can I get ma cuppa tea now then?"

If I had been in a photo at the end of this race, I'd have been PURPLE!

Inspiring!

Run for Burma - the Edinburgh run

2009-10-02T21:15:00.006Z

On Saturday 10 OCtober at 11am, Partners Relief and Development are holding a 5 Km run to raise support for Burmese migrants and refugees. The race starts at 11am and Forthview's own Mr Wright will be taking a 'slow jog' for Burma.

You can read more about it all on www.runforburma.org

You can read more about it all on www.runforburma.org

Afterwards at a free lunch event in St Stephen's Church at 1pm, Zoya Phan will speak about her childhood as th daughter of two parents who were involved in the Karen Resistance movement.

Zoya is from the Karen ethnic group. For decades the Karen have been under attack by Burma's military junta. Her father was General Secretary of the Karen National Union.

When she was 14 years old Burmese army soldiers attacked her village, and herself and her family were forced to flee for their lives. They hid in the jungle and eventually ended up in a Thai refugee camp.

She joined Burma Campaign UK in 2005 and was sponsored when she was a student by Burma Education Scholarship Trust.

In February 2008 her father, Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, was assassinated by agents of the Burmese military dictatorship in Mae Sot, where Forthview's link school, Hle Bee is situated.

Come along and hear Zoya and cheer on Mr Wright.

Orng,a Burmese student, graduates from Newbattle Abbey College

2009-09-05T21:24:00.005Z

Orng, is a friend of Ms Vacher and Ms Laing's. He is a BEST student (Burma Educational Scholarship Trust). He is also supported by Prospect Burma, who are the UK charity that use the money Aung San suu Kyi got when she won the Nobel Peace Prize, to support Burmese students in higher education. There is a link to Prospect Burma's work on the right hand side of this page. Prospect Burma also support Dr Thein Lwin's projects to train Burmese Teachers. We were very proud of him today. Now he is going to Glasgow University to study Politics. Well done Orng!

OUR BURMA BOOK exhibition - a wee video clip

2009-08-30T18:36:00.003Z

Journalists from the Democratic Voice of Burma have made a lovely wee video clip of the exhibition opening. It's in Burmese so is great for our Burmese readers. Scottish readers can guess what it says. People to spot are Dar Dar Kyaw, Tominai, Si Si Win, Phyu Phyu Win and little Bobo from Hle Bee, Murray Forgie, Kyaw Win, Louise Laing and there are others.... If you can play an MP4, enjoy......

OUR BURMA BOOK opens in Chiang Mai

2009-08-23T10:45:00.006Z

OUR BURMA BOOK exhibition opened in Chiang Mai on Saturday 22 August 2009.

The exhibition is in Lur Cafe, Soi 9, Nimanhemin, Chiang Mai.

Louise Laing spoke at the opening on behalf of the Scottish schools

and then Burmese and Shan children took part in an etching workshop

as you can see here.

More photos at www.ilovemaesot.blogspot.com

Our artist friends who are putting on the exhibition

support the children through the etching process.

We are very grateful to them for their hard work and creative input to this project.

www.ilovemaesot.blogspot.com

2009-08-22T07:46:00.003Z

Sheila Laing's daughter, Louise, has gone to Hle Bee School in Mae Sot for a few months to teach English and Emotional Literacy and to cuddle Burmese babies! You can read about her journey on

http://www.ilovemaesot.blogspot.com/

Today Louise spoke at the opening of OUR BURMA BOOK exhibition in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Shan school children were taught how to etch by an artist at the opening and the Democratic Voice of Burma were videoing the whole event. More to come on this.

Isn't it amazing how this wee Forthview link that started way back in 2005 just keeps growing and growing....

Uniform target for March 2010

2009-08-02T22:38:00.003Z

Hle Bee School now has 14 students in Grade 6. In March next year, these 14 children will leave Hle Bee School. We hope that they will all attend a Burmese high school/learning centre in Mae Sot starting in June 2010. The education in the learning centres is free but it costs around £20 to kit a child out with a full set of uniform/shoes/bag etc.

We have said to Thazin that we will pay for each child to be kitted out for high school in the hope that it will help those families who are willing to allow their child to attend high school. So the target we need to raise by March 2010 is £280. Shouldn't be hard.....

Ideas welcome....

Safely home and news re Migrant Learning Centres

2009-07-29T20:43:00.003Z

Just home - well actually just finished cleaning up house after arriving home! Great flights. Dreadful 6 hr wait in Amsterdam when we were so so tired but that's not surprising considering the total journey took 27 hours. Thanks for all your good wishes.

Our good friend, Philip Campbell, who has been a VSO worker in Mae Sot and hopes to return there in 2010, has emailed to tell us that he was involved in the writing of the Thai legislation on Migrant Learning Centres and that he sees the legislation as being positive.

We will phone him once we have slept and keep you all posted on this site.

Night night.............. Sheila

Bad news for Burmese Migrant Learning Centres

2009-07-28T05:26:00.002Z

(see previous post before you read this one....)

Last week the Thai Ministry of Education held a meeting with the Burmese Learning Centres/schools in Mae Sot to inform them of a new legal regulation that is about to proceed through Thai parliamentary processes and is expected to become law by the end of 2009.

The regulation is called

Regulation of the Office of the Prime Minister

On Education Provision for Individuals with no Civil Registration

Or Thai Nationality

By Non-Governmental Organisations in Migrant Learning Centres

We have an unofficial translation of this document. Here is a summary of its content. If you want to see the main document, email sheila@lovehart.demon.co.uk

1. A National Committee comprising the Prime Minister’s Secretary and senior members of the depts of Education, Police, Royal Thai Army, Immigration Bureau, Special Branch, National Security Council, Dept of Employment, Bureau of the Budget etc will assume responsibility for the registration, standards, content of education and direction of the migrant learning centres in Thailand.
2. Local Area Committees will be established throughout Thailand to carry out the policies of the National Committee to ‘control the establishment, dissolution, merger and termination of migrant learning centres’
3. Migrant learning centres will only be allowed to exist if:
- they are administered by a Thai person with a university degree with enough assets/funding to provide for the migrant learning centre
- 20% of instructors have a university degree
- they teach Thai as main communication, Thai History, Thai culture and customs and the democratic government under the Thai constitutional monarchy.
4. Several clauses state how to dissolve a migrant learning centre and a wide range of reasons for doing this exist.

What does this mean for Burmese children in Thailand?

As we understand this, it seems to spell the end for most of Mae Sot’s 50 migrant learning centres and the end of education for most of the 10,000 children learning in these migrant learning centres. Only the wealthy and well connected will survive. What will become of the rest?

The Thai Government issued a policy in 2005, ‘Education for All’ which gives all children regardless of status a right to education (in a Thai school). However in practice it is too difficult for Burmese children to attend Thai schools because of costs of uniform, extra classes, language and also because of the prejudice and discrimination that exists towards the Burmese in Thailand.

Will most migrant centres have to revert to being covert, hidden and underground?

When is a school not a school? When it's a MIGRANT LEARNING CENTRE...

2009-07-28T05:23:00.000Z

I need to blog this to explain the next blog post!

In Thailand, migrant learning centres are not allowed to call them schools by the Thai government because they do not meet the criteria to register as Thai schools. To do this, they would need to meet Thai standards of building and education, which are way out their reach.

So although we call Hle Bee and Say Ta Nar schools, they are not schools, they are MIGRANT LEARNING CENTRES.

Sheila and Geoff leave Thailand .... 28.7.09

2009-07-28T01:31:00.001Z

Today is Tuesday and Geoff and I leave Chiang Mai tonight at 7pm to head for Scotland. We will arrive in Edinburgh on Wed 29 July 2009 at 3.40pm - we hope!

It's been another awesome year on the Thai-Burma border with our dear friends, who are like family now. One highlight has been watching 5 other Scottish teachers working here in Burmese schools/migrant learning centres with hopes that this can grow even more.

However, the dark side is that the struggle to make a living for many of our friends is probably getting harder. What will happen to the Burmese living in Thailand in coming months as the Thai government change regulations on work permits, why are they doing this, what's their agenda? What will happen to the Burmese schools under imminent threat of closure by Thai Education Authorities? Will Hle Bee get more funding from its funder?

And the big question... when will democracy come to Burma so the heart desire of most of our friends can be realised... when can they go home to the Burma they love?

Feeling sad..............

Gifts and Goodbyes

2009-07-27T14:34:00.003Z

The school caretaker's wife and baby present Sheila with

a lovely lamp with a teddy under it.

People who have nothing

yet give so kindly.

When the teachers and students came to pick us up from DK hotel

they gave us these Karen tunics.

Fiona and Irvine, there's one each for you too.

When we got to the bus station in the pick up truck

of the school's Thai landlady,

the tuk tuk appeared too.... much to our delight.

21 folk hugging, waving and saying goodbye....

as we smiled then wept our way out of Mae Sot.

(Well Geoff didnae greet but I did!)

Au Revoir, Mae Sot...

We'll be back next year, won't we Geoff?

Kids, let's make a path....

2009-07-27T14:31:00.001Z

On Thursday at the end of school, Thazin decided to make a path to Grade 5 and Grade 6 classrooms because that horrible gritty sand you can see was making a mess of the floor. "Students, let's make a path!" 20 mins later a path is made! They don't hang about at Hle Bee.

The School Animals

2009-07-27T14:16:00.006Z

The school's animals fascinated us.

Chickens and tiny fluffy baby chicks....

Ducks and ducklings....

Fiona even saw a snake on the way up to our room in the hotel,

she declares she was too busy being terrified

to get a good photo of it.

We got this CRAB though......

And as for the school dogs and the school's neighbour's dogs.....

Irvine would love to tell this story.

Bo Bew the white dog is Hle Bee's dog

and here you can see he has come to teacher training session...

...along with his girlfriend

who he was constantly, let's call it, 'harrassing'!

