Volunteering at the ThaBarWa Meditation Centre – Thanlyn, Yangon

One of the joys of staying in hostels with other travelers, is that you meet truly amazing people and they have great stories to tell.  Several times I met folk who had volunteered at this centre and they were so passionate about their experiences that, once I reached Yangon, I decided that I could not leave without spending some time there.

Please click on ThaBarWa to read all about the incredible work that is done there.  Volunteers are encouraged to turn up at the centre unannounced and they will be accommodated.  For offering your time and services you get a bed in a dorm and food for as long as you want to stay.  Some volunteers I met have been there for more than a year.  There are rules of behaviour – no alcohol, no dancing, no music,no cohabiting with the opposite sex, no drugs and no killing of anything – not even mozzies or flies!  Apart from that you are free to do what needs to be done.  You could stay there for months sleeping and eating – you are not pressured to take part in any activities.  However, the volunteers that turn up are people who want to make a difference and give back to the Myanmar society in particular but also as a life-affirming experience.

So, with some trepidation, I cycled the 23 kms from Yangon to the centre, not knowing what to expect or what I would do once I arrived.  Firstly, register, let them know who you are and how long you intend to stay.  Then find a bed in a dorm.  I was lucky to get one upstairs, the downstairs dorm has a very low ceiling and is somewhat gloomy.

So how does it work?  It is pretty well organised in a very laid back way.  There are specific activities for which you can volunteer but if you see something that needs to be done you just check with the coordinator and get on with the job.  There is a nightly meeting of volunteers to discuss and provide feedback from the day as well as choose your activities for the next day.  When I say laid back, I mean that, if no-one volunteers to wash patients the next day then the patients just go without their wash until the next time which could be 5 days away.  There is no coercion.  Fortunately the volunteers are great and someone always puts up their hand.  None of the volunteers tasks are undertaken by any one else at the centre.

Activities

The first morning I went walking with the monks to collect alms.  That is quite an experience.  Up early for some breakfast as the monks leave at 06:30.  We went in the back of a truck to a suburb of Yangon.

It was pouring with rain and I was somewhat taken aback when I was told to take my shoes off – you collect alms barefoot.  I have not walked barefoot in the streets since I was about 10 years old!  Sadly I do not have more pictures because it was a very busy time.  About 20 monks and me formed a straight line and walked (barefoot) in silence for about 2 hours around the suburb.  My job was to walk with the chief monk and carry the silver bowl for money.  The rest carried their traditional begging bowls.  It was eye-opening, people come out of their homes and shops and passers-by stop as the monks walk by to give money, cooked food, cooked rice , raw rice, fruit and vegetables.  The monks are well organised and as the bowls fill up they transfer the contents into big containers.  This one for soup, this one for curry, another for cooked rice, bags for raw rice, containers for the fruit and vegetables.  My silver bowl was overflowing with notes.  Each offering is first blessed by the chief monk then placed in the money bowl or the food bowls of the monks.  I calculated that in that short walk we collected at least 200 kgs of raw rice, half that amount in cooked rice and great quantities of cooked food, fruit and vegetables. All of this is given in small quantities, a cup here, a spoonful there, two bananas and a 200 kyat note (about R2.00) and it is all done with great respect and generosity.  We drove back with the truck fully laden.  It was a humbling experience for me.

I had heard a lot about patient care and patient washing.  I was told it would be challenging but worthwhile so I was determined to volunteer for those.  First I did patient washing.  You take wheelchairs to a hall where there are patients who are not mobile.  You help them into a wheelchair and take them outside, just around the corner, help get their clothes off, pour cold water over them, wash and shampoo then dress them in clean clothes and take them back to the hall.  Most of them live in these halls, sleeping and eating in the same spot.  They have a thin mattress, a pillow, a light blanket and very little else.  It is an emotional experience but you have to bear in mind that this is way better than if they were not at the centre.

Washing Patients

I took this from afar as I thought it would be disrespectful to the patients otherwise.  There are some lighthearted moments though, being washed is entirely voluntary, we go in and ask who wants a bath and work with those people who ask.  One man declined but his neighbours absolutely insisted that he be washed (he was rather smelly and covered in several weeks of spilled food) so we had to “assist” him a little but in the end he was grateful.  I also had to clean his sleeping place which was horribly dirty and covered in flies!

The next day I volunteered for patient care.  Essentially this is nursing the patients who need  dressings changed and wounds (mostly bedsores) treated on a daily basis.  For me it was difficult, both physically and emotionally.  The patients are very ill and mostly cannot move.  I worked with a young woman volunteer who has a stronger constitution than mine thank goodness.  We had one very old woman patient who is paralysed  in the lower half of her body.  She has the most awful bedsores which we had to treat and dress but first we had to change her nappy …..enough said.  But while we were working with her I held her hand and stroked her face and the look on her face was so grateful and understanding and she smiled and murmured some words even though it was clear she was in pain.  I was almost in tears.  I have a whole new respect for nurses!

For some light relief I then volunteered to help move equipment and wood to an new site about 30 kms away where they are starting another centre.  This was a full day job in the rain but very satisfying.  We loaded the trucks and after a very bumpy ride found that the destination is right in the middle of a paddy field and the trucks could not get within 500m so everything had to be hauled manually along a very narrow muddy path

So what does the centre look like?  Well, it is a village with 2400 inhabitants including monks and nuns, patients, families, volunteers, shopkeepers and restaurant owners.  Very typical of any Myanmar village.

Signpost

The Main Road including one of many dogs

Main road looking the other way

The Rainbow hospital

Patient’s Residence

Residence hall and shop

This lady asked very nicely if I would take her picture

Water is all from a borehole and filtered

White Hospital and Buddhist Teachings

Rice Washing

Rice Steamer – a lot of rice gets cooked and distributed every day

Volunteers Dinner Hall

Volunteers at breakfast

Volunteer’s workshop and meeting room

Volunteers takind a smoke break

How do I feel having stayed there for 5 days?  I’m still trying to figure that out.  I cannot say I enjoyed it but it was an experience worth undertaking.  It has made me very aware of how blessed I am that I have family and friends and good health and a lovely home.