A woman and a dog walk past low tables set up for late afternoon snacking in Myitkyina, in Kachin State.
“IF YOU’RE GOING TO Myitkyina, be sure to talk to Sister Mary,” a foreigner in Rangoon told me. “She’s been working with HIV/AIDS patients for years up there.”
Sister Mary is a Columban nun from Ireland who is well into her sixties. The Columban order ran a large school in Myitkyina for decades, until the government closed all foreign-run institutions in the 1960s. Now the Columbans are back, in a quiet way. A small group of nuns from several countries (Korea and the Philippines, as well as Ireland) is working to help with AIDS and other public health issues in Myitkyina.
This nun is so amazing, I thought when I met her. I’d pedaled out to the hospice/shelter she helped set up on the outskirts of town. All the residents are HIV-positive—some there temporarily while their medications get figured out, others there to die. All cooking, cleaning, and maintenance is done by the residents. The vibe is open and friendly rather than glum. People live day to day in their situation and come to find community and purpose there.
Sister Mary fundraises in Ireland, and she also accepts donations. As I gave her mine, I looked into her wide clear face, ageless in its intelligence, determination, and good humor, and I wondered at her stamina. Perhaps it comes from religious faith, but I actually think it’s an attitude, an innate toughness of spirit and a confidence in other people. Sister Mary believes that people can come through for themselves and one another if they’re given positive encouragement, and a bit of a push from time to time.
NOTE: There are a number of preserved fish paste products sold in jars in Asian groceries. I use boneless pickled fish bottled in Vietnam; if necessary, you can substitute shrimp paste (ngapi; see Glossary), which will give a less earthy taste.
Whether Buddhist nuns are walking along a track in rural Karen State or a Rangoon street, their pink habits are a bright spot in the landscape.