Not what you really want at teacher training...

The girlfriend got bored with training and trotted off....

... where she goes, Bo Bew follows.....

On Saturday, Bo Bew was bogging filthy
so he got a row.

On Sunday, he went fighting
so he got tied up!

Bad Bo Bew!

Caption Competition 1

2009-07-26T05:40:00.005Z

Any ideas for a caption for this interesting photo?

Clue... it's NOT

"Ohoh, the imodium's wearing off!"

Geoff says, "That stick I'm standing on has just started moving!"

Over to yous.

YOUR SUGGESTIONS.....

"Look! In the two minutes we've been posing for this photo,

the builders have put up another building!!"

"Someone's hair is crazier than mine!"

Last day in Hle Bee

2009-07-26T05:18:00.006Z

Well imodium is a wonderful drug, enabling me to complete my teaching of Emotional Literacy and say goodbye to Hle Bee without fear. In fact, I could do a TV advert for them if they wanted.

Grade 4 have missed out on our input this year and the teacher was really keen to learn about Circletime. Grade 4 are a cracking class, full of sparky bairns. Interestingly the oldest boy in Grade 3 is 16yrs old. He's really tall, funny, confident and smart but he only came to Hle Bee from Burma via Malaysia last year and had not attended school so he is working his way up through the grades. Children are not placed in their year groups so he will probably finish high school age 20. That's the way it works here.

Geoff and 2 of the girls as we leave.

Saying goodbye to these astoundingly brave and dedicated teachers,

who have had no pay this month at all

because the funders haven't recommited yet.

They are all wearing blue because it's Friday

and the King of Thailand likes people

to wear blue on Friday

in honour of his wife.

It's yellow on Monday in honour of him.

People actually do this!

Trotting through the last day!

2009-07-24T05:05:00.003Z

You thought you'd escaped the toilet stories this year. I thought you may have too. Despite the fact that Irvine was what he called 'uncomfortable' on the 3hr stretch of the bus from Tak to Chiang Mai, I have sailed through the 3 weeks with no toilet events worth recounting....

.... and then at breakfast I felt nauseous and it started..... not a lot of fun.... especially as it's 12 noon here and I am meant to be teaching and doing a goodbye assembly from 1-4pm this afternoon..... watch this space... well metaphorically.... I promise no photos!! Hee hee..... yuk!

Emotional Literacy in Grade 1 at Hle Bee

2009-07-23T15:04:00.006Z

Today, Yan Yan and Than Thaing and I put up our Feelings displays that our classes were working on earlier in the week. The children loved seeing their friends' photos on the wall. We used the words to teach emotions in Burmese and in English.

I had given Yan Yan the P1 Feelings section of the Creating Confident Kids programme that Forthview and St Frances wrote, to read at the beginning of the week so today I said I would show him how to use Circletime to help his children talk and listen and share their feelings. The children were superb and Yan Yan picked it up really fast. First they said how they were feeling today, then they gave their reasons.

"I feel worried in case my mother hits me."

"I feel angry because my parents did not give me any money to buy a sweet at school."

"I feel worried in case I make a mistake in my work."

See, how they took to it like ducks to water.... speaking of which .... the school has its own mother duck and 3 little ducklings... I always wanted a duck!

Back to the subject.....

One boy in Circletime said he liked lions so we are all being lions... and loving it!

Scottish tourists in Myawaddy, Burma

2009-07-22T16:13:00.019Z

Today we visited Myawaddy, the Burmese town across the river and border from Mae Sot. We have never been inside Burma before. Here are photos of the journey.

Just left Thailand.

"Are you sure you want to go to Myanmar?"

the Immigration officer asks us.

Off we go onto the Friendship Bridge

that links Thailand to Burma.

Across the River Moei

Others cannot legally cross the bridge

so this is the alternative way to go.

We are about to enter

The Union Of Myanmar.

First we are asked if we've been in contact with Swine Flu.

Then we pay 500 baht each (£10)

and we leave our passports.

"Go and visit our beautiful pagoda."

So we do and here it is...

Then off to a Burmese tea shop

where we are brought Burmese tea

and surreally watch Gone with the Wind on the TV.

Myawaddy benefits from 24hr electricity a day

because many deals are made with Thai traders.

We visit some Burmese friends.

Off the main road,

we find Myawaddy to be a lot quieter than Thailand,

much less cars but so many bicycles, trishaws and motor bikes.

The area we visit has a lot of green trees and plants

which make it pleasant.

However, there are no pavements and the main roads are full of holes and bumps.

It's really muddy.

We like the quietness though.

Every posting has to have

a beautiful Burmese baby.

Then off on motor bikes to the market.

Aarghh!

Not our normal mode of transport.

In the dark, covered market

are many narrow lanes and

there we find

many tailors sit and sew garments for customers

in this dark enclosed space.

Back on the motor bikes

to a new pagoda in the south of Myawaddy.

Mae Sot is in the background of this photo below.

The view over to the Karen mountains in the south of Karen state.

This new community in the foreground

like most of Myawaddy

has no piped water.

Instead water sellers come round

selling water to the households.

We go back to the Friendship Bridge

where the Burmese Immigration Officials

laugh at my attempt to count to 10 in Burmese,

then give us our passports back.

As we walk back over the bridge to Thailand,

we see these women doing the washing

in the muddy River Moei underneath us.

Then back into Thailand

and to the comfort of water and electricity

in our hotel.

As we go into DK hotel,

we see a guy cycling

with 20 dozen eggs on his bike!

Amazing day.

We've been to Burma.

Future possibilities for linking with Child Development Centre

2009-07-21T09:27:00.004Z

Sheila, Lisa Houston, Dr Cynthia and Mahn Shwe Huin

Today I visited Child Development Centre for the second time. Child Development Centre is the very large school run by Mae Tao Clinic. It has 1200 students. 400 0f these children are boarders in the school boarding house. They board because their parents may have died at the hands of the Burmese military because of last year's Cyclone Nargis or because they have become separated from their parents.

Our meeting was to discuss the possibilities of linking Child Development Centre's Primary School with a Scottish primary school and linking their secondary school with a Scottish secondary school through the UK Dept for International Development's Global Schools Partnership scheme. Mahn Shwe Huin, the Principal of CDC, Nant Htay Si, CDC Vice Principal and the 5 senior teachers I met were all very excited and keen to pursue partnership if this is possible. It was also decided that if we can proceed to partnership that Nant Htay Si would be the first person to visit Scotland. This is very exciting indeed.

Nant Htay Si, Sheila and Lisa

Dr Thein Lwin and Lisa Houston helped set up this meeting. Lisa is a Scotswoman who has worked at Mae Tao Clinic for many years as administrator and sometimes travel home to Edinburgh to meet her family. Her husband Rocky is Karen and they have 2 beautiful Scottish Karen children, Ailsa and Jack. Lisa visited Forthview earlier this year.

We were joined towards the end of our meeting by Dr Cynthia. It was a great honour to meet her. You can read about her amazing story and work on http://www.maetaoclinic.org/. but in short, Mae Tao Clinic provides free health care for refugees, migrant workers, and other individuals who cross the border from Burma to Thailand.

Dr Cynthia is very keen to see such a partnership develop and looks forward to the professional development opportunities it will bring her teachers and the unique learning opportunities it will bring CDC students.

Hle Bee gain Health Accreditation status

2009-07-21T09:22:00.003Z

Today Headteacher Thazin showed me why she wasn't at Hle Bee yesterday. She had gone with some students to collect a Health Accreditation certificate and prize for Burmese Learning Centres. Only 7 schools gained this status and Hle Bee was one. Well done Hle Bee.

Emotional Literacy in Grade 1

2009-07-20T16:35:00.009Z

I used the Fischy/James Brown song, 'I feel good/bad/sad' to start off thinking of different ways we can feel good - happy, excited, laughing, wonderful and we can feel bad - sad, angry, worried, scared. The children wrote the words in Burmese and English for a display.

The boy above is writing SCARED.

This boy is ANGRY!

This girl is HAPPY.

The children are writing AFRAID in English & Burmese.

Their photos and writing

will make a good class display

later this week.

The children worked in groups. As you can see, there are no desks or chairs.

And finally, they are feeling HUNGRY

but lunch today, like 3 other days of the week,

is just rice.

Only on Friday do they get a little curry with their rice.

Hle Bee buildings

2009-07-20T15:52:00.006Z

Hle Bee School has grown from the 2 buildings we first saw when we came. Here's a tour. The first building (below) is still built around Thazin's house, which you can see above the green tin (and therefore roasting) roof. Kindergarten B is in here. Fiona spent a lot of time last week showing how to run it like a nursery. In front of the house is a wee staff room, full of ants!

Below is the original second building. It holds 150 children in 3 classes - Kindergarten A where Fiona did some critical thinking work in groups on HOMES, a topic Forthview children in P1 and P2 will be investigaing too. One activity was that the children took home disposable cameras which Fiona will get developed in UK and the prints will be brought back with Forthview prints of the children's homes next year. We have to say that 150 children aged between 6 and 10 in this building is a nightmare. There is no space to move, never mind teach creatively. These children have no desks or chairs either as you will see in the next post on the blog. :(

This lovely long building below holds 2 Grade 2 classes with desks and chairs. This is where we held the teacher training session last Friday.

The Grade 3 and 4 building below is very near the toilets and pretty niffy!

Grade 5 and 6 share this huge new building below and there are less than 20 in each class. It seems strange to us when 150 Grade 1 and Kindergarten are squashed into the small building that Grade 5 and Grade 6 have so much space but resources here are prioritised to the oldest students. It's a great building as a wee breeze comes off the fields behind into the school. Thazin complains it's freezing!

To the right of the Grade 5 & 6 building is a house under construction for 5 teachers. This will be a luxury pad for them! Due to finish in a few weeks. Today the construction workers were trying to get the school's 2 cockerels to fight!

