A few years ago, Irislee and I had an epiphany about how we celebrate Christmas.

Living in North America, it’s hard to resist the pull of materialism, the obligation of gift-giving and the hectic peace-less lifestyle.  When we first heard about Operation Christmas Child, we wanted to give, but didn’t know how we would afford one more thing during the Christmas season.  After a few discussions, we realized we wanted to make Christmas better reflect what we believe about the birth and message of Jesus.  He gave up heaven to come to earth and live among us.  Surely we could make some sacrifices too!  We could use the money we would normally spend on each other and give it away instead.  Over the years, we’ve sent boxes to Operation Christmas child through Samaritan’s Purse, Project Seeds to Guatemala and Boxes of Love to Zambia.  Some years, we’ve even chosen Christmas giving gifts from Samaritan’s Purse, Gospel for Asia and World Vision for our extended family members.  No one has ever complained, but instead thanked us for giving to those in need on their behalf.

Have you ever heard of Advent Conspiracy?

It’s a great idea that has changed the Christmas season for thousands of people!  Check it out here.

One fantastic idea for this Christmas specifically is the Christmas Giving Catalogue idea developed by Omega Global.  Omega Global is a one-year discipleship program (directed by Zach Wylie) from Summit Pacific College, and students in this program are coming to Thailand this spring to volunteer in various parts of the country.  As part of their pre-trip planning, they want to raise money for some of the projects Imagine Thailand is currently running and so they’ve put together a fantastic Gift Catalogue.  I’ve attached the link below:

Christmas Giving Catalogue

Follow the instructions on page 4 and make an impact in Mae Sot, Bangkok, and Takua Pa!

On a personal note, thank-you for your interest and support in all things Imagine Thailand.  This has been another significant year in Thailand and Burma.  The Thai elections, the continually changing politics of Burma, and the devastating floods would top the chart in events followed by the international media.

 It has been a significant year for Imagine Thailand as well.

• The many missions teams that visited 1 or more of our 4 regions of involvement (Bangkok, Takua Pa, the Deep South, and Mae Sot) and our interns have been important in creating momentum for our team on the ground.
• We hosted our first Discovery Tour – a humanitarian tour of Thailand for those concerned about social justice and interested in how Imagine Thailand responds to social justice issues throughout the country. Deeply impacted by the experience, some of the tour participants raised thousands of dollars for water systems in Mae Sot upon returning home.
• We began training our first full-time community development directors who will move to the Deep South in 2012.
• Kelvin Chan who interned with us in the fall of 2011 is revamping and expanding our educational process for our tutoring center in Takua Pa…more on this in the spring.
• We established The Pie Shoppe in Bangkok (providing good English meat pies!) to help raise funds for Imagine Thailand.
• We continue to develop the The School of Leadership in Mae Sot, preparing it for a launch in 2012.

These examples illustrate that our directors Peter and Cavelle Dove and our Imagine Thailand team are constantly creating new ways to deepen Imagine Thailand’s commitment to the people of Thailand and Burma.

For our family here in West Kelowna, we have enjoyed another full year of training teams, creating support for projects, and spreading the word on what is happening in Thailand and Burma.  We’ve established relationships with a number of schools, churches, and colleges who have graciously allowed us to take away “regular programming” time in order to hear our stories about the thoughts and dreams of people we’ve met in Southeast Asia.

We’re already looking forward to a full slate of plans for 2012 that we will keep you informed about through our blog.  By way of reminder, it’s not too late to sign up for Discovery Tour 2012 (January 17-29th).

From us…the Koch Kamotion…

Derek, Irislee, Ellie, Isaac, Hannah, and Olivia…

we wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, filled with the peace, joy and love of Jesus, and a Happy New Year!

Because I sent out the original post in the middle of August, I thought I’d re-send it now because everyone is back from holidays and summer activities!  We’d love you to join us for…

Discovery Tour 2012.

For those that came last year, Discovery Tour 2011 was an amazing experience that gave everyone an excellent up-close-and-personal view of everything Imagine Thailand.

One participant wrote that “Discovery Tour is a very fun, educational tour… You get to learn about Imagine Thailand and see some of the country too, in a safe and organized way.  The whole tour was so organized.”

From a dad with young children… “We thought it was superb for our kids…. Our kids loved every day; we were grateful for how the team cheered our kids on!”

