So Others May Live
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
- Thomas Edison
We’re here in Karen State to make high-quality healthcare accessible to every family in this remote jungle region. But without skilled, behind-the-scenes technicians to build and maintain critical infrastructure—ambulances, supply logistics, electricity, buildings, and more—this would be impossible.
That’s why we’re so proud of our Engineering Tech students! In January, the Year 2 E-Tech students began their field internship at the Rain Tree Clinic, where they’re putting their hard-won classroom knowledge to practice.
At the same time, the past months have been grueling for RTC engineering staff. One engineer’s family was displaced after the Burma Army burned their village to the ground. He needed to go help rebuild homes for his community before the rains came. Another spent several weeks at the frontlines supporting our mobile surgical team. A third moved away to help a clinic in the plains. And a fourth needed to build a home for his wife and baby before rainy season hit.
But our Year 2 E-Techs rose to the occasion. From repairing medical equipment and trucks to constructing buildings, they heroically stepped up to provide the majority of engineering support on campus.
One such feat has been building RTC’s new engineering shop. Thanks to a One Day’s Wages grant and matching donor gifts, we’re thrilled to have an on-site facility outfitted to repair vehicles, store tools, and maintain a parts inventory. We look forward to the increased efficiency this will provide for our operations.
Under the guidance of their engineering teacher plus foreign volunteers Toby Thompson and Garrick Gay, the E-Tech students have provided about 90% of the project’s labor so far—a LOT of manual labor.
Dirt work was all done by hand. To make concrete, sand was sourced from the river, and gravel from crushed rocks. By the time the concrete slab was laid, our engineering students had lifted and moved approximately 400,000 pounds of materials. That’s like lifting 100 trucks, or 50 elephants!
Then they went to work crafting the steel beam structure: drilling into the foundation, welding the framing, and climbing high in the rafters to install the roof before rainy season began. Construction can continue indoors as they complete the wall siding, storage mezzanine, and electrical wiring.
But the shop is already making a difference. As soon as the concrete slab cured, it was quickly put to use for vehicle repairs. Our partner Stronghold Rescue & Relief is in charge of the ambulance service bringing patients to RTC. Maintaining trucks and motorcycles in the rough jungle terrain is a massive challenge—with every journey, trucks take a beating and often need some sort of repair.
Few people in Karen State know how to repair vehicles. We’re the only ones in the region who can provide this level of training. Our students are gaining the skills to make sure our and our partners’ trucks are in top condition before and after each journey—because they are crucial to helping patients access healthcare in time.
That’s because people are traveling as far as 3 to 4 days by foot to our RTC jungle hospital—when larger city hospitals are just hours from home. In this war, RTC is the only place in the region where people feel they can safely go to receive the healthcare they desperately need.
Decades of conflict have displaced hundreds of thousands of Karen people to the jungles, leaving them with some of the worst health outcomes on the planet. There is so much suffering that could be prevented with basic healthcare. Yet the Karen do not consider themselves victims, nor are they asking for handouts. They envision building a healthcare system to help their people. Because we seek to put our faith in Jesus Christ to action, we’re here to help make their vision a reality.
Over the past 40 years of working in conflict zones and remote communities, we've learned the importance of creating longer-lasting solutions that are efficient, culturally-sensitive, and practical. Long-term development is most effective when locals are empowered to lead. That’s why we focus on developing local leaders with medical and technical education. By training young people as both Physician Associates and Engineering Techs, holistic teams can be deployed to remote communities to both provide high-quality healthcare and build the infrastructure required to do so.
Saw Wah Doh
YEAR 2 ENGINEERING TECH STUDENT
“The area where I grew up cannot construct strong structures or maintain the few resources we have, such as machines and electricity. We frequently have to hire someone else and pay a high price to accomplish what we are incapable of doing because we have no other options.
I believe it is wrong to ignore something when you see a need.
The Earth Mission engineering program trains young Karen people in construction, electricity, and mechanics. These are the exact skills we require in our Karen areas.
With what I learn from this program, I hope to make a difference in my community.”