The construction workers live in this big house below which they share with the teacher Yan Yan.

This playground is out of bounds because it is the rainy season. Pity.

A shelter for the children to stay out of the sun made this week by Mon Sein (janny) and Mon Soe (cook).

The toilet block now has 7 toilets and they get the waste sucked out twice a year. I think it's due!

This is the tuck shop, selling all sorts of sugar treats and condensed milk to the children!

A side view of the tuck shop where the janny, his wife and baby live.

It's grown so big, hasn't it?

Sheila invited to train local Burmese curriculum leaders

2009-07-19T04:18:00.009Z

Dr Thein Lwin invited me to deliver 2 training sessions to 50 local Burmese Headteachers and Subject leaders on Curriculum Development in Scotland and on Emotional Literacy. I did this on Friday at Mae Tao Clinic's school, CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTRE and it was quite an overwhelming privilege and experience.

As you can see, CDC is a huge, new high school, built to Thai standards for educational buildings, a million miles away from Hle Bee's buildings. The following photos show some of the school's 1200 Burmese pupils arriving for school. They gather first for daily assembly in a huge hall, where they sing the Thai national anthem.

Below you can see the scale of the school, the green-roofed building is one of 4 the same size. A peek in the computer room showed a room full of state of the art computers, promising fantastic quality learning opportunities for these high school students.

And so the Headteachers and curriulum leaders gathered for 3 hours to hear about the development of a new curriculum in Scotland, which I tried to make relevant to what I knew of their situation. A group of curriculum leaders are working together to do 2 things;
1) Prepare a paper for the United Nations on the state of education for Burmese migrant children in Thailand
2) Negotiate a core Burmese curriculum with the Thai Authorities to enable Burmese learning centres and schools to meet Thai standards and be officially ratified, if not accredited.

Scotland is in the midst of nationally negotiating a new curriculum so I shared key messages that

the curriculum should be child centred
should be broad enough to allow for local schools to create a meaningful curriculum for their children, families and community
the curriculum should be linked to skills for life and work
learning and teaching needs to take account of the needs of individuals and groups within a class.
Early Years Education is of utmost importance because here the resources are prioritised towards the older children who typically seem to have the best teachers and resources

The teachers were fascinated by the insights I shared from Emotional Literacy theory and the definitions of self esteem and emotional literacy that I shared clearly resonated with their experiences of teaching vast numbers of children suffering the pain of separation from their parents, families and homeland. This is an area that I think they could listen to for hours and it may be they feel the way we first felt when we heard about Emotional Literacy 6 years ago in an education climate of assessment being all that mattered. This is what it's all about - giving children skills for coping and flourishing in life.

Was what I said any use to them? Probably not, who can tell? However it was a great honour to be invited to speak to these issues. Who am I to tell any of these extraordinarily committed leaders how to educate, when they deliver their best every day to thousands of the world's forgotten children with no or few resources? I stand in awe of them.

What Thazin needed now....

2009-07-18T15:31:00.007Z

Yesterday Irvine was able to give Thazin what is left of his sponsor money (after buying resources for the school). He wanted to do this quietly so spoke to her at lunchtime. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," she screamed. (She's so like me!) "I buy big television this afternoon and show you." Irvine insisted she didn't need to.

In the afternoon school finished at 2pm, staff training from us finished at 4.45pm and we were talking everyone out for a meal at 7pm. undaunted by lack of time, Thazin shouted up to our balcony at 6.30pm "Geoff, tell Irvine, I got TV!"

Sure enough there was an enormous TV sitting in the tuk tuk along with a variety of other equipment Thazin had been desperate to buy.

We went down to school and Thazin insisted on Irvine being photographed. You can tell from her grin that 'she happy'. She had bought 2 huge speakers, an enormous megaphone and a new phone for the school. It's not exactly what we'd have thought of buying her but as Irvine said, "She knows what she needs best." It was a delight to see her joy and excitment.

And of course when we went down this morning, the children were watching the enormous TV and the megaphone speaker is in place in the centre of the school. Forthview staff know how much Sheila loves the megaphone and how much it drives the staff nuts. Thazin's megaphone will be exactly the same. It's uncanny how alike we both are!

The big TV will replace the little TV that the school now use and as the school has 350 pupils, it'll be easier for the children to see it. We will use it on Monday to show the children the video Geoff took of the OUR BURMA BOOK exhibition. They'll love that. The little TV will now be used in teaching at the night school the teachers teach in every night from 5-7pm.

PS. Note this rare picture of Geoff!

Farewell Fiona and Irvine. Haste ye back!

2009-07-18T01:40:00.010Z

7am The teachers come to take us to the bus station.

Baby says bye.

Last photo at bus station. Waiting for the bus.

Thazin and Fiona have a deep, tearful last conversation.

Irvine says bye to Thazin.

Irvine says bye to Yan Yan, Grade 1 teacher.

Thazin's last goodbye.

Running across the bus station for a final wave.

Back home to a very dirty Bo Bew, the school dog.

What a strange experience not being the ones to leave.

I REALLY like it!

Last day for Fiona and Irvine

2009-07-17T14:46:00.007Z

This morning I played Scottish games like The Golden River (You can't cross the river unless.....) with Grades 5 & 6. It was a brilliant laugh. Teacher Katie was the first to be caught. To quote Sheila, "What a hoot!" We then learnt Burmese games. Forthview P6, wait for the Skeleton in the Banyan Tree! Eek!

After 6 years at Forthview, I have finally been converted to Fischy Music, not a dry eye in the house. Greetin everywhere. Scottish Country Dance - brilliant! And the White Heather Club lives in Mae Sot!

Forget the kilt, I am now a longyi man and I have a brilliant bag to take to Easter Road on a Saturday. Gail, you would be proud of me. It's a wee stoater. I can't get over how generous the pupils and teachers are and yet have nothing. Wonderful people.

Tonight, we had a grand meal with all the staff and families of Hle Bee School at the Night Market. 22 of us squeezed round 3 tables and ate everything you can imagine - fish (with eyes!), pork, fruit, vegetables, rice. Everything was exquisite. Even Sheila had rice, didn't fancy the noodles but the fish was eyeing her up! No After Eights though. We finished with bamboo grubs. Salty and nice. The whole meal for 22 cost £50!

PS Even the dug got the leftovers of the fish.

Difficult to sum up this week. Certainly has had an effect. Will miss these lovely people and urge you all to come and see for yourself their beauty, dignity and resourcefulness.

I look forward to next year.

Irvine

OUR BURMA BOOK Exhibition opening

2009-07-16T16:05:00.006Z

Tonight we had the privilege of being in Mae Sot when OUR BURMA BOOK opened. Sadly Mary and the Pirniehall teachers missed it and they would have been so proud of their Say Ta Nar dancers who made us all weep as they sang Auld Lang Syne with fine Scottish accents.

It was particularly lovely to see Neesha and Pho Cho's daughter introducing each act. She can only be 3 or 4 years old! Mary, don't worry, Geoff videod the whole event so you'll see it when we return to Edinburgh.

Hle Bee Dancers did 2 traditional Burmese dances. One was the Water Festival Dance, which Irvine and Fiona are going to do next Burmese New Year (Thingyan) at Forthview! The Burmese dances are beautiful and the girls look so elegant in their traditional costumes.

Next we had a more modern slinky dance that the younger Hle Bee girls were proud to do.

Finally an awesome Thai mime group, Baby Mime, who were giving a benefit concert for Borderline's 5th birthday.

At the end, everyone viewed the exhibition of Scottish and Burmese prints of Burma.

After the event, the 4 of us went for our evening meal. At 10.30pm when we came out of the restaurant, there was not a car/motorbike/cycle to be seen because it was torrential rain..... and Irvine had forgotten his rain cape! You cannae share a rain cape if you are both on bikes so he just cycled under all the rain falling down from shop fronts and arrived home drookit... but loving it!

What an awesome day - yet again.

Sadly tomorrow is Irvine and Fiona's last day in school. It's not going to be easy......

It makes me so MAD!

2009-07-16T04:48:00.003Z

I have just come back from a quick visit to Hle Bee. (Today I am preparing for tomorrow's presentation to 60 Burmese teachers.) Irvine and Geoff are hanging the etchings in Borderline Gallery while Fiona teaches Kindergarten B with Bobo's help.

I asked Thazin if the guy teaching Grade 5 & 6 today was her Thai teacher.

"No, he is my computer teacher."

"But he has no computer."

"No, he is teaching from the book."

From the book? How do you teach computers from a book?

I could weep.

Scottish Country Dancing in Hle Bee - SUPERB!

2009-07-15T15:53:00.004Z

PS Sorry, our blogging's a bit out of synch!

Pirnie's last night

2009-07-15T15:34:00.004Z

Above you can see Irvine emailing his family on the terrace outside his room before we set out tonight to meet the Pirniehall teachers to say farewell as they leave tomorrow. This is a very hard place to leave so tonight's meeting was much more sombre than Sunday night's. It's great to see other Scottish people here and we will all be coming back to Scotland, hoping to help our friends and families and schools understand how hard life is for Burmese people in Thailand.

Safe travelling Pirnie. You'e done SO much in such a short time. You've felt lots of pain but shared loads of joy with your Say Ta Nar friends. Well done.

Working in the Kindergarten

2009-07-15T14:14:00.010Z

Kindergarten B at play in their 'new' play area. It was good to come back to Hle Bee this year to find that the nursery staff had taken on board a lot of what was discussed at last year's training; they have adopted a more active approach to their teaching, and have been working in small groups. We had done a bit of fund raising to buy more toys for the nursery and I was pleased to find that the school had received some lovely toys from another source...which immediately got me going to set up a 'freeflow' play area. The idea of children playing independently is a bit of a scary concept for the staff, especially as each class holds up to 60 children with only one or two teachers. So we are working each morning this week to 'train' the children up in playing independently (with a teacher present) so that next week they can try working in three groups, with a group playing on their own. You might remember that one class was working under the house...now this space is empty, so we set up the play house in a cosy space under the house - a perfect size for the wee ones to play! We've also done some lovely work on 'Feelings' as the teachers are keen to see some Emotional Literacy lessons in practice.

