EMA has a small number of students that have gone through the Engineering Tech program.   The engineering technology program is a 3-year training course.  Graduates are proficient in construction, engine repair, equipment repair, wiring and troubleshooting electrical systems, and power generation from solar and generators.  One of the things we discovered is that EMA’s …

I don’t know about you, but this third wave of Covid-19 is just the cherry on top. Is there a word for pandemic fatigue? What about, displacement, job role change, pandemic caused relational stress plus military coup? I know that I’m not alone. I’ve been hearing about the shifting job markets all over the world, …

Ther Ray Daw Pae (T-RAD) Clinic established in 2016 by Earth Mission Asia has been an advantage for local people and rural areas as well. It is not only for the local Karen people but also benefited other ethnic groups from the different regions who needed medical healthcare. One of our old patients U Myint Aye …

As with so many other ex-pats living abroad, I had made plans to go home to the United States, for a short stay, to participate in a family matter in March of 2020.  My short stay turned into 10 months.  To keep myself occupied during my stateside time I decided to go back to college …

“My personal Covid-19 story starts in February 2020, just  before the pandemic exploded. I could never have imagined at that time that I would be writing this from Bangkok so many months later. It is now day 2 of our family’s 15-day mandatory quarantine on returning to Thailand after 8 months away.   In early February, …

I have been thinking recently about encouragement. It’s easy these days to feel dark, gloomy, and depressed with all the bad things going on in the world, the global pandemic, and the ugly effects it has had on humanity. Recently, in the USA, we Emergency Nurses were celebrated on our annual Emergency Nurses Week. The wonderful …

“My name is Naw Lay Lay Poe. I am a Physician Assistant Year 5 student at Earth Mission Asia (EMA). Before I came to EMA, I heard that EMA was doing physician assistant training by Thara Ray Kaw and Dr. Mitch. Then I asked them how many years this training would be and they said …

“I spent almost four months at Rain Tree Clinic (RTC), consisting of many good experiences and I am going to talk about three things that I learnt there. Those are similarities, differences, and new experiences.  All of the people who are located in the surrounding area are Karen and they practice the same language and …

“In 2005 our lives were forever changed when we met the first Karen who arrived at our church in Australia.  The Karen community grew rapidly and as we reached out to help them; we were blessed by being part of their lives.  We made our first of many trips to the Thai Burma border in …

“Uncertain times in our home are not new but practice has not made it any easier. Like an unmarked hairpin turn, September 2020 finds me in a different place than I planned.  An 8 week visit to the US as a family ended in August with no viable way to travel back to Asia and …

On 21st Aug 2020, Continuing Medical Education (CME) to the Village Tract Health Centers (VTHCs) Health Workers was conducted at Shwe Gyin Karen Baptist Association Hall which was organized by Ther Ray – Dau Pae (T-RAD) clinic. Three to four health workers from our target VTHCs (4 VTHCs; Htoo Lu, Htee Mu Ta, N’wah Lay Ko and Kaw Mu Der) joined the training to improve their health knowledge and strengthen …

Naw Thit Paw is in charge of a new initiative that we have started this year at the Rain Tree Clinic. Hepatitis B is a big problem for people in low resource areas as it is possible to pass the infection from mother to baby at birth and the risk of transmission for babies exposed at birth without …

The last time Mitch and Caryl saw each other in person, without a digital chaperon, was on March 13 at the T-RAD clinic in Ler Doh, Myanmar. Caryl returned to Thailand while Mitch stayed to help the clinic prepare for the approaching pandemic. They thought their separation would be maybe a month, although Mitch, being …

January nights in the high jungles of Burma are cold.  Not the kind of cold that kills quickly, but the kind that slowly numbs as the blood flees limbs and stiffness seeps  into muscle and joint.  In this season, even sleep turns traitorous. Those who don’t have blankets get up in the middle of the …

Thailand… people usually take Thailand as a place for a getaway or a party. For me, it’s been totally different. My time in Thailand has been interesting and life changing for me.  I was born and raised in a Christian family in a Muslim country, Pakistan. Fortunately, I was introduced to the faith at a very early age.

Recently the Year 3 and 4 students at Rain Tree Clinic were faced with the challenge of multiple trauma patients within a very short period of time. One was a patient who fell out of a tree while cutting branches. He fell about 20 feet and struck his head on the rocky ground. The patient …

COVID-19 has changed much of our day to day lives all around the world. The separations in families, friends, and work places has made us slow down, learn different ways to communicate, and think about what we are thankful for.  Mitch and I were together in Ler Doh, Myanmar until March 13. I left to

There are probably very few people in the world who haven’t heard of COVID-19, which has been dominating news coverage and our social media timelines. EMA operates internationally, and this pandemic has crippled our ability to travel and severely impacted many parts of our program. With the first official cases of COVID-19 appearing in Myanmar …

In the Lab classroom at EMA’s T-RAD Clinic, Year 3 PA students are gaining confidence in the lab. Using four microscopes, including an Olympus CX 43 with a camera port for digital imaging, they can learn in real time as slides are prepared. …