In 2015 I ran a folk music project with Burmese refugees in Mae La Refugee camp on the Thai/Myanmar border. I brought my violin with me and taught Northumberland fiddle tunes to students at 3 different schools across the camp. Many of the students I taught were born within the camp and have never known life outside it, therefore it was a surprise to find so many talented violin players amongst them. I taught the young people (and their teachers) how to play and sing The Blayden Races, along with some other regional tunes, as well as showing them how to do ceilidh dancing. At the end of the project we had a huge ceilidh in one of the largest schools, that was an opportunity for the whole community to come together to celebrate the success of the project and the positive impact it had on the lives of the people I worked with.

I realised whilst working in the camp that they had very few resources. None of the students had ever had new strings on their violins, only a few had rosin and there was very little sheet music available. To help these people, I have decided to try to raise some money to buy a selection of these resources to send to them.

On Sunday 10th September I shall be running the Great North Run (in musical fancy dress, all fool me!) and I would be incredibly grateful if you sponsored me to do it. Every penny would go towards making a huge difference to the people I worked with in Mae La Refugee Camp. I know it would mean a lot to them.

Many thanks indeed for your generosity and support. Kay x