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Khin Hnin Thaw

Khin Hnin Thaw is 16 years old and has heart disease. Her family are from Maw La Myaing in Burma, but they moved to Thailand to look for work. All the family have different jobs in Thailand; some work in shops selling food, and some work on farms.  Khin Hnin Thaw cannot work because she is sick. Her parents are working in the Pho Phra area, near the Thai-Burma border.  They earn 80 baht a day, but they do not have work every day.

Khin Hnin Thaw is one of 6 children.  Her older sister’s (25) family work in Mae Pa (near Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border), they earn 1500 baht per month. Her older brother and one younger sister who, are 28 years old and 13 years old, work with their parents in Pho Phra. One older sister died from malaria in Burma. Khin Hnin Thaw’s younger sister (11) lives in Burma with her auntie and she is at school - her family needs to send money every year for her school costs.

Khin Hnin Thaw says she noticed her health problem last year. At the time, she had a cough and difficulty breathing, she also had a fever and headache. Her family took her to the local clinic in Burma where they did a chest X-ray and blood tests. The doctor there told them that Khin Hnin Thaw had a heart problem and she would need to go to Rangoon Hospital. However, the doctor gave her some medicine to take and her condition got better and they did not go to Rangoon. When they moved to Thailand a few months later, her condition got worse again. At the time, someone told them about Mae Tao Clinic and her sister brought her to the clinic for treatment.

At Mae Tao Clinic, the medic sent her to Mae Sot Hospital. She has now been several times to Mae Sot Hospital and they have given her medicine for her condition. However, the doctor at Mae Sot Hospital could not help beyond this and told her she would need to go to Chiang Mai Hospital.

Khin Hnin Thaw’s sister says it is so difficult for their family to get treatment because they do not have enough money and time, as they need to work to survive. Khin Hnin Thaw says she feels chest pain and dizziness. She has a cough and is tired, she has no appetite and she can not do anything because of her condition. She says that she wants her condition to get better and then will go back to Burma to learn sewing so that she can earn a living.