Field Reports
A Recent Trip with the TWCCTW Group
I recently returned from another interesting and highly productive trip to SE Asia. This trip was a little different because I was traveling with Scott Friedman, Jana Stanfield, and a very talented “Together We Can Change The World” (TWCCTW) group of 10 people, including Rhonda Faught, Maria Kassova, Lynn Leahy, Jonathan Low, Rebecca Morgan, Robert Stack, and Carol Talbot. This
A Visit with Jit at Baan Saan Rak
Today, I had a nice visit to reconnect with Jit, a delightful Thai lady that runs a small, 21 child orphanage on her family property in a fairly remote outside Chiang Rai. Most of the information about Jit and her Baan Saan Rak (home with love) project is already on my website, but here’s an updated picture of Jit, with
Thai Cooking School
Believe it or not I ended up with an entire day almost free yesterday. No meetings until 5pm. So, I did one of the things I’ve always wanted to do here. I went to a Cooking School. Way cool experience. First we went shopping to learn about ingredients and to purchase what we needed. They took us to a big
A Day with the Good Shepherd Sisters in Chiang Rai
Wednesday (February 27, 2013) was a very full day … even a bit fuller than I’d anticipated. The morning dawned beautifully. Sunny skies; moderately cool. Perfect for a 45km motorbike ride to the Good Shepherd Sisters. The first half of the ride was wonderful. (It’s really pretty cool being back on two wheels again.) Then, at about the 20km mark
Our First Strategic Planning Session with the Fountain of Life Centers
Just finished up three long days (February 22-25, 2013) of meetings with the Fountain of Life Centers. They did great work on Vision and Mission … on to Strategic Goals … then identified six key measures of success … followed by quite a bit of Project work and Action planning. In spite of two languages, and their being quite unfamiliar
Give2Asia Ten-Year Gala Celebration
On October 2, 2012 Give2Asia celebrated its Ten-Year Anniversary with a Gala Event in the Grand Ballroom at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco. That evening, they recognized four of their many, many funds. We were greatly honored that we — with our two funds — were included in that group of four.I was away in Thailand on that
A Visit to a Lahu Village and Lunch with the Village Head Man
On my most recent trip in October 2012 I had the opportunity to visit a Lahu Village and meet the Head Man of the village. Being particularly interested in seeing a village typical of where our Peace Children’s Home kids come from … and to discuss with the head man the wisdom of taking kids away from their home villages
Sustainability: A Story of a Monk and His Machine
Here’s a story I love sharing – especially given our Foundation’s commitment to creating sustainability in those organizations we select for support. Meet U Vimala. (Oo-wee-mala) He’s the head monk
Searching for Sustainability
Philanthropy Is Never Enough. Every single day I spend working in SE Asia helping organizations do a more effective job of educating girls and providing job training for women, that
A Success Story — Thanks to You
Back in 2015 I visited a small Karin village about thirty minutes outside of Hpa-an, the capital of the Karin State in Myanmar. The 800 families living there had only
A Recent Trip to Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand
I’ve just returned from nearly five weeks in Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. In this report I’ll give you a quick look at some (but not all) of the projects I
Lunch for 500
Shortly after we arrived at the Koenawin Monastery for our visit a couple of days ago, the Monk suddenly said: “The kids are coming. Let’s go for their lunch”. So,
The New Building at Koenawin
The highlight of my recent visit to the Koenawin Monastery was being there to celebrate the beginning of construction for their new dormitory for girls. You may recall from a
A Visit to the New Generation School
On a recent trip to Myanmar I visited an interesting school called Myo Set Thit. In Burmese that means “New Generation”. At this school, led by the impressive and inspirational,
People Joining Together to Help Each Other
Recently, our Myanmar Country Director, Treasure Shine, and I visited the Marga Society in Hpa-an, the capital city of the Kayin (Karen) State. In the Burmese language Marga means “blessing”
Mae Ab Education Center
Sometimes It Is Really Difficult To Say “No” Recently Carol, George, and I visited the village of Mae Ab where a dedicated group of volunteers is working to provide the
A Visit to the Guiding Star Monastery School
Recently we visited the Lan Pya Kyel Monastery School located about 45 minutes outside Hpa-an, Myanmar, the capital of the Karin State. In English Lan Pya Kyel translates to “Guiding
