after a visit to distribute essential items and educational materials. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Ethnic Shan
Lisu and Palaung civilians sort through a delivery of clothing at the Haipa IDP camp
where they have been staying since being displaced by recent fighting. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Ethnic Shan
Lisu and Palaung civilians sort through a delivery of clothing at the Haipa IDP camp
where they have been staying since being displaced by recent fighting. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Ethnic Shan
Lisu and Palaung hill children gather at the Haipa IDP camp
where they have been staying since being displaced by recent fighting. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|A young boy leaves with a bag of fresh clothes at the Haipa IDP camp
where he has been staying since being displaced by recent fighting. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Dr. Moe Myint Kyaw
a volunteer physician from Irrawaddy Division
examines a child at a clinic established by Kokang businessman Lee Chuin Chang on the grounds of a monastery near the Haipa displacement camp. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Actress and singer Dr. Chit Thu Wai poses for a photo with students of the Haipa Intermediate School where she joined members of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society and Kokang businessman Lee Chuin Chang in donating essential items
including educational materials and solar powered systems to assist those affected by the recent conflict. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Kokang businessman Lee Chuin Chang at the Haipa Intermediate School
where donations of educational materials
cash and other essential items were made. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Burmese actress Dr. Chit Thu Wai sits with an elderly displaced resident during a visit to the area around Wan Hai
Dr. Chit Thu Wai with children of the Haipa Intermediate School
which has seen large displacement of villagers as a result of recent fighting. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Dr. Chit Thu Wai with a mother and her children at the Haipa IDP camp. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|A young woman looks for suitable clothing among items donated at the Haipa IDP camp. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Two young girls leave a clothing distribution point at Haipa IDP camp on Thursday. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Young boys are pictured at the Haipa IDP camp. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Three young girls at the Haipa IDP camp. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)|Dr. Chit Thu Wai with children of Haipa Intermediate School after a visit to distribute essential items and educational materials. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)
WAN HAI, Kyethi Township, Shan State — On a day that also saw several humanitarian aid convoys arrive in the region surrounding this besieged Shan rebel headquarters, well-known Burmese singer and actress Dr. Chit Thu Wai made a morale-boosting visit on Thursday to several camps for civilians displaced by the conflict.
Along with a number of small national and regional NGOs, members of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, and donors from Mon State and Rangoon, Chit Thu Wai paid visits to some of the thousands of people displaced by fighting in central Shan State that began on Oct. 6, pitting the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) against the Burma Army.
The actress-physician delivered aid in the form of clothing, food, medical supplies and educational materials to the many IDPs at the Wan Wa and Haipa displacement camps, as well as offering moral support and occasional medical advice as needed. The International Red Cross and UN organizations including the World Food Program and Unicef were also on hand, independent of Chit Thu Wai, to offer humanitarian assistance.
Lee Chuin Chang, an ethnic Kokang businessman, and the 88 Generation group have opened and supplied a medical center at Haipa to assist the IDPs.
Dr. Moe Myint Kyaw, a volunteer medical practitioner from Irrawaddy Division, told The Irrawaddy that some patients in the camps are beginning to suffer from ailments often associated with living conditions in which hygiene standards are low. He described rising cases of diarrhea, skin allergies and rashes caused by poor hygiene, as well as an uptick in cases of influenza and a few isolated cases of malaria.
Camp sanitation and hygiene officer Min Kyaw, who works with PKU Rescue, an NGO, said the camp at Haipa currently houses almost 1,500 people, with more arriving every day.
Discussing her motivations for making the trip this week, Chit Thu Wai said she felt moved to reach out in a show of solidarity with her compatriots.
“This is our land together, so this is like my family suffering. I wanted to come and show the people here that I do care for them and will always be here for them.”
This story has been changed to clarify that Chit Thu Wai’s trip to Wan Hai and international humanitarian aid efforts to those displaced were not carried out in coordination with one another.
