Pieng Loung Post 1

I enthusiastically hopped on the back of her motorcycle, feeling overwhelmed with happiness to be adventuring on the back roads of the Thai/Burma border once again with Pee Bua.  I spent three days tagging along to house visits that Pee Bua does for her organization, New Life Foundation.  I was asked by her main donor (John Hussman) to write a document  describing what Pee Bua does that can't be communicated through a proposal or project report.    Words will never do Pee Bua's in-person energy justice....but I gave it a shot.  I will be sharing the document on my blog in a series of posts.

Action shot of Geneva and Pee Bua touring around town on her motorcycle

The mere presence of Pee Bua is enough to make someone get out of bed on their worst day; and that is exactly what is happening in the photo below.   We arrived to this house visit mid-day to find a young man suffering from HIV and various co-existing maladies curled up in a pile of dirty blankets under a mosquito net.  He lived in a shack made of corrugated steal and bamboo behind his mother’s house.   Without hesitation, Pee Bua marched in and began folding up the mosquito net and asking if the young man had eaten that day, or if he had taken his ARVs.   He writhed around, seemingly in pain, and mumbled an answer I could not make out.  With her hands on her hips, she kept repeating that it was already noon and time to get up, get up, get up!  Pee Bua was not going to let this man give up on life.  I stepped out of the shack, admittedly, because the situation was pretty tough to witness.   After a few moments, Pee Bua had him out of bed and into the second room of the shack.  She put the ARV into his mouth and handed him water.  He struggled to get it down, but Pee Bua stood by his side with her hand on his shoulder.   She grabbed a chair and placed it outside, under the shade, in the path of a refreshing afternoon breeze.    When he emerged, I was completely taken back by this handsome young man in front of me completely ravaged by HIV.    Pee Bua stood by his side and encouraged him to get up and outside everyday.  She was concerned with his medical condition and told me she would request that he be transferred to the inpatient ward within the next couple of days.