Someone who had already been a supporter of Imagine Thailand  and came to see first-hand how her support was being used wrote, “It was great to actually see a ministry you support and hear about.  It was worth that in itself.  Excellent idea to have an organized time to do so.  Plus, I also think it’s a great way to experience the country, through people who live there and know what’s good and what to do and see.  For those non-world travellers it’s a nice way to be introduced to the country.”

On January 17-29, 2012, Peter and Cavelle Dove, the founders and directors of Imagine Thailand, Derek and Irislee Koch, the North American representatives of Imagine Thailand, and the Imagine Thailand Thai staff will take you on a journey you won’t forget.  Where will you go?  The tour will include Takua Pa in the south of Thailand where we are involved in a number of educational ventures with children who survived the tsunami of 2004.  You’ll visit Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand and Imagine Thailand’s headquarters.  A delicious coffee awaits you at Imagine’s Passport Cafe.   A trip to Mae Sot and a number of Burmese schools along the Thai-Burma border will give you a clear understanding of the crisis in which Burma finds itself.

Along with good food, clean and comfortable accommodations, a few tourist stops, and the rich interaction with Thai and Burmese culture, Discovery Tour 2012 promises to be a trip of a lifetime.

For more information or to register for this amazing experience, click here:  Discovery Tour 2012 or visit our link on our Imagine Thailand website.

Hope to see you there in January 2012!

We spent a lot of time preparing our children for September.  We went clothes shopping.  Online shopping greatly reduced the painful experience of walking through shopping malls!  We also bought school supplies.  Finally, we met with each child individually and talked about their feelings, our expectations, and then we prayed with each one.  Then this morning, Ellie, Isaac, Hannah, and Olivia zoomed off to three different schools.

While I’m writing this blog, I’m putting together an online Christmas catalogue to help raise support for Burmese schools in Mae Sot.

Once again, I’m caught between two worlds.

Here in the Okanagan our teachers are on strike.  They’re still teaching but they have eliminated a lot of the other tasks in which they normally participate (supervision, writing report cards, after-school activities, for example).    I’m not making a judgment on their decision to do so.   I’m simply noting that expectations of teachers in Mae Sot and those of teachers in the Okanagan are a world apart.

Here’s one product you’ll see in the Christmas catalogue:

What’s going on in this picture?  These teachers are in the middle of a Hygiene 101 course offered by Imagine Thailand.  You’ll notice that there are no sinks.  Water is carried in these basins from the well, city pipeline, or water filtration system and placed on these basin stands.  This whole set-up, including a large supply of soap, costs $100.00.  Through donations, we can create a school setting where students can wash their hands regularly and hygienically.  A bit of soap and clean hands and the incidences of disease will decrease.

Here’s a picture of a group of teachers you wouldn’t want to shake hands with…at least not until they’ve completed their training…proper hand-washing techniques!

As for teaching supplies, classes are bare so here’s what we’re trying to secure for each preschool teacher in Mae Sot:

This whole resource kit includes…

 15 scissors ~ teaching children to cut shapes

Tool set ~ imaginative play

Animals ~ imaginative play, counting, teaching family, teaching small/medium/large, short/tall, colours

Doctor set ~ imaginative play, colours

Cooking/tea set ~ imaginative play, colours, things in the kitchen

Ocean world underwater set ~ imaginative play, colours, float/sink

Small ducks – math concepts, colour, imaginative play

Funnels – imaginative play

2 large bowls for sand/water play

Storage bags

Blackboards

The cost for this amazing kit?  $100.00.

Thanks to your support in the past and the support you continue to give, the expectations of teachers in Mae Sot and the fulfillment of those expectations will rise step by step.

*******************

PS.  If you can’t wait for the Christmas catalogue and want to give right away, you have two options:

a) Write a cheque to Emmanuel Church – mail it to Emmanuel Church, 2600 Hebert Rd. West Kelowna, BC V4T 2J6 and write HANDS THAILAND or TEACHER RESOURCES  THAILAND on the cheque memo line depending on which project you want to support.

b)  Give online – follow the link  http://imaginethailand.org/donate/.    Follow the DONATE link through to “Donate by Area of Ministry” and fill in the amount.  On the comment line write “HANDS THAILAND or TEACHER RESOURCES THAILAND depending on which project you want to support.  