Kindergarten B's mind map on 'Homes'...

...following a 'think, pair, share' session

Kindergarten A are the older class - more like a Primary 1, so I thought I'd try a bit of critical thinking! The initial session went really well but we did get to a point where it was really hard for the children to think due to the noise of rote learning coming from the two Grade 1 classes, each with 40+ children in the class... So 150 children are sharing one building with just a screen to separate each class - it's a bit of a racket!!

Meanwhile, across the sandy building site in the new Grade 5/6 building, Irvine was having a wee scottish moment making kilts (Linda Martin eat your heart out!) ... in preparation for a spot of Ceilidh dancing at the end of the day - you can imagine the sweat coming off us after an hour of Gay Gordons, Dashing White Sergeant, St Bernard's Waltz and a Strip the Willow to finish!!!
What fast learners these children are and what a great way to finish the day!

Think, Pair and Share Our Burma Book

2009-07-14T15:48:00.013Z

Sheila worked with Grade 4, 5 & 6 today, reminding them of the images they'd etched of Burma and showing them the books we have made for the first time.

These boys were liking the etchings of the toddy tapper, who climbs toddy trees and takes the sap. It's used for many things, one of which is toddy beer but the boys liked it because the man climbing the tree is very skilled and very brave. They also liked the bridge to an old pagoda because it reminded them that Burmese people are clever architects and many beautiful buildings are in Burma.

Next, the children who had an etching in the book, found it and stood up. Mimi had made an amazing etching of a Kayan Padaung Mother and Son. The mother has many rings on her neck, which makes her very beautiful.

These boys are THINKING about which is their favourite etchings.

THINK I found it - it's an elephant!

Actually, no, most of us THINK it's Our Lady, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

That's who we love.

Now you have thought who your favourite is,

SHARE it with a friend.

Finally, one person from each pair SHARED what their friend had liked and why.

OUR BURMA BOOK EXHIBITION

opens in Borderline Gallery, Mae Sot

on Thursday 16th July 2009.

I've ridden on a motorbike and enjoyed a Songtime for the first time EVER!

2009-07-14T10:02:00.009Z

That's how Irvine summed up Tuesday in Hle Bee.

Today, Irvine and Guardian Angel had to go to pick up 3 boxes of OUR BURMA BOOK books on GA's motorbike. GA had one box at his feet, Irvine had one on his knee and one behind him that he had to hold on to too. Wish I had got that photo but here's a posed subsitute.

That's the school behind Irvine at the end of the lane.

Our hotel rooms are the rooms on the first floor to Irvine's right.

That's how close we are to Hle Bee.

Emma, the Canadian student's on her way home too with her little helpers.

At the end of today, we gathered the whole school together for Songtime. We used to do this in the kindergarten room but it was very small so we had to squash the school in and the tin roof meant we lashed buckets of sweat as we sang. Today we went into the new building at the back of the school that is home to two Grade 2 classes. It has a natural grass/straw roof and is much cooler.

Thazin had gone to market to buy a speaker for the CD player.

It was enormous!

So we gathered - all 350 - to sing Fischy songs, As We Go Now, I'm the only I, Build Up, You are a Star and our new toothbrushing song. Geoff played the guitar to start us on the Toothbrushing Song.

This is an unmissable sight for Forthview School.

Mr Wright enjoying a Songtime!

So were the Hle Bee teachers.....

Hle Bee's baby

2009-07-13T17:43:00.007Z

This is the adorable baby of a Hle Bee family that Louise spent hours playing with when she was 8 weeks old last year. She can walk.

Monday in Hle Bee School

2009-07-13T16:45:00.014Z

Fiona and Irvine today taught Kindergarten B how to play Heads Down, Thumbs Up.

Their teacher is the little teacher who used to teach underneath Thazin's house.

She is a really fast learner

and soon had the whole class doing Heads Down Thumbs Up

on her own.

Irvine gave out the letters from Forthview children

then tried to translate them into pigeon Burmese!

We teach our new Toothbrushing song to Grade 4, 5 and 6
in Burmese and English
then show the actions.

Teachers talk teeth while children write teeth!

Emma in the background is the Canadian volunteer at Hle Bee this year.
Sheila hopes she will help Louise when she comes in August for 5 months.

The Grade 4 teacher helps his pupils.

You can see Thazin rushing off.

She is teaching Grade 6 and Grade 3

in 2 separate building at the same time just now!

Hle Bee is short of one teacher.

The girls work hard.

Later Grade 6 are all noisily memorising a text.

This girl is trying to find some peace so she can learn.

This is not easy in Hle Bee.

It's a very noisy school with children chanting and reciting loudly always.

However, in the afternoon, Kindergarten A babies still sleep and sleep..

Awwwwwwww.....

Home visits on Sunday

2009-07-13T14:00:00.011Z

Si Si Win with a much cherished photo of her Forthview friend, Sophie. Irvine and I were very privileged to have the chance to visit four Hle Bee children at home with their families.

We set off on Sunday morning, collected our bikes and then headed off to the first house.

First stop was Si Si Win's house. She lives within sight of the factory where her father works and her home is owned by the factory. We sat with Si Si Win and her family in their room and talked about their situation, which brought home the global impact of the recession: the factory is looking like it may shut down, which means there will be no work and therefore no income and worse, no home. They have family back in Burma but are unable to return there as they have no home and no way to earn a living. There is no means of support from the State in Thailand as they have no legal status. They talked about their hopes and dreams for their daughter's future, adding with sadness that she may soon have to leave school to go to work. Si Si Win is 13 and dreams of one day becoming a nurse.

Next we went to Htet Wai Yan Kyaw's house. He is on the left of the photo. His friend in Forthview is Juan. As we cycled up we drew into the driveway of a very imposing house. 'Surely this can't be where they live?' I wondered to myself. I then noticed a row of small wooden shacks where six families live down the side of the big house - so marked in contrast. A small room, but with everything neatly in its place and again a very warm welcome. Htet Wai's mother came home from her sewing job during the middle of our visit - for her lunch break - before heading back to work. They told us how a family member had just arrived with a degree from Burma and was now looking to attend the local Migrant Workers' school. On the way out I remarked how it

must be hard to get much light since they live so close to the big house. Htet Wai's mother told me that her employer does not like them to use much electricity so they often sit in the dark.

By now, our little party of three had grown in size, as Si Si Win and Htet Wai joined us for the visit to Zar Chai Aye and her family of 8. Their home has an empty shop front and a further three floors - all the rooms are empty, save for their sleeping mats and a few posessions.

We were sat down and almost immediately mohinga was served! Again such generosity. I recounted the story of making mohinga with the nursery and, Murray, Zar Chai Aye's mother laughed out loud at your recipe!! It was good to taste the authentic version and Irivine was able to revise his opinion of the dish after tasting my 'boggin' version!

Zar Chai Aye and her mother (right)

Finally we headed off to Zin Zaw's new house which Sheila has talked about in the blog. It was lovely to meet her Mother, who is usually working away near the Border. She talked about how hard she finds it having to leave her family and also about her dreams for Zin Zaw's future. Although initially in jest, she asked several times for us to take her daughter back to Scotland with us. Oh that we could!

Irvine gained inspiration from the pin up on the wall to pose for a group photo - with much giggling from all!

It was an amazing day and one we would not have missed. Although we heard heartbreaking stories in each home, the thing that struck us was the immense dignity of all the families, the interest they took in our visit, and above all, the warm welcome we received.

We both returned home feeling very humbled and with our own worries very much put into perspective.

A look at Dr Thein Lwin's Weekend School

2009-07-12T16:55:00.011Z

Charity, the young teacher, is a Burmese woman who has studied hard in Chiang Mai and has sponsorship to go to Hong Kong to study Law this year.

Irvine was totally impressed

with her enthusiasm for teaching these Burmese children on a Saturday

after working all week

and by her commitment to her people.

Introducing ourselves with an action.

Fiona and Dr Thein Lwin visit the second class.

Kindergarten loved Fiona's camera.

Irvine getting stuck into the lesson.

"Superb!"

Dr Thein Lwin takes us to Chiang Mai bus station.

Before we start to show you Hle Bee this year, let us give you a glimpse of Dr Thein Lwin's Weekend School. Last year, The Thinking Classroom Foundation ran 2 schools in Chiang Mai but many difficulties with the Thai authorities meant they had to close these schools. Now they can only run a reduced service to the children on Saturday and Sunday. We visited there on Saturday morning before we went to Chiang Mai at 11am. It was a great introduction for Irvine to learning with Burmese children. He thought it was brillliant.

Sunday night

2009-07-12T16:09:00.002Z

Just back from my favourite restaurant in the world, Casa Mia, where we enjoyed lovely food including Penne Al Forno. Waited a year for this!

After the meal, we met the Pirniehall teachers and shrieked our way through Mary's tales of going to Burma. Any of you who know Mary Ryan Gillespie, know that she can talk for Scotland and she will stick up to the bitter end for what she believes in.

She had us in stitches describing how she told the Burmese Immigration Officers that she was NOT leaving her passport with them while she went into Burma! "I Scotland Headteacher. I do not leave passports." Eventually she realised even she can't beat down the Burmese powers and they worriedly set off into Myawaddy without passports! See her blog for the rest of the story. www.pirniehall.blogspot.com

Zin Zaw has a new home

2009-07-12T09:41:00.006Z

Today Geoff and I set off to buy lots of bits and pieces while Irvine and Fiona were home visiting. We walked through the market where we saw live fish being sold for eating but also bags of big frogs that weren't dead yet. Really horrible!

