It is said that April will be the cruelest month for this pandemic. For those up in Northern Thailand, smothered by forest fires and high PM 2.5 concentrations, the cruelest month is already upon them.
No one knows this better than Siraporn Ann Kaewsombat, an administrator at Help Without Frontiers (HWP) or มูลนิธิช่วยไร้พรมแดน. HWP works with migrant children in Tak, providing them food, educational resources and safe shelter. Migrant children have often been acknowledged as one of the most vulnerable communities in Thailand – some are stateless, and most are excluded from state-provided healthcare or education.
For the past month, Northern Thailand has been turned into a “gas chamber” from the raging wildfires. HWP, along with another Thai charity called 141 or ๑4๑ Social Enterprise, have been trying to get the children masks to protect them from PM2.5 particles. Now with the threat of Covid-19, the situation is dire.
“We’re trying to make masks for children across 70 educational centers in Tak, for over 12,000 children,” says Ann.
These education centers span five districts: Mae Sot District, Phop Phra District, Mae Ramat District, Tha Song Yang District, and Umphang District.
“Are they scared? Of course, the children are scared. If an infection happens in the community, it will spread fast, and the number of infections will skyrocket.”
As of now, only one person has tested positive for Covid-19 in Tak province. However, the area is considered high risk and has been monitored since the beginning of the pandemic – there is constant movement through Mae Sot as travelers move from or return to Myanmar. Government officials have been deployed to the area to prepare communities for the pandemic, but most migrants don’t speak Thai, nor do they have the living space to properly social distance.
This is particularly true of Heavenly Home, the youth orphanage run by HWP.
“In that small wooden house, there are around 80 children squeezed together,” says Komgrit Trakoontiwakorn, one of the founders of 141, which has been working with HWP for ten years.
“They’ve organized it very well,” adds Krittiya Trakoontiwakorn, 141’s other founder. “But if one child is infected, it will spread to the rest of the children in no more than two days.”
141 has already deployed resources to Tak – raw materials for masks like muslin cloth and elastic bands. “We felt like if we waited for donations, things would be harder to come by. Whatever we could do first, we did it,” says Komgrit.
Now, they are waiting on donations to pay people in the community to sew the masks – some are parents, who are currently sewing masks for other organizations in Mae Sot. For HWP, they are willing to sew masks for 6 baht a piece.
Ann highlights that the masks have always been a priority because of the PM2.5 problem and openly acknowledges its limitations in preventing the spread of Covid-19.
“The PM2.5 problem has been bad for three years, but this year it’s the worst… It stings your eyes and nose, you really need an air purifier but in the community, in these education centers, you won’t see resources like that. Masks are the easiest to procure.”
“With Covid-19, masks can only help to a degree – but as in any other place, if an infection hits, masks will probably not stop its spread completely.”
Among other things, HWP is taking measures to raise awareness for public health procedures and sanitation measures. “We are also looking into giving out soap – but these things take money.”
Ann particularly identifies with these children as she was an at-risk youth herself in Chiang Rai. “I myself received scholarships to fund my education. It was in the age of Tok Keaw (ตกเขียว), when parents of young women in the north would accept money from agents, and when they grew older, they would have to go and work in ‘entertainment spots’ in Bangkok.”
She met the founder of HWP, an Italian businessman, in 2006. “That day, it changed my life. I never returned to Chiang Rai and I became a resident of Mae Sot. If I hadn’t been helped – I would have gone to work, sex work, in Bangkok [during the AIDs crisis] I might have died.”
HWP is incorporated in and receives funding from Italy. As the Covid-19 crisis hits Italy hard, this funding source has dried up. But Ann and HWP’s efforts have been relentless. “When people in the community said to me, I think the children need masks – I immediately started thinking: who do I contact, what resources can I tap into.”
“We’re at 27 per cent of our goal [they are now at 44 per cent at the time of writing] …this is the biggest project we’ve done, and we’re a little concerned we won’t meet our goal,” said Krittiya and Komgrit.
As infections rise and the wildfires in Thailand’s north continue to rage on, the efforts of Ann, Krittiya, Komgrit and others will be critical for safeguarding vulnerable populations in Tak. But to successfully do so, they’ll need our help.
This article is part of a Taejai x Thai Enquirer series aimed at raising awareness for vulnerable communities that need your help during Covid-19.
Taejai is currently facilitating donations for 9 projects related to Covid-19, including “Buddy Homecare”, which is raising money for 200 marginalized households, and “Khlongtoey Dee Jung”, which is working to provide food and income for the Khlongtoey community.
Visit their website and donate here
