Pandaw Clinics Emergency Appeal

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The situation for our clinics has now now changed as a wave of Covid spreads across Myanmar. In Pagan alone over 100 villagers have died from Covid and one of our own doctors is suffering from the virus.

Our original fund raiser in March 2021 was to raise money to offer medical assistance to innocent people shot by the military and financial assistance to the families of those who had lost a loved one in these shootings.

Since then as demonstrations across the country have scaled back to hot spots, like Kani on the Chindwin, we have switched focus from front line medical assistance to general food aid as many people face real hunger with a frozen economy and the closure of most businesses.

Our team at Pagan have now distributed over 10,000 food bags, each costing about USD10 and able to feed a family for a week. We are continuing with this food programme on a regular basis which is not easy as vital supplies are short as the distribution networks have collapsed.

Currently the main challenge is how to respond to the Covid epidemic. Quite early on we were able to secure a considerable number of oxygen cylinders and believe we have sufficient to cover all our clinics for the foreseeable future.

A real concern is to protect our medical teams and PPE is hard to come by. In this photo you can see two of our doctors in home made PPE.

Though there is little in the news about the situation in Myanmar, the people there are facing a real humanitarian crisis in the absence of any form of government provided health care system. We really need all the help we can get to save lives so please keep giving.

 

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Images of Pandaw Clinics at work

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"I have been engaged with Burma for forty years and Burma has given me much. Pandaw Clinics is a way to give something back to Burma. It is also a way by which our passengers can say thank you to Burma for so many enriching experiences."

Paul Strachan, Founder of Pandaw Cruises

Supporting education and healthcare in Burma

Pandaw Clinics was established following Cyclone Nargis in 2008 when the Pandaw ships, converted to floating hospitals, and their crews saved so many lives. Since then over twelve schools have been built and we operate six Pandaw Clinics in middle Burma which provide an average of 5,000 free treatments a month with full-time team of twenty medics, paramedic and pharmacists. This is entirely sponsored by donations from Pandaw passengers and a profit share from Pandaw River Expeditions. In 2017 we were excited to open a new seventh central clinic to which patients could be referred to for analysis and further treatments.

Education

We have raised money to build twelve schools either on remote river islands or in villages too distant from towns to send children to school there. On Thiri Island, which lies in the Irrawaddy south of Pagan, we have built three primary schools and one high school bringing a complete education to the island children.

Healthcare

We opened our first Pandaw Free Clinic at Gantgar Village in 2009. Almost immediately it was overrun with patients, many travelling long distances for treatment. We now operate seven clinics in the villages around Pagan and treat over 5,000 patients a month with a full time team of twenty, which includes of doctors, paramedics, pharmacists and support staff. Since 2009 we have delivered over half a million free treatments.

Pandaw Clinics is run by Pandaw employees on a pro bono basis. Donations go to the field, not to offices. Pandaw has made a remarkable difference to these rural communities over the past ten years.

Past projects have included: the Pandaw House for 50 female Nargis orphans at the Hpondawoo Monastery in Mandalay donated by Brian and Vardie Pringle; the Pandaw Wing at the U Hla Tun Hospice, Mandalay; the Pandaw Clinic Barge which was five years in the Delta after Nargis.

If you are interested to donate a clinic, school or orphanage building please contact us and we would be happy to discuss this with you. With considerable expertise on the ground in Burma, we can rapidly facilitate such projects and manage their development for our donors. Corporate or individual donors may find such larger projects of interest.

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The Pandaw Clinics is an NGO registered with the government in Myanmar (no 5/Nyaung Oo / 003). The trustees are all members of the local community in the Bagan - Nyaung U area who are entirely responsible for the clinic's management. Pandaw Cruises, its passengers and friends have supported the work of the clinics since inception also. We also receive support from Myanmar donors. Donations will be forwarded to the trustees by Pandaw Cruises acting pro bono as agent for the onward remittance of these monies.

There are no administration costs and the management of the clinics is entirely on a pro bono basis by the trustees and their helpers. The full time doctors and paramedics are paid fixed salaries and donations go towards these, the purchase of pharmaceuticals, diagnostic equipment and the maintenance of the clinic structures. None of the Pandaw Clinics trustees, helpers or employees are connected with the military. The organisation receives no assistance from the military nor does it any way financially contribute to the military government.

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