For the first time, the GROW team visited the same patient two years in a row. All migrants fight to maintain their identities culturally and individually, but Tun is a migrant who struggles uniquely with amnesia from a motorbike accident over a year ago. He has forgotten his age and his relatives, forcing him to stay at the hospital overnight outside with mosquitoes hovering. Unfortunately, when the hospital contacted MAP Foundation, Thailand to help with his homelessness, MAP’s Emergency Shelter had already been lost to funding issues.
Last year, we visited Tun at Nakornping Hospital with Crisis Support coordinator Gaew Chai to provide him with a small amount of 300-400bt. Since then, Crisis Support has been visiting Tun outside the hospital where patients’ relatives sleep overnight. Every month, RFA comes back and provides the same amount of money to cover hygiene and food costs. Other MAP teams like CHE occasionally give Tun items like pants. Gaew Chai often shares Tun’s story with friends and strangers to collect small change to provide extra money for Tun as well.
But it’s more than just money and material items Gaew Chai and MAP Foundation shares with Tun. Today when we visit patients along with Tun, Gaew Chai passed on a package of Lactasoy to each patient and brought a smile along the way. After he exchanges words with Tun, Gaew Chai playfully engaged in a game of left arm wrestling with Tun - and Tun wins! Even though Tun’s entire right side is paralysed, there is a twinkle in his eyes from the strength that remains in his left side.
Still, Tun sometimes senses an unease. As we were about to depart the food court, he added that he’s struggling. When Gaew Chai asks him to elaborate, he says “nevermind.” We nod, bend a little bow, and leave, knowing that our likelihood of seeing him a third year is high and thus disheartening.
