I love a bit of intrigue and telling people I was going away with a clown for a couple of days brought many a raised eyebrow.  However it turned out to be an eye-opener for me as this was the first time I had been inside a ‘camp’ to see how the Karen people live, or rather exist.  I came representing two charities the Bangkok St. George’s Society and the British Women’s Group, both sponsor The Gift of Happiness Foundation set up by Eddie Haworth for the admirable charity work done on a regular basis.

Eddie Haworth (a.k.a. Eckie the Clown) had his Fortuner car jammed packed with equipment, donated clothes and underwear in bags and boxes, when I met up with him for our journey.  We set off to Kanchanaburi, for an overnight stay, accompanied by David Sanderson who works for an non-governmental organization (NGO) in Mae Sot and also plays the saxophone during Eckie shows.

Early the next morning, we were met by a group of people who work for a Japanese NGO, the Shanti Volunteer Association who supply newspapers and books for the camp library. There is no access to TV or phone (neither do mobile phones work inside the camp) so they are quite cut off from the outside world. Our journey north took us through some spectacular scenery during the 2+ hour drive to the camp, just 12km from the Burmese border. 

As we entered the camp, I was wide eyed at all the things I was trying to take in (we had forwarded our passports weeks before to obtain permission) the children sensed something was afoot and started to chase after us, until we parked on a concrete pitch (used for football, basketball etc.) where they helped us unload the car. This particular camp holds 8000 Karen refugees, 85% of whom are Baptists (very surprising to me) and I was informed there are 36 churches within the camp. 

Whilst Eckie was setting up (I did help a bit but he obviously knew where things were placed) I looked around at the small classrooms where the children were taught the basics.  Apparently they either do a morning or afternoon session, I am sure the uniforms would have had to be shared but no matter, the little ones looked lovely and clean as they wrote in their books. 

When the Eckie was ready to start the show, I did a rough head count of about 400 children, many of whom were jostling to get near to the front. Eckie was great with them and appealed to those at the back as well as the front. I have seen Eckie’s act a few times over the years but the delight on the faces of the children is still something to behold; the wallet that sets on fire, the chair that collapses, the balloon that he pretends not to notice getting bigger and BIGGER brought forth yells and squeals, the children were mesmerized. Bringing laughter and light into their lives means such a lot to these children, their uncertain futures lying, unspoken, ahead.  David’s excellent interpretation on the saxophone during Eckie’s act really complimented the atmosphere.  A break for lunch, the props reset and another show was performed in the afternoon to the delight of another even larger group of children (600 at a guess). 

I am sure it will be a day the children and some of their teachers will remember for a long time as they do not have the usual expectations of ‘normal’ children.  We left many of the boxes and bags at the camp along with a large supply of underwear donated by the British Women’s Group which was to be taken to ‘Children of the Forest’ by the people from the Shanti Volunteer Association, who were travelling to Sangklaburi the following day. 

For my part I had only been watching the show and observing the children, but I was rather warm and glistening, I think Eckie must have lost a few kgs in perspiration!  After farewells and thanks had been made, we set off on the rather long journey to Bangkok. How fantastic for me to have experienced first-hand, the pleasure and delight of the children the performances given by Eckie, bestowed.

Eckie is self-employed and yet gladly gives of his time, a most precious commodity,  to bring laughter and light relief to the lives of so many.  Thanks Eckie for allowing me to share a very memorable moment in Thailand.