On our way home, we were looking at Zin Zaw's house when she ran over from the next lane. "Teacher, teacher, come to see my new house." Her new house has 2 rooms and she has a room which she shares with one sister. Last year so many people lived in one room.

Her sister and her husband were so hospitable. Somebody ran quickly to the shop to buy us a bottle of coke each. Icy cold, we were rubbing it all over our freezing cold faces much to their delight. How totally generous of them was that. They earn so little, no more than 50 bahts per day (£1) and yet they spend more than half of that on buying us juice. So humbling when they treat us with such great honour.

Zin Zaw is now in Grade 6, having stayed at school because a Forthview teacher has funded her for the last year.

Check the Mae Sot hairdo and beamer!

Sunday in Mae Sot

2009-07-12T03:55:00.006Z

We arrived safely in Mae Sot yesterday at 6pm, after a lovely bus journey through the mountains surrounding Mae Sot. We were amazed at the beauty of the mountains on the last lap of the journey between Tak and Mae Sot. The first 4 hrs are through flat land and then you enter a place that always reminds me (Sheila) of the Scottish highlands. Irvine and Fiona had the front seats on the bus, which gave them a great view of the scenery and the mad driver's antics. He drove perpetually on the wrong side of the road and was determined to overtake the Bangkok to Mae Sot bus. We also saw a really horrible accident coming down the mountain road where a lorry had swerved off the road. Scary.

Coming into Mae Sot is always exciting. Seeing familiar places on the landscape, knowing loads of our friends will be waiting for us at the bus station. Leaving Chiang Mai, I declared that sitting on the Mae Sot bus in Chiang Mai waiting to leave CM to go to Mae Sot is one of my favourite places in the world - full of hope and excitement - whereon my travelling companions all offered to scatter my ashes on the bus one day! Great to have friends like this!

Sure enough, there they all were led by Thazin, our Burmese Headteacher and our Guardian Angel. Teachers and students from the school and children of Thazin's extended family who run the school - all so eager to see us. After a beautiful reunion and many introductions of Teacher Irvine to everyone, we all piled into a big pick up truck. Sheila and Geoff inside with Thazin, Irvine and Fiona and our 14 bags and 4 teachers and many children on the open back. Yen Yen , the young teacher set off on his motorbike with the 2 children! Off to our Rujira Hotel, right next door to Hle Bee School.

We are never ever allowed to carry any bags. Little tiny Toto set off with the biggest suitcase, determined to carry it upstairs! The children are always awed by the beds in the rooms and by the magnificent toilets. Fair to say we were less awed. We have 3 double rooms and Irvine very very generously gave his room to Geoff and I as we are staying 2 weeks. It has windows all round. His is smaller and darker. Thank you Irvine. However, we all have air conditioning and a fridge and a TV and it is very clean. I did lie in bed in a tupour/tupor of exhausting imaginging mosquitos all over me so got up and sprayed Jungle Formula liberally before scolding myself, "Sheila Laing, you could be sleeping in the street on top of a chest freezer, like the guy you saw tonight, so get to sleep and be grateful!" And that's what I did. Slept for 11hours. Everything always looks so much better the day after the first night!

Today is a lovely day. Cloudy and sunny. Irvine and Fiona got up and left at 8.30am to visit the homes of 3 or 4 children of Hle Bee School. They will blog this when they get back. We could hear them playing hopscotch/peevers in the street with Hle Bee children when they were waiting for Guardian Angel to bring their bikes. Then it went quiet and we knew they'd gone. Right noisy pair they are.

BAck to yesterday.....

When we arrived, we dumped bags. There is never time to settle in because our friends always want us to go straight to school so we can see everyone else who lives in the school and see the changes in the school building.

Irvine was very taken aback when coming in to our rooms to see a book by an old classmate of his, Irvine Welsh!

The school is now full of buildings, having been greatly extended. In one place there are 2 new buildings made of concrete. 1 has 2 classrooms and 1 is a room for teachers. The school have also taken over the big house that was right by their grounds and Yen Yen, the young teacher, lives there with the contruction workers. The new playground is fabulous and I can just imagine our more active Forthview children having a ball there. Photos will follow.

However, Yen Yen is teaching Grade 1 with 42 children and no desks! He is only just out of high school himself. He has impeccable English but no teaching experience so it must be extremely difficult for him. Hle Bee doesn't have a teacher for the Grade 3 class to Thazin and a variety of others are teaching them.

Thazin tell us that the new funder found last year has now come to the end of their funding commitment and so the money some of us raised over the last year will have to be used for salaries, rent, transport etc. And they face an uncertain future again. Thazin just keeps going on with hope and trust that it will work out and it has so far......

Thazin herself has lost 4 kilos in the last month because she is so busy. She is very thin but actually is looking great, despite the fact that she went to be a nun for a month and shaved her hair. She now has a hairstyle that looks like Twiggy's from the 60s. In fact, she looks like Twiggy from the 60s! She was so happy to hear me laugh HA HA HA! She has been waiting to hear this for a year!! Nobody every said that to me before!!

After seeing the school, we set off for a 20 min walk to town for tea about 7pm. It was starting to get dark and was very clammy. We walked past a paddy field, which moved Irvine hugely as he'd never seen one before. Then we walked through the huge market.

The market in Mae Sot bombards you with sights and smells you have never ever seen or could imagine. I felt quite sorry for Irvine having to process so much in such a few hours. He was feeling very overwhelmed with it all. Our few days in Chiang Mai were really helpful in introducing Irvine and re-aquainting the rest of us with Asian culture. Going through Mae Sot market slams you right into the middle of local Burmese culture.

Then into Ban Thai restaurant for beer and food and a chance for Irvine to ask Guardian Angel some of the stream of questions he said were flooding his mind. It's so so good to see him again. He is a dearly loved friend and has been just brilliant in getting everything ready so we are comfortable when we arrive and for our stay.

The walk back through the market in the dark at 9pm was full of pungent smells and strange sights. This is where I saw the young man sleeping on a freezer. Was that his home? Many dogs runnning around us. A trip to 7/11 for water. Then home to Rujira to crash in bed and Guardian Angel rode off on his motor bike to his own home.

What a day! It felt like it lasted a week!

Friday Night in Migrant Learning Centre

2009-07-10T15:56:00.003Z

Newbattle Abbey College have generously enabled a pilot project this year. The project is that the Scottish Qualification Authority will accredit some students from the Migrant Learning Centre of the Thinking Classroom Foundation in English, if they meet the required standard.

Tonight (and earlier today as you saw) we visited 2 classes in the MLC. These are Burmese migrants who are learning English and aiming for Scottish accreditation so we showed them this photo of Dr Thein Lwin organising their learning at Newbattle Abbey with Depute Nora Fitzcharles.

Then we taught them about Scottish life and ways, which ended in more Scottish Dancing of the Gay Gordons and the Dashing White Sergeant. We showed some videos of our Kilts n Longyis ceilidh last September. It was a great laugh and THEN....

... right at the end one of the students said that we should read a lady's English homework. She had written a full adn moving account of her love for Burma and her wishes for the future. This lady has recently come to Thailand, having spent 3 years in prison. She has come out of Burma to tell her story, which was humbling and shocking.

And this is the essence of this trip. The juxtaposition of fun and laughter in exchanges of culture with the sad and painful experiences all the Burmese people experience, whether it's because they can't go home to see family they love or whether it's the sense of hopelessness about Burma's future.

We are so honoured, students, by your kindness to us tonight. You are so generous to us daft Scots and we salute your courage. Jesu chin barry!

Ceilidh culture in Chiang Mai

2009-07-10T08:56:00.004Z

Visited Migrant Learning Centre to teach young laddies and lassies (Irvine's term!)

a wee bit about Scotland - the lingo, the moves and a bit about the country.

The students were a bit reluctant to have a go,

but with a bit of 'encouragement' (think brute force)

they joined in and,I think, had a bit of fun.

Luckily for us the room was well air conditioned!

We then hit the shops! Thanks to all the kind

donations from friends back in Scotland

we were able to buy up the duplo and lego

supplies in Chiang Mai. It was a bit of an event,

with at least 9 assistants running around for us

in the shop...more than a bit worried that we were

not able to pay for the rapidly increasing pile of stuff!

Now we are knackered and we are off for a rest

before the next round of "Happy Gordons"

this evening.

Tea with our friend...

2009-07-10T08:37:00.006Z

Last September our friend visited Forthview

and worked on some inspiring art with our P5 children.

It was lovely to meet him tonight in Chiang Mai with his family.

We enjoyed a meal together.

Earlier we had spotted this sign... do you get it?

Teacher Training in Chiang Mai

2009-07-09T14:56:00.008Z

Today, we went to Thein Lwin's Thinking Classroom Foundation to teach An Introduction to Scottish Education.

We took our shoes off at the door.

Then we enjoyed a lovely lunch of rice, vegetables, chicken and pototo, fishballs and fruit with the teachers Thein Lwin is training just now.

What did we talk about?

Fiona spoke about Early Education and learning through play. Irvine spoke about Formative and Summative Assessment. Sheila gave the big picture of Scottish Education 1965 - 1991 -2008. Yes, they were all falling asleep on us when we decided to do some Brain Gym and Circletime to keep us all awake.

We were delighted to see that Dr Thein Lwin had adapted a Forthview idea of Language of the Month into Language of the day for his students to share their ethnic languages with each other.

We also enjoyed reading the notes the teachers made during Dr Thein Lwin's training session on Critical Thinking. He has so much to teach us.

Bananas and capes...

2009-07-09T03:45:00.004Z

It's 11am on Thursday morning. At 8.30am, Dr Thein Lwin phoned to welcome us to Chiang Mai.

"Sheila, can you come and meet my teachers who are training and given them an Introduction to Scottish Education this afternoon?" Nae bother, Thein Lwin....

