"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;
defend the rights of those who have nothing.
Speak up and judge fairly,
and defend the rights of the poor and needy."


Proverbs 31:8-9

What will they eat?

Burma is facing numerous crises at present - the Shan State earthquake, oppression and attack by the Burma Army, and now the failed food crops of Karen State leaving many starving. here is an update by the Partners Karen team.....

“All our ideas of how to fix this situation right now have run out. Please pray for us. Please pray that God will provide for us and our families. If you have friends with means to help us, please tell them.” – A Karen leader

Between 1986 and 1990 the Burma army came up along the Salween River and people from the Mutraw District village tract had to flee whenever the Burma army came. The (Burma Army) did not set up a military position, so after left the area, the village people were able to come back to their villages. Then in 1995 this area became very poor when the Burma Army and their proxies took over the main farming land. The villagers were forced to give up their rice patty fields and many of them moved further into the jungle.

Even the few villagers who stayed no longer owned their fields and were forced to work the land for the profit of the Burma Army & proxies. Those who fled to the jungle have been using a rotating hill crop system. However because there is not enough land, they are replanting land that has not fully recovered, and the crop yields are poor. Then they have also tried going further to plant their crops in land that has not been farmed recently. As the farmers are not able to stay in these fields full time, as they are far from home, the rats and insects destroy the crops while they are away.

These villagers are close to the Burma Army road and outpost and they must travel carefully. “What we need is our staple food: rice. I have seven children. At night when they are sleeping I lie awake thinking, if I can feed them tomorrow, how will I feed them the next day?” - Village headman

Most of the area is covered with hills and valleys, so people are growing rice upland for their living. Previously people mainly depended on rice, the soil in these areas were quite fertile. They also grew crops such as banana, betel leaf, betel nut, tobacco, chili, and vegetable. They raised cattle, pig, goat, and chicken etc.

•Because of SPDC troops occupied some area villagers had to abandon their villages and stay with other villagers doing up land paddy together. The numbers of people increased in the area and upland paddy fields are expected to produce more.

•Soil in the area where people had to abandoned was good for cultivation but the area where people are staying has poor soil for cultivation. Due to land shortages, the land is not given enough time to recover before being used again.

•Last year because of extreme heat and less rain the paddy didn’t grow well, again in harvest time there was a lot of rain and paddy crops were ruined again.

•Paddy crops planted far from homes were eaten and destroyed by insect and rats before harvest time.

•Since 1996 more or less people have been facing a food problem, but this year has had a major impact because of combined problem (less rain, abnormal rain in harvest time, insect and rats destroy

The villagers have been selling their properties to buy rice. Those who have nothing left to sell have been borrowing with a promise to repay in the future. They have also asked for donations from other villages. They rely on the leaders for help, but at this time they are somewhat at a loss.

The long term solutions they are thinking of is growing some other cash crops in the off season of rice that they can sell to buy rice (corn, hot chili peppers, and possibly soy bean).

Our team has already given 100,000 Baht for emergency rice. We will continue to provide relief until our long term plans to assist with targeted agriculture projects and training for rice and cash crops, as well as animal husbandry can be implemented.

Karen Projects Team

stop, drop and pray...

Last night the North-Eastern corner of Burma (where Thailand and Laos meet) was shaken by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
After witnessing so many natural disasters occurring in the past 3 months, I know I have become emotionally exhausted. I grieved through the floods, chewed my nails down through cyclone Yasi, prayed my heart out for survivors of Christchurch's earthquake, and had to turn the TV off during Japan's quake/ tsunami - it was all too much.
But now the country that I care so deeply for is in trouble. You might think "Oh, the death toll is only 60, it's not that bad", but please remember some critical points:
- 60 people in remote villages could mean whole families deceased or mothers and children left without anyone to provide for them.
- 30% of all structure are reported to be damaged - and I can't see the Myanmar officials handing out centrelink payments or facilitating the rebuild, can you?
- These people are poor and needy already. How much worse off they will be if their water supplies are damaged, houses are unliveable, and livelihoods affected?

Please join with me and PRAY FOR BURMA.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/25/3174101.htm

Pray for Burma

I've been back from my trip for exactly one month but have struggled to express my experience in words.

Sadly that means poor blog here has been deprived.

Tomorrow (Sunday 13th) is the Global Day of Prayer for Burma.

We can unite in prayer and passion for the people of Burma. So much of their hope comes from knowing people care about them enough to pray.

Get behind the cause by visiting http://www.prayforburma.org/ and reading about the plight and programs going on. Then get PRAYING!

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. . . . If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
Matthew 7:7-8,11

food, glorious food...

There is so much good food in Thailand - a mix of local cusine, fresh fruits, Thai interpretations of Western dishes, and some amazing delicacies that are really worth writing home about....

mango sticky rice

fresh strawberries in sugar
fish being cooked outside Sizzler

deep fried who-knows-what

pork balls

cupcakes

market food fish waffles

Shan food

Shan snacks

Radiant colour...

I have really enjoyed embracing the Thais' love of colour.
In the western world we tend to opt for muted tones and neutral palettes, but in a seemingly 'dull and dirty' evironment the Thais seem to enjoy bringing a bit of colour into their lives.....

The hills are alive...

I spent 3 days in the mountains of Burma.

Totally confronting. Completely foreign. And at the end of the day, surreal.

There's such immense opposition ready to invade the village at any time.

We had to travel through checkpoints and be sent onward by camouflage-clad soldiers with loaded rifles slung across their shoulders. Initially I found them something to be feared, but their human-ness soon became apparent. They were young men just trying to do their job and act in obedience to their superiors. Isn't that what we're all trying to do?

I was trying so hard to stifle my laughter when on the way back we arrived at a checkpoint and I witnessed a sleeping soldier awake and fall out of his collapsing hammock! Not really the time for fits of giggles...

What I found so challenging was that in an area that should be riddled with fear and anxiety, I felt great peace. It felt like any other small village with children playing in the street, neighbours chatting at the bamboo fence, and teenagers buying coke from the local store.

As I walked through the village I met the local people and heard their stories. Stories of fear, stories of fleeing the enemy, stories of desparation. But I also saw the hope in their eyes. They continued to wear smiles on their faces despite their circumstances. I was moved as I observed the way they responded to a long-serving Partners staff member who visits almost every month - like children running to embrace their mother. An innocence became evident that I would have never thought such scarred people would display.

The hospitality of the local people was touching. Not once did they ask anything of us even though I felt they were entitled to at least request some kind of help or support. Instead they invited us into their homes, provided tea, delicious food, and a very warm welcome. Even a mother who had given birth 3 days earlier was more than willing to have us visit and see her newborn baby.

They are a people group who do not want to feel sorry for themsleves. They simply want to build a future worth looking forward to.

I am still processing my experience on the mountain. In fact I am processing whether I am being called to commit myself to serving there. What I do know is that the work of Partners is so critical in this village. They have provided the traiing and resources to enable this community to function independently even if they have to run.

I see hope and a future for this community.