Almost all families living in Karen state, Burma are subsistence farmers. Even when individuals are employed as teachers, medics, or shop keepers, they also have fields where they grow the rice that feed their families throughout the year. Last year, a remote area of Karen State, Burma experienced a plague of rats that led to a devastation …

January found most EMA staff at the EMA conference, held this year in Wattana Village in Mae Sot, Thailand. This annual event brings staff together for encouragement, teaching, and a chance to gather face to face. With offices in Thailand, Myanmar, and the US, it’s vital for EMA to get together and connect with staff …

“Time spent at the Rain Tree Clinic has changed me in different ways. Seeing patients at the RTC made me happy and confident. At first, I thought it wouldn’t be easy to communicate with the local people but with the passage of time we were able to build a good relationship with them. Working in a …

At the Rain Tree Clinic (RTC), electricity is only available from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Past this time the generator gets turned off. The team has to use headlights to walk around the campus and to check on the patients every few hours.  It is crucial for the staff and students to charge their …

At the Rain Tree Clinic (RTC), electricity is only on from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.  In case of emergency, when a patient needs to use the oxygen concentrator, the diesel generators will also be turned on. But the engineering technician will have to keep a close eye on the generators to make sure they

Lauren, EMA Year 1 Program Director shares her experience with 2019 EMA Year 1 students. For most of our students, this year in Chiang Mai is the first time that they have left Myanmar. They are living in a new culture (Thailand) and spending most of their class time studying in a new language (English). …

I’ve been thinking on the word “influence” recently and what it means; how everyone has influence – in our words, in our actions, whether good or bad. 

The definition of influence is the ability to have an effect on people or events.

I’ll be 62 years old this month and have had the opportunity and enjoyment of being around many different people and to live in several cultures. I have “influenced” many people …

Sai Sai Poe, EMA Year 4 Physician Assistant student, shares a patient story of a lady suffering with gastrointestinal bleeding due to a peptic ulcer.   “Naw Day Mu Wah is a 29 year old mother of six children. The oldest one is 8 years old and the youngest one is 5 months old. The youngest two …

Rainy season is in full-swing in Thailand and Myanmar. For us living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, that means beautiful greenery everywhere around; rainy, lazy days and the occasional slippery roads. For people in remote areas of Karen State, it means heavy rain all day and no roads at all – just mud, rocks and full-raging …

My name is Bwe Ah, I was born in La Boe Village, Papun Disrict (K5), Myanmar. I am 20 years old. I have five brothers and three sisters and I am the second to last youngest sibling. My parents are farmers, they grow rice and vegetables for our family’s needs. Unfortunately, in the rainy season, if …

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “In physics, resilience is the ability of an elastic material (such as rubber or animal tissue) to absorb energy (such as from a blow) and release that energy as it springs back to its original shape. The recovery that occurs in this phenomenon can be viewed as analogous to a person’s

A seemingly insignificant capsule, which we will call Mr. Capsule in this story, is manufactured in a very big and very significant city. From there, Mr. Capsule begins his 11 hour journey to his first stop. Upon his arrival, he is then repacked into a plastic “tote box” together with other fellow medications, and probably some other much-needed supplies …

Babies and healthy babies are often taken for granted. We at the T-RAD clinic have walked a pretty incredible journey with one of our women, Naw Hser Ler Moo. She initially presented to the clinic with a rather sad history. 3 pregnancies, no babies. She had carried the first two pregnancies almost all the way to term, only …

Just before Easter this year, EMA opened a new clinic called Rain Tree Clinic in a remote part of the jungle in Myanmar. Before this facility, the people in the area had a hard day’s walk to get to the nearest medical help of any kind. Foreigners are still not allowed to go to this area. …

It’s tough to identify the single biggest challenge in our 6-month adjustment from Pennsylvania, U.S. to Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi), Myanmar. But I can tell you the biggest pleasure has been taking my kids to work with me. This change of a closer, more parallel life of work and family is a welcome change. If a job or profession in …

On February 1st, EMA hosted the 2019 Student Conference in Ler Doh, Myanmar, featuring for the first time four years of students. The twelve new Year One students arrived from their villages the night before. This brings the total number of students in our programs to 33! The day was filled with introductions, speeches, and …

Life is beautiful yet complex and sometimes tragic, and sometimes all of those in one. We had been notified that a woman was stuck in labor. She had been laboring for more than 24 hours with twins; what should they do? We requested immediate transfer. Well immediate transfer is all well and good when you have …

Bryce, our visiting instructor, believes that after attending the Trauma Training, EMA’s Physician Assistant students are able to confidently manage traumatic injuries in the hard environment of rural Myanmar and to bring high quality medical care to its inhabitants. “The Physician’s Assistant students were able to attend two weeks of Trauma Training which included instruction on …

This letter is coming to you from the jungles of Burma, from a brick building, down a dirt road, tucked close to the mountains and surrounded by jungle. This is my second trip into our clinic and it’s been much different than I anticipated. The old Baptist church still stands proud and tall at the …