Because I sent out the original post in the middle of August, I thought I’d re-send it now because everyone is back from holidays and summer activities!  We’d love you to join us for…

Discovery Tour 2012.

For those that came last year, Discovery Tour 2011 was an amazing experience that gave everyone an excellent up-close-and-personal view of everything Imagine Thailand.

One participant wrote that “Discovery Tour is a very fun, educational tour… You get to learn about Imagine Thailand and see some of the country too, in a safe and organized way.  The whole tour was so organized.”

From a dad with young children… “We thought it was superb for our kids…. Our kids loved every day; we were grateful for how the team cheered our kids on!”

Someone who had already been a supporter of Imagine Thailand  and came to see first-hand how her support was being used wrote, “It was great to actually see a ministry you support and hear about.  It was worth that in itself.  Excellent idea to have an organized time to do so.  Plus, I also think it’s a great way to experience the country, through people who live there and know what’s good and what to do and see.  For those non-world travellers it’s a nice way to be introduced to the country.”

On January 17-29, 2012, Peter and Cavelle Dove, the founders and directors of Imagine Thailand, Derek and Irislee Koch, the North American representatives of Imagine Thailand, and the Imagine Thailand Thai staff will take you on a journey you won’t forget.  Where will you go?  The tour will include Takua Pa in the south of Thailand where we are involved in a number of educational ventures with children who survived the tsunami of 2004.  You’ll visit Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand and Imagine Thailand’s headquarters.  A delicious coffee awaits you at Imagine’s Passport Cafe.   A trip to Mae Sot and a number of Burmese schools along the Thai-Burma border will give you a clear understanding of the crisis in which Burma finds itself.

Along with good food, clean and comfortable accommodations, a few tourist stops, and the rich interaction with Thai and Burmese culture, Discovery Tour 2012 promises to be a trip of a lifetime.

For more information or to register for this amazing experience, click here:  Discovery Tour 2012 or visit our link on our Imagine Thailand website.

Hope to see you there in January 2012!

Being unable to concentrate on much else, I thought I would tie our latest post into the theme of sports.  By the time this post is completed, Game 7 may have come and gone, but right now, along with 1000′s of Canuck fans, I’m anxiously counting down the hours until Game 7 begins.   When it comes to sports,  no nation on earth escapes the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”  At times stories emerge about how different nations react to less than expected athletic performances.

Many of you may be aware that after North Korea’s dismal performance in the World Cup exactly a year ago this month, reports began to surface that the North Korean soccer team was publicly berated by the Sports Minister while students, journalists, and 400 government officials watched the spectacle.  Apparently, after “betraying” his country and Supreme Leader, the coach was forced to become a builder and was expelled from the Workers’ Part of Korea!     If there is a humorous side to this story, it’s about how the  government handled the screening of North Korea’s World Cup games.  Being sensitive to potential humiliation, the government chose not to show North Korea’s opening World Cup game live and delayed the screening of the game.  However, after North Korea lost a close match (2-1) to world soccer power Brazil,  the government felt confident in its team and boldly aired the next game against Portugal.  Unfortunately, North Korea lost that one soundly  7 – 0.  Admittedly, the defeat would have been an embarrassing situation for a government obviously not familiar with the ups and downs of soccer and one that is always looking for an excuse to share a bit of propaganda with its own people. The government lost its temper.

North Korean National Team

Canada doesn’t escape the charge that we take our sports too seriously sometimes.  In 2004, Paul McCallum missed a field goal against the BC Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders eventually lost the game.  McCallum’s home was pelted with eggs, people dumped menure on his neighbour’s property (wrong address?), and McCallum and his family received death threats. Unlike North Korean government officials, the Roughriders club officials and the mayor of Regina, in support of McCallum, denounced the vandalism as “hooliganism.”  Still, McCallum didn’t remain with the Roughriders for long and moved on to…the BC Lions!

