Umpium Camp

Umpium Camp clings to the hillside high in the mountains which separate Thailand from Burma. Someone said there are 10,000 bends in the road from Mae Sot which means I have been around 20,000 bends today, safely, thanks to our expert driver, Khun Aye. There's probably a joke in 20,000 bends. There are few jokes in Umpium.

It is a temporary shelter. This means no permanent buildings. Everything is made from bamboo , grass and palm. It must be a mudbath in the rainy season. There is no running water, no electricity, no floors to the main rooms. 10,000 people live here 'temporarily'. But for some temporary has stretched to 15 or 20 years.

We met 100 children in one of the boarding houses. Funds stretch only to 2 meals each day. The stories the children have to tell are heartrending. Almost all we spoke to were Karen and have been sent away for safety when their villages were raided by the Burmese army.

These kids have no shoes. They have only the clothes they stand up in. They have no toys. They have nothing like enough food. They have no medical care. They have no future.

They are welcoming, happy, smiling and generous.

I am not going to say what the budget is for their care, because we need to check the figures to make sure that our calculation is correct. If it is right, I promise you won't believe it is possible. But the kids are the living proof it is happening. If, of course, you call this living.

Photography is prohibited in the camp so I was not able to get anything on the mobile phone camera that really does the children justice. There will be some pictures tomorrow.