Baw Gaew Clinic

 

Getting vaccinated - "No, it doesn't hurt at all!"

Across our mutual driveway was the other house on the compound in Chiang Mai that was occupied at the time by Johann and Helena Facchini and their three (soon to be four) kids. They were great neighbors. I was to be helping with a Swedish funded project and Johann was the Swedish Baptist missionary mainly working with it. So he did a lot to get us started and oriented to the project and the northern mission work. He and Helena hosted us for many great meals and on a number of holiday gatherings.  Many an evening was also spent playing Risk and various card games with the Facchinis alone or with them and the many visitors that passed through. They also helped get us oriented to Chiang Mai and were generally just great folks to be around.

"Please don't hurt me!"

In our early days in Chiang Mai, Johann got us involved with an annual clinic that was held at the mission station known as Baw Gaew. For many years, the Baw Gaew station was the home of Jim and Idaleen Conklin, followed by Doris and Ben Dickerson. By the time we arrived on the scene, no missionaries were living full time at Baw Gaew but it was being used for agricultural demonstrations (coffee and other crops), a guest house (it was a great get-away location), and occasional programs like the clinic.

The medical expertise for the clinic was provided by staff and nursing students from McCormick
Hospital in Chiang Mai. Several doctors, maybe a dentist or two, nursing instructors and nursing students volunteered their time. The role of missionaries and some Karen project staff were to provide the facilities, transportation and translation (it’s all Thailand but many of the ethnic minorities don’t speak Thai). We were new enough we weren’t really involved in much of the logistics so we just drove a vehicle and took in the scene.

Dispensing medicine

And as a newbie to Thailand and mountain village people and culture, it was an amazing scene. The Baw Gaew station was close to several Karen and Hmong villages. In the early 1980s, there was a mountain style road to reach Baw Gaew but it was rough and rugged and maybe even impassable at times. The Karen and Hmong from the villages only rarely went into Chiang Mai where the nearest medical facilities were located and so, with limited medical access the clinic was a big thing and people flocked to it creating a holiday atmosphere. Both the Hmong and Karen dressed in their holiday best, traditional clothes. They also brought hand made cloth and other items to sell so it was something of a market as well as a clinic.

Of course, there was no electricity in Baw Gaew and so the medical work had some limitations. There were lots of vaccinations happening but the dentists were largely limited to pulling teeth. Hopefully, they had novocaine but I wouldn’t guarantee it! With no sink or running water, the dental work was done next to an open window where people would spit when needed. Needless to say, by the end of the clinic the wall under the window was in dire need of cleaning but I’m not sure who would have been brave enough to touch it.

Signing up for treatment

In addition to vaccinations, the main medical issues were chronic pain, respiratory issues and infections. As a rather squeamish, totally non-medical person there were some infections and treatments I would like to un-remember but the images remain. But a lot of healing happened and it was a worthwhile endeavor.

Gradually, roads to and from Baw Gaew were improved and it is an easy drive to Chiang Mai now. The government has also established many local clinics in villages so some of the basic care is much more accessible than it was in the past. But for many years, Christian mission related medical work was the only option for broad areas of Thailand.