Even in Burma, where the majority of news focuses on the fight for democracy, sports are taken very seriously.  My family and I happened to be in Laos for the Southeast Asia Games in the fall of 2009 and watched football in the national stadium.  What an amazing experience to cheer Laos to a victory over Indonesia with 1000′s of passionate Laotian fans.  By the end of the Games, Burmese athletes won 12 medals and finished in 8th place out of 11 competing nations.  Actually, the exact wording from Burmese commentators was “only” 12 medals.    In a country where all news information is censored, it is remarkable that such apparent freedom to criticize the country’s athletic program was permitted.  Interestingly, it appears that even in this cruel military dictatorship, a proper and perhaps critical evaluation of a nations’ athletic programs is somehow considered acceptable as opposed to criticizing the governments’ treatment of its citizens.  One journalist mentioned that athletic training programs in Burmese schools had been cut and there was a decline of interest in sports.  It was also noted that among reasons for the Burmese athletes’ dismal performance,  the regime’s interference with the football team’s player selection process was part of the problem. Now that sounds more like the Burma I know.   On a side note, Wikileaks recently revealed that the former Burmese dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe considered buying the Manchester United Football club for $1 billion (US).  Can you imagine that alliance?

Burmese National Team

Back to Canada…I wonder what will happen to Luongo if we lose Game 7?  I know, I know.  Stop picking on our goalie. It’s not his fault alone if we lose.   Yes, I realize that.  But when the chips are down, we’re always looking for a scapegoat.  Just be glad for his sake that he lives here in Canada.  After all, when you look at what happens to athletes in other countries, a little manure never hurt anyone.

It’s the first Friday in May. Our tulips are blooming and Derek’s back from Thailand.  He and Ellie spent spring break there with the Emmanuel Youth (see previous blog).

At Imagine Thailand, a few significant ideas are percolating and we’ve got some great success stories to tell you!  Here’s our top 10…….(though not necessarily in order of importance because every one is equal in importance…oh, isn’t that sweet?)

10: Mae Sot Leadership Training Center

Imagine Thailand is at the beginning stages of creating a school of leadership for Thai, Burmese, and International students in Mae Sot.  We’ll keep you informed about the next steps…

9: 24-Hour Famine for Mae Sot!

The student-led Rotary club at Mt. Boucherie raised $2,000.00 for a water system for New Blood School in Mae Sot.  Students gave up food for 24 hours and were sponsored for their participation!  Student participation is key to the elimination of world poverty!

8: Easter Generosity!

At our Community Good Friday service, the churches in West Kelowna collected an offering for water systems in Mae Sot – almost $2,000 was raised.

7:  Thai Food for Lunch!

A middle school teacher in West Kelowna is raising funds for teacher resources in Mae Sot.  While most schools have curriculum, they don’t have teaching manipulatives, posters, or learning toys.  We’re putting together a Thai menu and he and his team will sell the food at the cafeteria to Grade 7-9 students.

6:  English as a Second Language

What people in the West may not be aware of is the deep desire of Thai educators to provide opportunities for their elementary and high school students to learn English.  What stunned me is the fact that the Thai government wants approximately 35,000 English speakers to come to Thailand to teach English.  So…if this is up your alley, there’s a huge opportunity for you!

5: Extended Stay

Dave, Lorelie, Courtney, Meghan, and Cami Hanson are staying in Thailand for a second year!  After thinking, evaluating, and praying, the Hanson family has made a decision to serve for a second year on the Thailand/Burma border.  They’ll return to Canada this summer to get organized for year two and then head back to Mae Sot in September.

4: Schools Beyond Borders

SBB is a non-government organization that brings western schools together in partnership with schools in developing nations.  They are partnering with Imagine Thailand to help raise funds for water systems in Mae Sot. Thank-you SBB!

3:  Social Justice

A teacher at an elementary school in West Kelowna has organized her social justice group, and her school as a whole, to raise money for a water system at Pyo Khin school in Mae Sot.  It was so exciting to see children excited about giving money to a coin drive that would drive the thirst for clean water away!

2: Discovery Tour 2012

Following a successful Discovery Tour in January 2011, plans are being made next year’s Discovery Tour!  If you’re interested in seeing all the work Imagine Thailand does throughout the country of Thailand, we’ll soon be informing you about specific dates in January 2012 for the next adventure!

1:  International Volunteers!

We’re so excited to welcome teams to Thailand every year.  We’ve had youth teams, family teams, university teams, and church teams.  What we also love is when individuals spend an extended period of time in Thailand as volunteers/interns with Imagine Thailand.  We recently said goodbye to Kate after spending 4 months in Mae Sot.  We’re welcoming Kelvin and Evelyn as they head to the post-Tsunami south to teach English.

