Thank you!

$223,735.68…

Better Burma was founded exactly one year ago today, and this number represents the total donation amount we have collected in just 365 days.

I stare in awe at that number!

And as I reflect further on what we have accomplished, I can’t help but think of those first terrible weeks after the coup hit on February 1st. At that time, I felt small and powerless, like a helpless bystander watching the march of history about to crush everything in its path. I couldn’t see how I might play any role when brutal, faraway military operations were being led by tyrants wielding seemingly unlimited power.

Yet as the nonviolent protests took off across the streets of Yangon and into the countryside, I began to realize that if the Burmese people were out standing up for their democratic and human rights, then surely there must be some task or another I could take on in support.

It began with the podcast platform, Insight Myanmar. We quickly transformed our mission to make sure we were keeping up with the unfolding crisis, trying to fill the gaping holes left by mainstream media coverage. We talked to dozens of guests at length to better understand the crisis. Working at breakneck speed, we’ve produced sixty-two episodes since then, with dozens more in the queue. We also went to work on our blogs, inviting those on the ground to submit essays and journals describing their experience, bringing their written words directly to interested parties around the world.

As the weeks passed, we came to realize that as important as it was to inform our audience in detail about the situation, readers and listeners could only passively follow this news. They had no obvious way to engage or support through our platform. Although we had no prior experience in the nonprofit world, we realized that we were in a unique position to help.

This platform, in some form or another, has been active for nearly a decade. Until the coup, it concerned highlighting some feature or other about life, culture, and particularly meditation practice in Myanmar. All the content, which included various forms of media, were distributed and shared freely.  

Over the years, we had developed a modest following who had consumed our content with interest and trusted our integrity; at the same time, we were also in touch with dozens of groups across Myanmar who were suffering and with a variety of dire needs. And it dawned on us that we had the ability to act as a bridge, and to bring the voices and tell the stories of those in country to those living in safety, and who might then be ready and able to support them in some way.

To do this, we had to learn to navigate the intricacies of the nonprofit world, a considerable effort for volunteers who had no prior experience in the field! But we jumped in with both feet nonetheless, with no idea what to expect, hoping that we might at least get some donations to make all the effort worth it.

Now, 365 days later, as you saw to open this report, donors have pledged almost a quarter of a million dollars to humanitarian aid in Myanmar! While we have this number to rest on, I simply could not reconstruct the sum total of good that your donations have accomplished in the country. I don’t know how we could ever track the raw data of lives that literally have been saved, to say nothing of the vast supplies of food, medicine, shelter, and other necessities that have been provided to those facing their darkest days.

Your donations bought space in safe houses for those being hunted by soldiers. Your funds allowed CDM employees to continue their noble stand and refuse to work for a dictator. Your money allowed journalists to risk their lives to get the truth out as to what was happening in their country. Your contributions gave us an emergency fund where, on several occasions, terror struck so hard and fast and unpredictably that we needed to respond instantly, and our reserves allowed us to transfer urgent funds to keep vulnerable populations safe. Your donations went into helping construct quickly needed IDP camps. Your support allowed us to give food to monks in communities where there was simply no food left. And on and on.

This number of $223,735.68 should be celebrated by every reader who chances upon this post. Together, each in our own small way, we have stood up against tyranny and pledged our support for a life of decency, good will, and compassion. We have received over a dozen reports of recipients literally breaking down in tears and crying when this unexpected support was given to them, often delivered by volunteers who were risking their own lives in doing so, and coming from strangers they did not know and would never meet living half way across a world.

Together, we learned that we are not so small and powerless after all, and together, we can stand up to oppression, and not just stand by and passively watch it; we need not be crushed as mute bystanders by some inevitable sweep of history! Together, we can prevent the generals’ feverish dreams of turning off the lights across Myanmar. Your support makes it clear, even a year into the coup, that we continue to be concerned and engaged, and we will not simply allow the brutal military to have its way.

As we move into Year 2 of Better Burma, it is sad to say that the needs are no less compelling than they were in Year 1. Dare I say, they are even greater. A collapsed economy and millions of displaced, vulnerable people have been the result of increasingly brutal and terrifying military crackdowns. As the people inch closer to their victory, the generals’ fear propels them to commit yet more atrocities, commit yet more crimes against humanity, and be yet more brazen with open murder and torture.

During the first decade of our platform, I never made a solicitation request of my audience as the joy was in the sharing.  But these times are, sadly, not those.  So we humbly ask if you can continue to do whatever you can to support our mission, whether through donation, volunteering, or simply spreading awareness. We thank you sincerely for the trust you have placed in us throughout our first year of Better Burma; we hope to grow even more and provide even more support in the years to come… which we can’t do without your continued support.

 Please also keep in mind that a generous donor has offered to match all donations through the month of March, and so anything you give now may count as double!