... so I set off to find Irvine and Fiona who had just finished a lovely breakfast of fish soup and omelette. They were looking at the gardens and pondering flies and flowers. 'Morning folks, at 12 noon we are having Burmese lunch then giving a talk on Scottish Education.' Several Irvine flaps later, when he had finished declaring that he liked and loathed me, he went off to write his notes on Assessment is for Learning for Burmese Teachers. Hee, hee. I'm sure he said I was bananas.

Thought you would like to see these bananas which look nasty and taste divine and cost 1p each. Mmmm....

So Irvine set off to roam the streets of Chiang Mai, muttering about summative and formative assessment and Fiona, Geoff and I set off to find the internet cafe to blog.... and at that point, down came the lovely warm Thai rain.... very unlike Scottish rain.... this is nice, declared Irv....

Chillin in Chiang Mai....

2009-07-08T10:51:00.004Z

We're here! After a very long 10.5hrs from Amsterdam to Bangkok, we arrived this morning, or was it this afternoon? Very confusing. I think it's 6pm Thai time and 12 noon UK time as I write. We were all very spaced out by the journey. Maybe that's why all 4 of us got into the hotel lift, 3 of us got out and the lift shut and took Irvine away, shouting, "Where am I going?"

We all went off to our rooms in the Amari Rincome (lovely hotel, as you promised Murray and Stewart) for a wee sleep. Irvine tell us he only slept for 30 mins when a woman knocked on teh door of his hotel room to give him the Washington Post. He leapt into his football shorts and hoodie with the hood up because he didn't want to alarm her! Can you imagine the sight, poor woman. Apparently both she and Irvine were bowing to each other saying, 'Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!' I can hear you chuckling Gail.

3 hours later, after the rest of us slept too long but Irvine had read the Washington Post, we head off to the shopping mall. Irvine needs a bag because his water cooler bag won't suffice. He now has a man bag that says 'Camp Inn'! He's very excited because it has lots and lots of pockets but states he will never take it to Easter Road (the football).

We're catching up with you and then off to catch a tuk tuk back to the hotel. Here are Irvine and Fiona on the tuk tuk.

We rang Bobo and we're delighted to know the Pirniehall teachers have arrived safely and have delivered the etchings to Bobo. He is now framing them for OUR BURMA BBOK EXHIBITION, which starts in Mae Sot next week.

It is so so lovely to be back in Thailand.

Here we go!

2009-07-07T04:34:00.004Z

It's 5am on Tuesday 7 July 2009 and Fiona, Irvine, Geoff and I are ready to go. Our accommodation is sorted though we do fear a communal toilet! Pirniehall are already there in Chiang Mai. Scotland is pouring with rain so not much will change except the rain will be hotter and we'll steam. Getting our cases down to 20 Kg has been fun, with many emails saying, 'Have you got room for jigsaws, 400 toothbrushes, reading books and other unmentionables?' So as Jackie said in her comment on our last post, 'It's bound to be a happening time!' Keep your eye here for July's entertainment.....

Sheila

It's time to go to Mae Sot again.

2009-07-03T21:02:00.004Z

On Tuesday 7 July, Fiona Vacher and Irvine Wright, 2 Forthview teachers are travelling to Hle Bee School in Mae Sot under the auspices of DfID Global Schools Partnership. They will be visiting Dr Thein Lwin's Teacher Training Centre on the way. This year the learning projects will include Toothbrushing, Games, Governance, Early Years education, and Our Burma Book. Here you can see Fiona and Irvine telling Forthview all about their coming visit to Hle Bee.

Sheila Laing and Geoff Hart will also be travelling to Chaing Mai and Mae Sot with Fiona and Irvine. Sheila is going to be working with Dr Thein Lwin to be training Burmese teachers in Emotional Literacy Education.

Mary Ryan Gillespie, Headteacher of Pirniehall Primary School, is also heading to Mae Sot. On Sunday Mary and 2 of her teachers travel to work in Say Ta Nar school for a week. You can read her blog on http://www.pirniehall.blogspot.com/.

Life in Mae Sot is never quite what one expects however and so it was not a total shock when our friend, Guardian Angel, emailed today to say DK Hotel is being refurbished so they can't give you your rooms!! Many shrieks and screeches of laughter from Scotland later, Guardian Angel set out to fix up new accommodation for the 7 of us travelling ..... we'll phone tomorrow to see how it's going!!

Life's always interesting in Mae Sot....

Heart stoppingly breathtaking...

2009-05-31T07:16:00.003Z

Forthview Gardening Club have entered the Royal Highland Show's Pallet competition this year for the first time. When they looked round all the other pallets, they were thinking of ideas for next year's entry. Mr Stobie and Miss Campbell were with them and told me that,

"Cameron suggested we do a miniature of Aung San Suu Kyi's house. How heart stoppingly tear jerking is that? "

Which just shows how deep Forthview children's understanding of Burma is. It's never far from their minds - even at the Royal Highland Show. Very proud of you Cameron.

They won a bronze medal too. Here is their entry. It's a replica of Forthview's Environmental Garden.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and OUR BURMA BOOK

2009-05-29T22:22:00.007Z

Alastair Greig from Edinburgh's Amnesty Burma Group gave a copy of OUR BURMA BOOK to Archbishop Desmond Tutu when he attended the Church of Scotland General Assembly this week. Archbishop Tutu has often spoken out in support of Aung San Suu Kyi.

If you want to speak a message to Aung San Suu Kyi, you can do. Speak 64 words to her on a new website set up to give messages of support to Aung San Suu Kyi on her 64th birthday on 19 June 2009.

http://www.64forsuu.org/

OUR BURMA etchings

2009-05-24T18:37:00.004Z

Our new exhibition at Ocean Terminal

2009-05-23T21:46:00.016Z

Balgreen, Forthview, Pirniehall, St Mary's Leith, Tollcross Primary Schools in Edinburgh.

Say Ta Nar and Hle Bee Schools in Mae Sot, Thailand.

Shan Schools near Chiang Mai, Thailand.

OUR BURMA BOOK AND EXHIBITION

OCEAN TERMINAL, LEITH, EDINBURGH

from

18 May - 14 June 2009.

Here you can see Councillor David Becket, Mark Lazarowicz MP and Sarah Boyack MSP presenting 150 Scottish children with their very own copy of OUR BURMA BOOK.

This work will continue in Mae Sot, Thailand in July 2009.

Watch this space...

Burmese New Year Water Fight at Forthview!

2009-04-23T22:07:00.011Z

Today we learnt about the Burmese Buddhist festival of THINGYAN, which celebrates New Year. Thingyan was last week in Burma. We learnt that at this time, Burmese people make offerings at the temple and think about washing away all the errors of the last year. And then the fun begins ..... WATER FIGHTS all over the place in Burma.

So what else could Forthview do but have a go at their own WATER FIGHT. One child from every P3-7 class was challenged to soak Ms Laing and Mr Napier who were challenged to soak every child. The whole school watched from their windows as you can see. Ms Laing and Mr Napier threw water at the windows of every class. Here you can see the action! It was magic. One of the highlights of Ms Laing's 32 year teaching career. Thank you Burma - great idea !

You can see more photos on our school blog http://www.forthviewschool.blogspot.com/. (There's a link to it on the right of your screen. Happy Thingyan or Mingla Nit Thit Kuu Par!

Proud of PL!

2009-03-28T00:44:00.003Z

Preston Lodge High School, Prestonpans, East Lothian have a Charity Committee managed by 6th year pupils. Louise Laing spent some time last Summer in Hle Bee School and persuaded PL students to adopt BEST and HLE BEE as one of their 6th year charities. Today, Sheila Laing and Khaing Maung Maung went to PL to collect a cheque for Hle Bee and BEST.

The students has made an amazing £653.66.

This money will give Hle Bee students a richer education experience and probably quite a lot of chicken in their rice dinners over the next year. Thank you, Preston Lodge.

As a PL parent, I felt very moved by the hard work and generousity of the PL students in raising over £5500 for many charities. Mr Galbraith, PL's headteacher, retires next week. He has improved PL so much and must also take great pride in having built the confidence of these 6th year pupils , enabling them to do so much for others.

Scottish Education at its best!

(PS for those of you who follow this blog, you will know that Khaing Maung Maung has been very ill this year. He is living with us now his parents have returned to Burma and despite a few setbacks in his convalescence, he made it to PL today. Keep remembering him. A slow convalescence is hard to bear for a young, bright guy like him.)

Pirniehall and Say Ta Nar school links

2009-03-21T20:16:00.004Z

Pirniehall Primary School's link with Say Ta Nar School for Burmese migrant childreni n Mae Sot was celebrated in a joint community art project. You can see images from the project above.

From February to June 2008 in collaboration with artist Lisa Fleming, Pirniehall parents and pupils documented aspects of an average day using digital and disposable cameras. The community produced over 800 photographs, which formed 12 montages reflecting positive words important to the school. When head teacher Mary Ryan Gillespie visited partner school Say Ta Nar, for Burmese refugees in Thailand, she showed these montages to describe life in Pilton. In return, Say Ta Nar pupils created their own photographs of their daily life in Thailand for Mary to share with Pirniehall back in Scotland.

It's great to be linked with Pirniehall in this joint Global Schools Partnership.

Dr Thein Lwin meets Red Nose Day on Friday 13th!

2009-03-15T13:30:00.004Z

Well with a weird title like that, the day can only be strange! Today is Thein Lwin's last day with us. After beginning the day with the Maitre Trust, he arrived at school to be greeted with this strange sight...

... because today was Comic Relief day in UK. Forthview children and staff had dressed up in red noses with funny hair and raised about £350 for Comic Relief.

The highlight of the day was when Dr Thein Lwin spoke to Pirniehall and Forthview teachers about his Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking programmes. He also told us about the Environment Education studies on WATER that he had undertaken with Forthview and Hle Bee chilren this year. I hope he will send me some of the work the children shared so I can post it on this blog. This is what our DfID Global Schools Partnership is all about - learning together across countries and cultures. Here you can see Dr Thein Lwin with Pirniehall and Forthview teachers.

