The first of December each year marks World AIDS Day – a day to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and to promote measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

Here in Ranong, we normally mark this day by participating in a parade headed by the Government as a campaign for HIV/AIDS awareness. The parade didn’t quite happen this year, so MMR decided to mark the day internally, with an awareness seminar for Marist Training Programme (MTP) and older Child Protection (CP) students. As the incidence of HIV/AIDS among the Burmese migrant community in Ranong is very high, this was a particularly topical and educational seminar for students.

The seminar was conducted by members of the health team. They began by discussing with students the difference between the HIV virus, which is communicable, and the AIDS syndrome, which is non-communicable. The seminar helped the students to understand what HIV/AIDS is, so that they may be able to help those who are victims of the virus in their own communities and neighbourhoods – as well as avoiding it themselves in the future.

As a new school semester begins at MTP (the second for the school year 2010-2011) we welcome a new volunteer to the MMR community.  Mike Savali hails from Wellington, where he is a teacher at the oldest Marist college in New Zealand, St Patrick’s Wellington. While with MMR he will be focusing his teaching talents on the MTP programme, both as a teacher and as a mentor to fellow staff. Mike will be with us until the end of the school year in March 2011, and we are grateful for the time and gifts he shares with us.

Mike Savali teaching at MTP

Sa wat dee khrap and Mingalaba. My name is Mike Savali. I am a teacher at St Patrick’s College, Wellington and have been there a number of years. I am here in Ranong to volunteer with MMR for the next six months.

MMR have placed me at the Marist Training Programme – MTP. The second semester has begun and I am teaching English and Science. One thing I have noticed since the beginning of the semester is that the children of MTP are very keen and enthusiastic to learn. Their handwriting in their exercise books is exceptionally neat. The children are polite and always greet you as they pass you.

One big challenge I face while in Ranong is learning the Thai and Burmese languages – I hope that in the short time I am here, I will pick up some words and phrases of both languages.

Earlier this week, all members of MMR staff gathered for a staff training day, the first in some months due to holidays and staff absences.  The theme of this month’s training was “Looking Back, Moving Forward”

Volunteer Mike Sivali presents a gift of soccer balls from the Wellington Marist Rugby Club

The day began with the introduction of several new faces to the MMR team, and an update of recent news and events within the departments. Fr John’s welcome reminded us that our role in MMR is more than just a job – we are part of  a family, made up of community members, employees and volunteers working together for the poorest of the poor in Ranong. As there have been a number of changes in staff over the past 18 months, new staff photos were then taken of each department – check them out here.

For the rest of the morning, staff divided into departmental teams. They were asked to reflect on their activities over the past 12 months, together with any achievements they were particularly proud of and any challenges they had faced. These reflections were presented back to the main group, which allowed all staff members to appreciate the great work being done in other departments.

The Chanel Team reflect on the past year

After a delicious lunch organised by the health department, the afternoon’s session kicked off with each team presenting – amid much laughter –  a dramatic tableaux that represented the current face of their department. The focus of the afternoon then shifted to the future, as each team considered what its plans and dreams are for the coming months.

The Heath Team's vision for the future

The day ended, as it had begun, in prayer – in the form of a meditation on the day’s learnings led by Ian John.

The opening of an e-learning centre marks a new step for the Marist Mission in Ranong.

When MMR arrived in Ranong five years ago, there were no educational opportunities for young Burmese migrants past the age of 13. A tertiary education was only to be dreamed of. Now, with the opening of MMR’s new e-learning centre, that dream is becoming a reality for nine students, who are enrolled in a Diploma in Liberal Studies through the Australian Catholic University.

ACU has previously offered the Liberal Studies course to a group of students living in the refugee camps further north on the Thai Burmese border, and MMR are delighted to be able to join the programme this semester.

New ACU students with tutor Nuala Moraes and lecturer Maya Cranitch

The programme is run in conjunction with four partner universities in the United States and Canada, and comprises eight unit courses in total: English Communication; Business Communication Skills; International Human Rights Law and Practice; Managing Organisations; Leadership Theory; An Introduction to Psychology; World Geography; and People, Places and Global Issues. The diploma is expected to take 18 months to complete. It will be co-ordinated locally by Fr Kevin Medillo, while tutors Andrew and Nuala Moraes will provide support for academic English, motivation and study skills.

Fr John Larsen and Burmese monks at the blessing

We have been very fortunate in acquiring a new building to be the “e-learning centre” for this programme, complete with computers and internet access for the students and ample space for independent study. The building, and the course itself, were officially declared open in a ceremony held on 20 October 2010. Mr Duncan McLaren, the course co-ordinator from ACU, was present to mark the occasion. The ceremony also included an ecumenical prayer service in which local Buddhist monks led a short prayer, before Fr John Larsen blessed the building. The new students replied with a song.

Students hard at work in the E-learning Centre

The students began their studies the next day with an orientation by Duncan, followed by the start of the first unit, English Communication, presented by visiting ACU fellow Maya Cranitch. After just a few days the students are already well immersed in the programme, and the first impressions of students and staff alike are overwhelmingly positive. “We have already learnt about student resources, and new skills for researching and presenting” says student Thiha Soe. Another student, Louis has enjoyed learning how to search for information on the internet – “I didn’t know how to find what I wanted, before” he says. His colleague, Moses, quickly adds: “And we have learned to be careful about what information is reliable. Previously, I thought that all information on the internet was reliable”. And what do the students hope to gain from this diploma? The answers are many and varied – improved English and computer skills, a better general knowledge, increased confidence, leadership skills, an international qualification. Student Francis sums it all up succinctly: “I hope to be able to able to see a bigger picture of the world” he says.