The dream is nearly over

Right outside my office

The time has come for me to start thinking about heading home to New Zealand. I am not ready for this at all. There is still so much to be done here and I don’t want to leave. I have a whole life here now, an awesome job in which I actually make a difference in people’s lives, friends and a home. But alas! I have to return to NZ for various reasons in a mere five weeks. Somehow time goes by a lot faster here than in the rest of the world, so I feel like I will fall asleep one night and the next day it will be time to go.

The dilly of a pickle I now find myself in is that I need/want to come back here in the first or second week of February, but as I have been self funded for the majority of my time here, my savings are gone and I can’t afford it. The Clinic is facing massive funding shortages at the moment and is looking at having to cut some of our services, such as our dry food programme, that provides rations for over 3000 displaced, unaccompanied children along the border. Needless to say, they can’t afford to help get me back over here, or pay me if I make it, even though they still want me here.

There's not enough room to properly house all the patients.

So this is where you, my dear friends, may be able to help me. I have calculated that I only need around $5000NZD to come back here and live, self funded, for a further six months. Currently, I am looking for sponsors, so if you, or anyone you know may be interested in helping out an incredibly good cause, please get in touch with me. Or perhaps you know of a grant or fund that I might be able to apply for. I have some fundraising schemes up my sleeve that I am trying to pull together, but as most of you know, January is a strange time in NZ, in that the whole country basically shuts down for the month, meaning fundraising when I am back is going to be tough, and trying to raise that much money right now is also difficult as I am flat out at work trying to get all kinds of things finished, up and running etc. before I leave. 

I’m not sure what I will do if I can’t come back here soon. I love this work, it is what I have always wanted to do. It’s what I worked so hard for all those years to become qualified to do. I really don’t feel like I can go back to NZ and be done with this place. Don’t get me wrong, I am really excited to be going home to see my whanau and other loved ones, but this is what I am meant to be doing with my life. It seems so unfair that the only thing now standing in my way is some money. 

So, if anyone has any ideas on ways I can raise the money quickly, or if anyone would like to help me, please get in touch.

Work is continuing to be as hectic as ever, the Clinic is full to the brim with people at the moment, we have another eye surgery clinic happening and there just seems to be so many more people and patients around than usual. Our new website has launched, which is really exciting as I wrote the majority of the content for it, so now I am trying to self-learn html as there are constant improvements to be made. If you have the time, take a look at it.

In other news, I voted this week. It was pretty exciting, so I really hope all of you vote. If you need some inspiration as to why, read this. 

Also, the rainy season is over! The flooding is still really bad in other areas of Thailand, but up here in the mountains, luckily we have been spared. I now no longer have to carry a poncho and umbrella with me wherever I go, and I don’t get drenched on a daily basis anymore either. It’s a beautiful time to be here, the mornings and the evenings are cool, while the day boasts clear blue skies and a searingly hot sun. It’s also really great to be able to see the stars at night, because for the first 5 or so months I lived here I didn’t see one star or the moon due to the ever-present rain clouds. Now the sky is full of little sparkling lights, as well as the majestic Loi Krathong lanterns that people are still setting off in the early evening.

I really love this place. I don’t want to leave.