Here are the teachers who hope to visit Hle Bee and Dr Thein Lwin's programmes in Summer 2009.

Dr Thein Lwin's visit to Forthview

2009-03-15T13:25:00.003Z

Today Dr Thein Lwin enjoyed some Scottish Country Dancing with P1, P5 and P6 pupils. He was as good a dancer as the rest of us!

After break, he led P5/6 to present their learning on Water in Scotland. The children were so excited to present their learning, knowing that Dr Thein Lwin was taking it back to Hle Bee School and that they would be presenting it at our assembly that afternoon. Great international learning had taken place, which is always a thrill.

After Assembly Dr Thein Lwin went to spend time with Angus Tulloch from the Maitre Trust, who support Dr Thein Lwin's programmes in Chiang Mai.

Photos to follow....

Dr Thein Lwin visits Forthview - Wednesday

2009-03-11T23:32:00.002Z

Today, Dr Thein Lwin visited Pirniehall Primary School because they have a link with Say Ta Nar School for Burmese Migrant Children in Mae Sot. You can read about this link on http://www.pirniehall.blogspot.com/.

Dr Thein Lwin trained Pho Cho, the HT of Say Ta Nar school in Critical Thinking and was delighted to see the great displays of the work Pirniehall have done with Say Ta Nar. He went round the classes greeting the children who were all keen to greet him with Minglaba!

At 11am, Dr Thein Lwin continued to teach P5/6 at Forthview. Today they were investigating and recording what they know about Water in Edinburgh to share with Grade 5 at Hle Bee. They all worked really well in 4 groups of 6.

At 1.15pm, Dr Thein Lwin gave a talk at Edinburgh University Faculty of Education to around 20 - 25 folk - a mixture of students, staff and interested Scottish and Burmese friends on Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking. It was clear that this went well when the audience asked such thoughtful questions and praised Dr Thein Lwin for his initiative and commitment to building the foundations of a strong education system for Burma's future.

Finally, Dr Thein Lwin went with Fiona Vacher, a Forthview teacher who visited Hle Bee in Summer 08, and Khine Maung (who's looking really well and healthy) to see SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and eat an Indian meal.

Another worthy and exhausting day in the life of a Global Schools Partnership!

Dr Thein Lwin's busy day...

2009-03-10T22:44:00.003Z

.... but not as busy as it would have been if Murray was still in Scotland!

Today Dr Thein Lwin showed Forthview P5/6 pupils the work he had been doing with Hle Bee Grade 5 on WATER - an environmental education investigation using critical thinking. Forthview children listened and thought so well. They asked very clever questions and showed that they have already learnt to so much about the Burmese people and they learnt even more today.

Tomorrow Dr Thein Lwin will get P5/6 to think about water use in Scotland and make a presentation about this for Hle Bee students. Dr Thein Lwin will take this back to Hle Bee.

Sadly we forgot to take photos! We'll post them tomorrow.

Next off to the beautiful Newbattle Abbey College for a very creative meeting with the Management Team who are working with Murray Forgie and Stuart Simpson towards delivering and accrediting 20 Burmese students in English in collaboration with the Scottish Qualification Authority. Newbattle are showing great initiative in developing this project. Here you can see Nora Fitzcharles, Depute Prinicipal of Newbattle Abbey College with Dr Thein Lwin. Read about Newbattle at www.newbattleabbeycollege.ac.uk/

Finally, Dr Thein Lwin gave a lecture at Edinburgh University to the BA in Childhood Practice students on Critical Thinking for Burmese schools. Again the students listened and asked very searching and insightful questions.

Now Dr Thein Lwin is asleep........ more tomorrow!

PS If Murray was here, Dr Thein Lwin would still be out at meetings. After all, it's only 11pm!

Dr Thein Lwin returns to Edinburgh

2009-03-09T07:01:00.004Z

Today, Dr Thein Lwin returns to Forthview Primary School. He comes as the exchange teacher for Sheila Laing, who visited Hle Bee School in July 2008. Fiona Vacher and Aung Myo Myint have already exchanged visits between Forthview and Hle Bee. you can read more about Dr Thein Lwin on http://www.educationburma.net/.

Last time Dr Thein Lwin visited in October 2007, he met all the party leaders in the Scottish Parliament, as you can see here.

We are looking forward to welcoming him and to hearing all he has to teach us about our Hle Bee friends and about Critical Thinking. Watch this space....

Khine is now back at University and enjoying his last week with his parents who return to Burma on 15 March 2009.

Khine leaving hospital?

2009-02-25T23:38:00.002Z

Khine may be well enough to leave the hospital tomorrow. We are all feeling quite exciting about this, as Khine would say. He will still have to take antibiotics for a long time but he can likely return to his studies quite soon.

When I was in the hospital tonight, I met one of the lovely nurses who cared for Khine in Intensive Care. She couldn't believe that Khine has made such a strong recovery and told me she had feared he may not be able to study again as the infection was so bad.

Happy days!

Maybe Khine will write tomorrow because he is coming to my house. Edinburgh University have said the parents can stay in the house until they leave on 15 March 09. Then Khine will come and leave with Sheila and Geoff and family until he is ready to live alone again.

Happy, happy days.

Khine's progress...

2009-02-24T07:15:00.004Z

So many asking me, "How is Khine?" I am sorry I haven't posted for a while.

Khine is still in hospital but making great progress. He seems to be comingthrough this extensive brain surgery completely unscathed. He has full memory, is still tri-lingual (Arakan, Burmese, English) and discusses politics with his usual vigour. He is back to his old gentle, funny self. It's a pleasure to be in his company. There is still some swelling near his eye on his head but that is being scanned weekly and intravenus antibiotics are adjusted regularly to target this virulent infection. He will likely be discharged sometime in the next week to 10 days but will continue on oral antibiotics for some months.

Khine is desperate to get back to university but he has missed a lot so he has to weigh up whether to return now or next year. Hard decision for him to make.

He is getting out of the hospital most days between 2pm and 10pm and regaining the independence he loves to have.

After an interesting haircut by dad in hospital, Khine had his hair cut yesterday at a great hairdresser's called NP in Comely Bank Road (0131 332 7100). I'm putting the number in because Norrie, the hairdresser, was so gentle and sympathetic to Khine so if you're looking for an Edinburgh hairdresser, guys, Norrie's the man!

So it's amazing news from death's door to regaining his own independent life in 4 weeks. They're made of strong stuff, these Burmese! Oops, sorry Khine, these Arakan!

Khine is recovering well

2009-02-11T23:54:00.003Z

It's quite astonishing that 2 weeks ago tonight, Khine was having major brain surgery and today he is walking about in the hospital saying he is bored and he wants to go back to university! Such amazing skills from the doctors and nurses, strength in his body and love from his family and friends is nurturing him back to full health and strength. It's amazing. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, prayers and support.

Yesterday his mum and dad cut his lovely long hair so he now looks very interesting!

Helena's Burma picture and the Lady Provost

2009-02-10T21:10:00.005Z

Helena was in P7 in 2007/08 and was part of the group of children who collected a KIND KIDS award for Forthview's kindness to Burma. Helena had created a picture with her favourite images of Burma, which she kindly gave to Edinburgh's Lady Provost.

At this year's KIND KIDS award, the Lady Provost brought Helena's picture which she had had beautifully framed. As Helena has now moved to Broughton High School, the Lady Provost invited Helena and her family, P7 teacher and Ms Laing to have lunch with her in Jan 09.

The picture looks beautiful in the Lady Provost's Chamber and means her visitors will always think of Burma as they look at Helena's picture. Well done Helena.

And here is Mr Irvine Wright, Helena's P7 teacher enjoying his lunch and looking so smart!

Khine's parents arrive in Edinburgh.

2009-02-07T23:51:00.002Z

After amazingly getting visas to travel to UK, today Khine's mum and dad arrived from Rangoon. They went straight to the hospital for a joyful reunion with Khine, who looks so different from this time last week when he was still on life support!

The University have generously given them great family accommodation in Newington and Wei Wei has moved out from our home to join them.

This will help Khine so much in his recovery.

What a lovely day.

Khine on Friday

2009-02-06T00:28:00.002Z

Khine's parents got visas today so they are flying to Scotland tomorrow to see him. They will arrive on Saturday 7.2.09 and will go straight to the hospital where Khine is slowly recovering. It's incredible to think that Khine, Wei Wei (his sister) and their parents will all be in Scotland over the next few weeks. Really amazing.

Khine 4.2.09

2009-02-04T21:04:00.004Z

Khine's sister and I spoke to the surgeon today who explained that this had been a very serious infection and we can't expect him to heal too fast. We must be patient. He is making very good progress and they are very happy with him. So that is all good.

And tonight he was rocking along to Louise's i-pod in his bed very loudly on the earphones. Poor guys in the ward with him!

Khine on Tuesday 3.2.09

2009-02-03T23:18:00.002Z

Khine's eye and head are a little swollen again tonight so that is not good to see. The nurse explains this great infection takes time to beat. He is eating a lot though. His sister cooked him Burmese food then his friend brought him Thai food. He had bananas and other fruit so that has to be good. Keep praying.

Tuesay 3.2.09

2009-02-03T07:03:00.002Z

Khine is out of danger. He was moved out of Intensive Care Unit yesterday into a neurological ward. He can talk, eat, drink and even phone! He has head pain and is exhausted but is making steady and speedy recovery. Thank you all for your prayers, wishes, offerings at the pagoda and love.

Sunday progress

2009-02-01T23:03:00.003Z

Today Khine laughed, waved, wrote, nodded and showed that so far the infection has not caused major damage. He is off life support machines and will move out of Intensive Care to a neurology ward tomorrow, if he is stable overnight.

