Election traumas

It's been a while since we blogged (knew we'd struggle to keep it up to date), so what's been happening?

Excitment last week when around 15,000 refugees from Burma came across the border after fighting broke out linked to the elections. A large proportion of them stayed in a Thai government compound where numerous NGOs tried to work with the Thai authorities to provide food, water, shelter and health care to the refugees. Anna went to visit the site where her colleagues were acting as doctors in the make shift clinic. Water and food were being given out and the large water containers which Solidarites had installed were hardly touched as a result. By early afternoon lorries were starting to move people back home to Burma - the fighting had stopped, at least in that area, and so people were returning home.

Anna's otherwise been making tippy taps for handwashing (Phil will be trialing them as we all know how he needs encouragement to wash his hands) and assessment tools for water and sanitation in migrant schools.

Phil's been getting stuck into his teaching, expecially in the migrant high school where he's been trying to learn the students' names (he's not doing so well yet). He's had a lot more freetime this week though since the school's been closed following a small explosion near another school from the fighting over the border on Monday and so all the migrant schools were closed down, but he'll be back in tomorrow.

Yesterday's excitement was a hot shower installed in out house! Mornings of boiling pans of water to warm up the bowls of water to pour over our heads are over :) There's even water all the time in the bathroom! Next stop internet connection...