That’s all for now.

Have an aMAYzing month!

I’m sitting out on the patio of our guesthouse in Mae Sot, Thailand.

We’ve just come back from eating roti…a delicious pancake filled with bananas and chocolate.  It’s 10:00pm and we’ve just sent the 26 teens on our team to bed!  This is the largest team Imagine Thailand has hosted in Mae Sot!  It’s twice the work and twice the fun.  We take over restaurants, roads, schools, and churches.  And we do it with a smile!

The opportunity to go on this trip was advertised in September 2010.  By January 2011, teens made their official commitments to our spring break Thailand missions trip.  We flew out of Vancouver on March 16th and we’ll be back in Vancouver on April 1st.  It’s a 17-day trip designed to show teens another side of the world and give them an opportunity to serve alongside those who are making a difference in the Thai/Burma border community of Mae Sot and also in the city of Bangkok.

We’ve just finished our second day of Life Camps – Bible camps created for Burmese migrant elementary school children.  Our teens lead the lessons, crafts, songs, and games.  They help get the children ready for their passport photos and costume photos.  It’s a significant time for our teens.  More than one has already shed a tear about the uphill battle these children will fight in order to succeed in life.  We recognize that our contribution to their success is small but significant.  Knowing that God loves them and that we stand with them lets them know they are not alone.

By watching the children interact with each other, our teens are learning that the materialism of North America isn’t what creates happiness.  As hard as life is for the migrant children, their enthusiasm for life is unmistakable.  Maybe this visit will re-adjust some of the priorities of our own teens when they return home.  Our youth pastor, Andy Gabruch hopes so.

How old are our teens?  We’ve got kids as young as 12 years old and as old as 19.  They’re all a vital part of the trip.  Isn’t Thailand too far?  Not really…it’s only on the other side of the world.  And that part of the world can be reached with a couple of flights.  Internet access to keep in touch with family and friends?  No problem.  Even in Mae Sot.  Our world is getting smaller every day.

So, what are YOU doing this year?

What are you doing next year?  Have you got a group that would like to travel?  A youth group?  A group of friends?  Perhaps a number of families travelling together?  We’d love to host you.  You can help make life better for marginalized people, while learning a bit about yourself too.  Let Imagine Thailand make the arrangements for you.  We’ve got people on the ground in North America and a team in Thailand that will guide you through each experience.

Oh and by the way…after the camp today, we climbed a water fall.  You don’t get to that every day.  Add the roti I just finished eating and I’ll go to bed tired and happy.

An amazing adventure is just a phone call or email away.

What a great experience!

Imagine Thailand just finished participating in an event that saw over 700 Grade 6 elementary students in Kelowna, BC walk through a model of the developing world.  Every year, our city hosts a Global Citizens Week.  It’s amazing to live in a city that is so globally aware and is home to so many non-profit organizations working with marginalized people.

What did Global Schoolhouse look like?

Hope for the Nations organized this amazing event in partnership with our local school district.  A number of organizations joined together to transform 4 Canadian elementary school classrooms into simulated classrooms in the Developing World.  Each classroom presented a “barrier to primary education”.

Free the Children, supported by Club Penguin, created a classroom that demonstrated and discussed child labour.  World Vision dealt with the barrier of sickness/ health issues, Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan created an environment that brought the issue of gender discrimination in education front and center.  Imagine Thailand partnered with Niteo Africa to create a classroom environment with very few resources.

Students came in busloads over a period of 4 days.  They rotated through the 4 classrooms experiences.  When they had finished visiting each classroom, they went to the school gym for a presentation that helped them sort through what they had seen and to talk about possible next steps.

The event was well-organized and fun.

As I reflect on what happened at Global Schoolhouse, I think the event was beneficial for two main reasons:

#1:  It brought together a number of organizations interested in helping those in poverty.  1000′s of organizations all over the world reach out in many different ways.  Team work becomes important so that services aren’t duplicated.  Working together helps organizations see how other organizations function which helps use learn from each other. Instead of potential competition…co-operation becomes the motto by which everyone lives.   Global Schoolhouse was an environment for relationships to begin and to deepen.    We were also grateful for the partnership with School District 23.  The district office, the principals, and teachers who organized the event were amazing!  I can’t say enough about a school district that includes global issues in the scope of a child’s education.

