With appreciation...
The following letter was sent to all of our past donors who have so generously supported Better Burma’s wide range of humanitarian missions across Myanmar. We are sharing here in case anyone has accidentally been left off. Once again, thank you so much to all those out there that continue to stand on the side of the Burmese people who are trying to regain their democracy and human rights!
Dear donor,
As always, we want to first express our deepest appreciation for your continued contributions, which make all of our work possible! Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to support a variety of programs and initiatives that provide a literal lifeline to many in Myanmar who have been facing ongoing terror at the hands of the Tatmadaw.
And there certainly is a lot going on at Better Burma these days! As conventional forms of journalism continue to be under assault in Myanmar, we have begun to put some of our resources into the development of local podcasting programs. The first, “Myanmar Revolutionary Tales,” has already launched; five other programs are in development, and will be producing inaugural episodes shortly. We believe that this capacity-building is critical, and that an increasing number of podcast discussions in local languages will not only be a powerful tool for providing information and analysis, but most importantly, bringing local communities together.
In addition to our own programming, we have been collaborating with some organizations and individuals to help local voices be heard by a wider audience. We have a partnership with Tea Circle and Real Stories Not Tales to share stories collected from women who have been impacted by the coup; the most recent submission captures the experience of an activist from Dawei. In addition, we’ve begun working with Breaking Brainwashed, a team dedicated to telling the truth about life in the military, while also encouraging defections; for example, there is this recent essay written by a soldier who joined CDM, which details the cruelty of military leaders. Another project has been started by a staffer for the National Unity Government (NUG), who shares op-eds and essays; he recently he wrote about the death sentences handed down to democracy activists. Finally, some Burmese poets are now regularly sending us their work, such as this powerful submission that expresses a yearning for freedom.
The military crackdown across the country has been a source of terror and unrest for millions of people, and much of our donation fund has gone towards urgent humanitarian missions as a result. Yet for a society in such upheaval, it is not surprising how much remains out of the headlines. One such issue has been the plight of monks and nuns in Myanmar.
Our local team has been undertaking research in various parts of the country to better understand how monastics have been impacted. In looking at Bagan, we learned how the collapse of the tourist economy there has prevented local donors from supporting monks and nuns as they have routinely done in the past, and so we are currently sponsoring a Heartland Relief Campaign to fill this shortfall. Our goal is to provide every monk, nun, and novice with an 8.5 kg bag of rice. As the cost of one bag is just $4, we call upon our international supporters and allies to help us in making this campaign a success.
Whether a humanitarian project, providing food to monks and nuns, or funding initiatives that promote awareness and advocacy, your contribution is what makes it all possible. So we express tremendous gratitude to you for trusting our mission and continuing to support the Burmese people!
And to help ensure that our work can be sustained, we would like to make a special request: please consider a recurring donation if you are able. When we can draw on a reliable base of funding from month to month, it helps us to better plan and maintain programs that greatly benefit needy communities.