Dear Friends:

Currently we have an Akha woman in the ICU who requires surgery to remove a tumor in her stomach that has reduced her body weight to about 80 lbs.

She is 33, has four children, the last 13 months old.

Her surgery will cost between $1200 and $2000.

She is in a private hospital because the government hospital sent her home repeatedly without providing service.

If you feel to help this Akha woman she will be very grateful.

Matthew McDaniel

Akha woman in ICU:

These are the details on the Akha woman in ICU.

This woman comes from the village Pah Nmm Akha, near the Thai border in the Haen Taek Region.

She is Ooh Loh Akha. Pah Nmm Akha is predominantly a Loh Meeh Akha village.

She has been sick for about three months and has repeatedly been turned away by the Haen Taek Hosptial and other clinics as "not having a problem, just a stomach ache".

In fact she had a very serious problem, a tumor.

Pah Nmm Akha is a village that the Thai Army moved some years ago, about 8, and they relocated this village from a very fertile mountain top, to a small location next to the road. They have no land that is tillable next to their village and have to walk an unusual hour to hour and a half to get to their fields, which is quite far. This has lead to more stress on the members of the village, a long walk to the fields, both there and back every day, hauling water, food, seed, tools, and bringing back all the food from the fields as well, such as corn and rice. This increased stress reduces the strength of the village and decreases nutrition, the transport of food being an abnormal hardship.

To make matters worse the village continously feels they will be moved again and with good reason, as it is always in the Thai press that this is the government's intention for many villages. A big land grab by any other name.

As well, the Amphoe Office has this year taken at least 30% of this villages rice land, meaning that the remaining soil will become overfarmed.

There is no visible investment on the part of the government in this village as to anything that would offset this loss of subsistence land.

The government claims that there is not enough land, yet there seem to be plenty of new residents moving into the mountains these days. Not a good time to be poor people.

We are trying to find funds for coffee, tea and more natural forestry projects for this village.

You can help by contacting us.