It was a fantastic week of partnership, friendship, and celebration.

#2:  Global Schoolhouse planted a seed in the mind and heart of every student who went through the experience.  Grade 6 students are already forming opinions and ideas about the world.  For many, the classroom experiences would have been shocking and eye-opening.  We may have been able to help shift their life focus a little bit. Perhaps they will think differently about money and be more grateful for what they own. Perhaps they will begin to raise funds to help alleviate pain and suffering around the world.  Perhaps a few years down the road, when they begin to think carefully about their future careers, they will think about how best they can serve others rather than just living the North American dream.

Perhaps students will have more compassion for those around them.

In our classroom, bamboo and burlap replaced drywall and linoleum.  Dull and broken pencils replaced pencil cases full of pencils, pens, and crayons.  Children sat on the floor instead of desks.  The lesson we taught the children reflected on the culture of crisis.  The closing words in a story which focused on a desperate search for food (a story actually used in Ugandan classrooms) reminded students of the reality of so many children.

“…..they walked for many miles. They were tired and hungry.  But this district was also dry.  The hot sun beat hard on them.  It made them weak and thirsty.  But when the evening came, the air became cooler.  So they lay down to rest and fell asleep.  But the father never woke up again.  He was dead.”

NOT your typical Canadian feel good story!  We dressed in ethnic costumes, taught with a strict voice and a long stick, and insisted on all students greeting us with “proper respect”!  Along with a bit of classroom discipline and school uniforms, the setting was perfect!

Here’s a few pictures to give you an idea of what the kids experienced!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

]]> http://kochkamotion.com/2011/03/09/global-schoolhouse-2011/feed/ 1 http://kochkamotion.com/2011/02/12/so-what-about-the-tsunami/ http://kochkamotion.com/2011/02/12/so-what-about-the-tsunami/#comments Sat, 12 Feb 2011 22:59:41 +0000 admin http://kochkamotion.com/?p=812 On Sunday, Dec. 26th, 2004, a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered deadly tsunamis in a number of countries that resulted in the deaths of over 231,000 people.  The event is well known.  In Thailand, the waves killed over 8,000 people and injured and displaced thousands more.  Peter Dove (director of Imagine Thailand) remembers helping with the body recovery process.  He remembers the strong smell and the great sense of loss.   He talks about lining up the wealthy and the poor  beside each other in body bags.  Death had evened the score.  Money mattered little in the end. He was impacted  to put his days to good use…while he still had breath.    Imagine Thailand was involved in building homes, income-generating projects, nutritional support and educational support.  In terms of social behaviour, Peter and Cavelle noticed that after the “recovery effort was complete and most non-government organizations had left…” Imagine Thailand remained and Peter and Cavelle saw ongoing issues, including depression, gambling and youth involved in risky behaviour.

Naturally, the devastation took its toll on the morale of people.  Some of the hardest-hit communities were filled with spiralling hopelessness. Poverty, poor life choices, and reduced opportunities to excel left families without a reason to keep going.  One community named Phrue Tiew, a community so violent that police refused to enter it before the tsunami hit, was levelled by the monster waves.  The government relocated it. When the  trauma from experiencing the tsunami was added to the already-existent dysfunctional family life, children attending school in their relocated village struggled to pass their courses and more importantly, to know their true worth. The community asked Imagine Thailand to provide after school support for its children.  And so, in 2008, the first learning and ministry center was born.  Imagine Thailand hired Lek, a qualified Thai lady to run the Childrens’ Learning Center.

Lek and her Thai team have done a phenomenal job.  Besides offering the basic tutoring help for students, English training and access to the internet, the center helps provide support for emotional and spiritual needs – not only for the children but for whole families and the community.  Visiting homes to encourage the children and families became part of the staff’s focus.

Bringing out the imagination...

As a result of consistent support, students’ marks and attitudes have improved greatly and local schools are noticing.  More and more parents are requesting that their children be included in the learning center activities.  Furthermore, a nearby community  has asked for similar assistance for students living there.  Imagine Thailand is exploring options on how to best facilitate these requests for help.

