Field Reports

May Mi — A Tragic Story with a Happy Ending
Last Friday we visited Palel Myintta, a live-in facility in Yangon, Myanmar where 20 orphaned or abandoned children living with HIV are cared for in a safe, loving environment. Her is my colleague, Peter Scontrino, talking with the Director, Annie. That’s where I met four-year-old May Mi Than. Look at that smile. May Mi is HIV positive. Both of her

A Week in Myanmar
In Mid-May 2015 I headed north in Thailand to join my friend, Treasure Shine, in Mae Sot for a brief stop before we traveled across the border into Myanmar. There in Mae Sot we visited SAW (Social Action for Women) to see the safe house, orphanage, and crisis center they operate. They are doing great work that seems to be

January – February 2015 SEAF Trip
After bidding farewell to the TWCCTW group I headed back to BKK for a day and then on up north to Chiang Rai. So … as Paul Harvey used to say (I know some of you are old enough to know who Paul Harvey was)… Here is the “rest of the story” … My first stop was to visit Jit

January 2015 TWCCTW Trip
I’ve just recently returned from our January 2015 Together We Can Change The World (TWCCTW) trip to Thailand and Laos — a time that was busy, interesting, and productive. Here are some of the highlights. We began in Bangkok where my partner Scott Friedman and I were the featured speakers at the Bankapi Rotary club luncheon meeting. Judging from the

Current Status at the Wildflower Home
It has been a while since so many of you made your generous donations to our Wildflower Campaign so it’s time that I provided you with an update. I’m happy to report that the Good Shepherd Sisters have appointed a new leader for their Wildflower Home — Sr. Anurak, a Sister with whom I’ve worked closely for more than four

Three Trafficked Girls
This is a story about three little girls that have been trafficked – a story I wish did not need telling. Unfortunately, however, in today’s world it does need to be told – and heard – by those of us fortunate enough to be able to make a difference. For nearly four years now we’ve been working in support of

October/November SE Asia Trip
I’ve just returned from another most interesting and highly productive trip to SE Asia. I’ll share some of the highlights with you in this newsletter. Work began this time at the Fountain of Life Women’s Center in Pattaya where my partner, Peter Scontrino, and I conducted a weeklong workshop on Leadership, Management, and Supervision for the Good Shepherd Sisters and

June/July SE Asia Trip
But first I’ll report an important new development. Finally, after 13 months of waiting, the IRS has granted us Public Charity 501(c)(3) status. So, we now have a new non-profit called the SE Asia Foundation. (I’ll have a website up for it soon.) That Foundation will now be the home for all three of our active funds, namely the Bali

April – May SE Asia Trip Report
This trip began in Singapore where my partner, Scott Friedman, and I were offered an opportunity to speak at the nearly 4,200 attendee 2014 HR Summit. Needless to say, this was a huge gathering of interesting people from around the SE Asian region. Our talk, entitled: “The Secret to Employee Retention — Corporate Social Responsibility” was well received. Our unique


Let’s Be The Ones To Finish This Great Project
In late October 2016, along with my two northern Thailand Rotary colleagues, Carol and George, I visited the Sisters of Providence for the first time. Located in the northern town

Programs in Need of Sponsors at the Life & Hope Association
I had an extensive visit with Life & Hope Association yesterday. L&HA has two main programs. PAGE: Program for Advancing Girls Education and Sewing. PAGE: Under this program the Monks,

Join us and help support three essential programs run by this fine organization in a very rural, poor location in Cambodia
CEDF – OpCam is a Cambodian charity registered with the Ministry of the Interior in agreement with the Social Affairs Department. Opportunity Cambodia, an Australian NGO*, partners with CEDF –

Sponsor a Year for a Child’s Education at Good Shepherd Sisters, in Nongkhai Thailand
We are seeking for several sponsors for 25 school girls available at the Good Shepherd Sisters in Nongkhai. Here’s some information about the program, in the words of the Sponsorship

A Visit to the Palel Myintta Orphanage
Last week we once again visited Palel Myintta. You may remember this as the small child-care facility for about 20 HIV positive kids either orphaned by the disease or abandoned

A Story of a Very Industrious Monk
I’m delighted to share with you the story of one of the finest Monks I’ve ever met. This man is named Ashin War Thithta. He is the Head Monk, called

Coaching the Future Leaders of Myanmar
Along with my colleague, Peter Scontrino, I’ve just finished four full days coaching the future leaders of Myanmar on leadership and management skills. How, you ask, did that come about?

Village Meeting About Organic Farming at Rak Phan Din
My good friend and fellow Rotarian, Carol Acosta, asked me to help with a meeting so that the people in a local Hmong village called Rak Phan Din could explore

San Leung Village Visit
Today we visited Lahu village of San Leung, about 40 miles south of Lashio, Myanmar. There we met with the Village Leader (a nice fellow called U-Tone-See) his village committee,

Hpa-an Education Foundation
This evening we met with the Hpa-an Education Foundation, including the current Chairman, a dedicated man called U Khin Shein. This is a group of 300 local citizens dedicated to