Amazing news about Khine

2009-02-01T09:46:00.003Z

This morning I got a phone call from Khine's friend Ian to say that he is communicating through writing. Today they hope he will take over breathing for himself. His first question was "Mum and Dad?" So now we pray they get their visa.
Off to hospital more later.

A Day of 2 miracles

2009-01-31T21:49:00.005Z

Khine's sister arrived in Edinburgh to see Khine. It was very hard for her to see him in Intensive Care with many machines supporting his life. She was here through the hard work of Mark Lazarwicz, MP and his PA Karen and the International Unit of Edinburgh University. When I saw her come off the plane, I was awed by the miracle of this young Burmese woman getting a visa and arriving in Scotland so fast.

And then Khine regained some consciousness! Though still sedated, he used nods of his head and squeezing of hands to tell us he knows his sister is here and he can see her and to tell us when there is pain etc. A second miracle of the day.

So the second operation he had to have last night on his brain was a success and now we pray for a slow and steady recovery to health.

Louise is just back from the hospital (11pm) and she wants to blog this;

I feel elated because Khine did a very nice goodbye. It was the first time this week that I thought Khine was really there. He squeezed my hand hard when I said, "Shall we listen to Metallica tomorrow?" He even moved his head in Geoff's direction when Geoff said bye and then he waved.

However today was a day of highs and lows because 3 patients became very ill yet Khine became better.

Please pray for Khine....

2009-01-30T06:24:00.004Z

Khine Maung, BEST's student at Edinburgh University is critically ill in hospital in Edinburgh. Khine developed flu with an infection that spread into his sinus and brain. He had emergency brain surgery on Wednesday 28 January 2009. His Scottish friends are sitting in hospital with him all the time but we would like you to join us in sending this clever and delightful young man your prayers and positive thoughts, whatever your faith.....

Mark Lazarowicz, Forthview's MP (http://www.marklazarowicz.org.uk/) , and his wonderful PA, Karen, have been awesome in the support they have given to Khine's sister which will enable her to travel to Scotland in the next few days. You can see Mark in his continuous support of Forthview's Burma link in the posting below this.

The University of Edinburgh are generously arranging her travel. Everyone who has heard about Khine has done their utmost to support his fight for life. Join us in our vigil. We will keep you posted.

Here is a photo of Khine on his 23rd birthday. He is now 24.

Chelsea's Burma Christmas Card wins competition

2009-01-12T22:24:00.003Z

Mark Lazarowicz, MP for North Edinburgh and Leith (http://www.marklazarowicz.org.uk/) choose a Christmas card designed by Chelsea in P5 to be his Christmas card. Inside Mark told his 2000 readers about Forthview's link with Hle Bee and asked for support for our Burmese friends. Thank you Mark and well done Chelsea. We have now sent a copy of the card to Hle Bee. They will be delighted.

News with hope from Irrawaddy

2008-12-25T20:50:00.005Z

Today, Christmas Day 2008, the Irrawady website (http://www.irrawaddy.org/) posted this news that the new Government in Thailand will be more supportive of the Burmese people. We wait with hope to see what this means for our friends in Mae Sot.

Speaking at an academic conference on December 19, Thailand's new Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya, said that Thailand would now run “an ethical foreign policy,” in contrast to that of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his hand-picked successors.

“From now on, there will be no personal business dealings on the side. This government will not mix business and politics,” he said. “We shall have no [personal] business deals with the [Burmese] junta; we shall observe human rights and environmental concerns; we shall treat Burmese as we do Thais.”

Hle Bee Christmas Party

2008-12-23T00:34:00.001Z

Forthview children raised enough money during Children in Need to give Hle Bee children a Christmas Party. You can see the photos of Forthview Christmas parties on http://www.forthviewschool.blogspot.com/. Soon you will be able to see the photos of Hle Bee Christmas party here. Meanwhile Happy Christmas to all our friends and in Burmese....

The Burma Book

2008-12-22T19:41:00.002Z

Murray Forgie visited Edinburgh briefly in early December. He had hoped to be here for longer but he was held up by the protests in Bangkok Airport. Eventually he flew to Edinburgh via Phuket, after an 18 hr wait in Phuket Airport, only to discover his luggage had not followed him!

My main worry was not Murray's sophisticated clothing going missing but Murray was bringing back the etchings printed by Kyaw Win in Chiang Mai. Thankfully they arrived safely and in January, I will be taking these to Balgreen, St Mary's, Tollcross and Pirniehall Primaries. Meanwhile Kyaw Win is taking these prints and the children's writing and creating The Burma Book. Watch out for a launch near you - in Edinburgh and in Chiang Mai and in Mae Sot! We are becoming veterans of International Exhibitions of Burmese-Scottish Children's Art!

Floods in Mae Sot

2008-11-03T10:17:00.004Z

Yesterday Guardian Angel was telling me on the phone that Mae Sot is really badly flooded. Today I saw a photo of this on http://www.irrawaddy.org/ . The worrying thing is that the Rainy Season should be over and this should be the Cold Season with no rain and yet rainstorms keeps coming. Many businesses and homes have been flooded and are covered in mud. Our friends find it very depressing. We don't know yet how Hle Bee School has been affected.

Update - Hle Bee School is not flooded and the rains seem to be lessening. However they still have no long term funding although it is hoped this will come through soon.

He just said, "YELLOW!"

2008-10-23T18:44:00.009Z

In September 08, Kyaw Win, the Burmese link teacher between Hle Bee and Forthview, spent 2 weeks in Scotland. It was a whirlwind of activity but a very special moment was when Kyaw Win recited 2 poems from his childhood in Forthview Assembly. He read first in Burmese and then in English. You can see and hear him on this video clip.

You can also hear the nursery trying hard to do good listening until Kyaw Win says Patsy's favourite colour and then you can hear her, "He just said YELLOW!" Sweet.

And after all that hard work, how does a Burmese teacher wind down? On a beanbag, reading Angeline Ballerina!

Now go to Forthview School's blog and learn about Hle Bee and Forthview's joint handwashing campaign.
http://www.forthviewschool.blogspot.com/

Kilts and Longyis Ceilidh = £713

2008-09-14T16:35:00.007Z

We had a splendid evening of Scottish Dance with many kilties, of Burmese food but only one longyi (well done Mary Ryan Gillespie!) on Friday night. Around 80 folk of all ages danced away and listened to stories from the Thai Burma border. We were a richly diverse group of folk, who had not met together before and that made for a really interesting and enjoyable evening.

Thank you to St James Church for use of their building, which was looking lovely. Thank you to all the Burmese and Scottish people who cooked such delicious food (apart from Sheila's mashed potato!). Thank you to everyone who bid so generously in Murray's auction of Burmese handcrafts.

Thanks to you all, we raised £713 for Hle Bee School.

Jesu Chin Barry!

Opening of OUR LIVES - again!

2008-09-09T19:37:00.004Z

The 4th showing of the OUR LIVES exhibition was celebrated at its opening today in North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court, Edinburgh. This is in Forthview's own community. The exhibition was organised by the P7s you can see standing in this photo. You can also see our Burmese visitor Kyaw Win speaking to everyone. He said that he will always remember this work. He translated the Scottish children's writing into Burmese and said it was really tricky because he didn't know what a Quiet Room was or a Feeling Book or Wrestling! You can also see Pirniehall Primary 7s and staff because they were our guests at the Opening. We would like to say a special thanks to Lisa at NEA for helping us so much and teaching us how to curate an exhibition.

P7 curate the OUR LIVES exhibition at North Edinburgh Arts

2008-09-07T19:17:00.007Z

A committee of 6 P7 pupils are organising a showing of the OUR LIVES exhibition in their own community to co-incide with the visit of Kyaw Win, our Burmese exchange teacher and Murray Forgie, Director of BEST between 4 and 19 September 2008.

The children worked hard all morning with Ms Laing and Kyaw Win and Lisa from North Edinburgh Arts. It's not easy to prepare 78 pictures for exhibiting and the children were shocked at how tiring it is to curate an exhibition, as you can see.

The exhibition opens on Tuesday 9 September 2008 at 2.30pm in North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court. Pop in and have a look.

And the end result (photograph taken on 8.9.08) shows Murray Forgie and Kyaw Win at the exhibition.

Kilts & Longyis Ceilidh

2008-09-02T19:18:00.005Z

On Friday 12 September 2008, we are holding a Kilts & Longyis Scottish Burmese Ceilidh to raise funds for Hle Bee School.

Tickets are £5 on the door and include Burmese and Scottish food. The event is to be held at St James Church, Johns Place, Leith, Edinburgh from 7.30 - 10.30pm. As well as Scottish Dance, there will be brief reports from Scottish and Burmese people just back from the Thai Burma border.

We hope you can join us for what promises to be a great evening. Here's a map of St James, Leith.

Zin Zaw (see 23/7/08)

2008-08-31T15:32:00.005Z

If you look back to the blog on 23 July 08, you will read the sad story of Zin Zaw, an able and delightful 14 year old learner who would have had to give up school to get a job if someone from Scotland hadn't offered to 'sponsor' her.

We heard today that the sister and brother in law she lives in a small corrugated iron shed with, were arrested by Thai police. "What happened to their little baby?" I cried out. "The little baby went to jail with the mother."

Can you imagine living like this?

However, a 'fine' was paid and they were all released some days later. If the 'fine' had not been paid they would have been deported to Myawaddy.

Meanwhile in Scotland we moan about our summer weather.......

Mia Farrow and Jody Williams visit Hle Bee School

2008-08-22T22:09:00.010Z

We posted earlier that Murray Forgie had met Mia Farrow and Dr Jody Williams, the Nobel Womens' Initiative delegation who were in Thailand to investigate Burmese women's rights.

We only realised today that Mia Farrow and Dr Jody Williams visited Hle Bee School too and were delighted to find these photos on the internet of our dear friends with their very special visitors.

You can see more of the NWI trip on

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nobelwomensinitiative/page20/