Peter at the Childrens' Learning Center

So how can you become involved?  Our biggest need is $2720.00 to pay for the construction costs for an additional classroom, additional land rental costs (because of the addition), and additional staff. With $2720.00, additional space will take shape in the form of a Thai-style sala…a room with a roof, posts to hold up the roof, and no walls (not necessary because of the climate), rent on the Childrens’ Learning Center will be covered for one year, and a Thai teacher’s salary will be covered for one year.   We’d love you to go to Imagine Thailand and click on “Donate“.

It is hard to believe that 6 years have passed since that fateful day.  While most of the world has moved on, the development needs of children and families who have suffered need to remain the focus of individuals and organizations all over the world.  As we empower the local people, they will find their way to health and recovery.

Okay, now that Christmas is over, and we’ve caught up on sleep after staying up all night on New Year’s, it’s time to re-engage!  The world is still turning and Burma is still on the map.  While we wonder in Canada whether we’re going to have our millionth democratic election (for literalists out there, I’m exaggerating..), Burma is waking up to the reality that they will have their first parliament in 22 years – run by a dictator and his cronies.  So what else is on the horizon in Burma?  What can we dig our teeth into this year as we contemplate how best to disburse our time, energy, and resources in the cause of the Burmese people?

Here is where Burma sits today on five issues according to the Irrawady, an online publication produced by Burmese journalists in exile.  I’ve added my own comments.  Oh, and here’s how you spell it in case you want to look it up:

Let’s Pretend We’re a Democracy

According to state media on Monday this week, Burma’s parliament will convene at 8:55 am on Jan. 31 for the first time in 22 years.  Quoting state media, the Irrawaddy online magazine states, “The Upper and Lower Houses, as well as the 14 regional and state parliaments will open in Naypyidaw at the same time on the same date.”  In my personal opinion, this parliament will only run as long as all opposition members of parliament tow the military party line.  An election marred by deception allowed the military political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party,win more than 80% of the constituencies.  You can be sure, democractic process will not suddenly flourish in this parliament.

A Social Network with Purpose...

Aung San Suu Kyi, the newly released iconic democracy leader continues to move her people into action.  Speaking to a group of young people on Dec. 28th, she has encouraged them to not only listen to her words, but to listen to each other.  In response to her appeal, “a cross-section of socially engaged young people – from political parties, civil society organizations and groups representing ethnic minorities – have formed a National Youth Network that continues to grow with each passing day.”  Through the collection of telephone numbers and email addresses and deepening ties with each other, this growing band of young adults may well grow into the beginning of another youth movement that could produce dramatic results down the road.  Knowing the heart-wrenching stories of the 1988 student revolution and the 2007 Saffron Revolution, I hope students of this new generation of activists realize the potential cost of their participation.

Forced Fighting

The military is up to no good…as usual.  A  military draft law not yet made public that forces military service upon men between 18 and 45 years of age and women between 18 and 35 years of age has created new worries for the Burmese population.  I can’t imagine being forced to fight for an army that has destroyed my country, my village, and my own family.  One 50-year old mother who has two sons over the age of 18 says that she refuses to allow the army to draft her sons.  Her actual words are, “I don’t care what the law says, I can’t send my sons to the army, not for a short time or a long time,” she said. “I believe other parents think the same way as I do, so we will all oppose it together. If we can’t stop it, we will have no choice but to protest against it until we die.”

Mae Sot Makes the Headlines Again

The Thai government has sent a letter to the Burmese government telling them to control the “firing of heavy artillery after several shells landed and exploded on the Thai side of the two countries’ mutual border”.  Seems like discontent over the election results has spilled over onto the Thai side of the border once again.  In the Mae Sot district and specifically in the Mae Koking village, a number of artillery shells exploded. No reports of deaths on the Thai side of the border have been reported.   Kind of makes you wonder why they didn’t run an honest election in the first place.  This is better?

Buddhists on the Move

The military government is relocating over 60 Buddhist monasteries from one township to another.  Some feel that this may be payback for the involvement of many monks from this particular region in the 2007 Saffron Revolution.  In keeping with the tradition of looking after their people well, the government is moving the monasteries to an area where there are hardly any people which makes it harder for monks to receive donations – the very thing monasteries rely on to survive (note sarcasm…).   Furthermore, as reported by various monks, in an effort to provide goodwill, the government “will not pay any compensation nor pay for any building construction or other costs” (sarcasm provided by me, not the monks).

So there you have it…a little about Burma in 2011.  A new year with old problems and a bit of hope.  Will you become a part of the solution?