Sponsor a Student
Something is spreading like wildfire among our staff and students.
There's always been a conviction written on their hearts, commonly expressed in the language of "I want to help my people."
But in recent months, the idea has taken on a new form. Simple words sparked from what our mobile surgical team has witnessed on the frontlines, and quickly adopted across our students and staff. Four words they've embroidered on patches, printed on t-shirts, and even tattooed on arms.
Four words of consequence:
"So others may live."
All that they have achieved so far is due to their determination, God's guidance and protection—and you, our Earth Mission family. Now, Karen State is entering a new era. The stakes are higher. The future is within reach. It's time to lean in deeper.
Because of this, we’re on a mission to raise $342,000 to sponsor all 57 of our students by the end of the year.
Would you rally your family, church, business, or a group of friends to come together and sponsor a student?
Sponsoring a student is a serious commitment. As a student sponsor, you have the opportunity to provide young Karen students with a collegiate-level education in the middle of a warzone. Whether you can sponsor a student for one year or five, your investment will have a far-reaching impact on the tens of thousands of lives your student will touch for years to come.
Three students have been sponsored so far. By the end of this month, we hope to triple that amount. Would you prayerfully consider being one of these 6 sponsors?
"So others may live."
Learn more about our education programs and student sponsorship here:
Field Updates
Rainy season has officially begun, and students and staff are in the thick of studying, serving, and solving whatever problems come their way. Here's a quick update on how you can support them through prayer:
PHYSICIAN ASSOCIATE PROGRAM
Year 1 students continue to learn foundational topics such as math, critical reading and thinking, anatomy, physiology, English, medical terminology, chemistry, biology, team building, and computers. They also have started making rounds with doctors and Year 3-4 PA students for patient interaction.
Year 2 students finished their studies at Mae Sariang (MSR) and have begun observations at RTC. They are eager to practice what they have learned.
Year 3 & 4 students are regularly making rounds with doctors at RTC. Beyond their shifts, both groups are attending OBGY lectures. In addition, the Year 4 students are attending orthopedic trauma lectures and learning by SOAP note (patient assessment) discussions with our doctors.
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Year 1 students are immersed in their studies at MSR, learning topics like math, physics, computer binary, engineering drawing, and wood construction. In April and May, they interned at RTC to help construct the engineering shop.
Year 2 students have been interning at RTC for several months now, and have been providing the majority of the engineering support during this time—maintaining clinic needs across campus while also building the engineering shop, expanding the solar power system, and repairing 10 trucks vital to ambulance services and supply logistics.
The stress of having many projects, upgrading housing and infrastructure to take in our TRAD family, and having many vehicle and equipment repairs due to the escalation of conflict has confirmed the need for more engineering support and education. Please pray for favor, funding, and the right staff to be able to expand the E-Tech program and train larger student cohorts.
FRONTLINE MOBILE CLINIC
The frontlines team was able to travel to Mae Sariang for a few days’ break with air conditioning and good food. Year 2 students were also in MSR studying, so they organized a party to celebrate the frontlines team!
Pray for the safety of our teams on the frontlines, and that God would put them in the right place at the right time.
HOSPITAL CAMPUS
RTC saw 707 patients and performed 48 surgeries in the month of May!
Rainy season means malaria season. Last month, 12 patients on campus tested malaria positive, 2 of which were children under 5 years old. Preventable diseases like malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea are responsible for over 40% of deaths in this age group. Pray for those with malaria and for protection from the disease.
Please pray for over 100 supply bags to be transported to RTC before the roads get even worse. There are huge cracks in the road that could swallow a truck.
CHIANG MAI ASIA OFFICE
We’ve had many opportunities to serve and build relationships with local communities. In Mae Sariang, we donated 50 large cement roofing tiles to the city’s staff to distribute to villagers whose homes had storm damage. We also donated dry food and ice cream for 2 local schools, along with soccer balls for their school teams and uniforms for students. In Chiang Mai, we packed and donated 100 medical kits to community health workers.