Interested in Assisting Elderly Expats in Chiang Mai?

[NancyL]

Do you want to assist elderly Chiang Mai expats in need? Or do you simply want to learn more about Lanna Care Net and other resources available for assistance in Chiang Mai? Join us for ........

New Member Orientation

Date: Saturday, November 30
Time: 9:00 am until 12:30 pm
Place: Raintree Centre, 3 Charoen Muang Road, in the NE corner of the intersection just east of the Narawat Bridge
Cost: 50 baht donation for snack and building use
Information & reservations: [email protected] or 085 709 8801
Topics:

• History, Purpose and Need for Lanna Care Net
• Guidelines for Home and Hospital Visitors
• Ageing and Working with the Elderly
• Seven Steps to Reduce Your Chances of Becoming a LCN Client
• Resources in Chiang Mai -- hospitals, nursing care , end-of-life care options, RBL & VFW, Alcoholics Anonymous, assistance from the consuls, etc.

We're looking for people of all nationalities with time available to assist elderly expats in need, especially those with special capabilities such as willingness to transport other LCN visitors, musical, artistic or craft skills, organizational and problem solving abilities, previous experience in working with the elderly or foreign language ability.

[CMHomeboy78]

NancyL, you are making a well-deserved name for yourself with your social work in Chiang Mai.

You follow a tradition started by the missionaries in the 1860s when they introduced modern medical and educational practices that transformed Lanna Thai society. Their good works have continued to the present day. But they have always had something to sell - the huckster mentality motivates everything they do.

I see people like you as being completely different; with no agenda other than trying to help people, out of the goodness of your hearts.

Now that Chiang Mai is on the map as a retirement haven - or elephant's burial ground, depending on your point of view; new problems have arisen that call for humanitarian aid. We have unprecedented numbers of old farangs living here for whom traditional Thailand is foreign in every sense of the word. With few exceptions they show little or no interest in the history, culture, or religion of the Thai people.

Unable to communicate effectively; they haven't mastered the language and are functionally illiterate. They are essentially tourists who have overstayed their vacations.

The most serious thing is that they are here without long-term family relations to care for them in their old age. Family means everything here. Your position in the family defines who you are. Without one, you are nobody. Or, as they say, "farang tao-nahn eng."

Cultural isolation often leads to mental health problems, or the drinking and doping that make age-related illnesses even worse.

When serious problems arise, the best advice that could be given them is to return to their own countries where they can be cared for by family and friends in familiar surroundings. Or, failing that, by the comprehensive welfare systems that exist where they come from.

I understand that you are calling for volunteers, and I regret that family and work commitments prevent me from being able to oblige. Not to mention the fact that I am selfish and self-centered by nature. Born that way. However, the observations I have made are well-considered, and I hope you will take them in the spirit with which they were given.

There is no implicit criticism of your efforts to meet the needs of people in difficulty. My point is simply that it would be better for everybody concerned if they were given the encouragement and support to repatriate themselves before they become totally disabled and a burden on our hosts in this country whose guests we are.

Best wishes for continued success with your work.

Additional note:

A previous topic of mine, "The Elephant's Burial Ground", addressed the subject of the alarming rise in the number of retirees in Chiang Mai.

The reaction was a firestorm of protest and personal abuse that was almost comical in its intensity. It was the virtual equivalent of a mob of peasants armed with pitchforks and torches. A plea for civil discourse went unheeded - the only exception being the intelligent challenge from member Dru2, which I answered.

If this post provokes a similar response of petty nastiness I will be fully prepared. On the other hand, if there are those who disagree with any of the points I've raised, I will defend my position to the best of my ability.