Field Reports

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 at the Guiding Star Monastery located a short distance outside Hpa-an, Myanmar, the capital city of the Karen State. Now 42 years of age, having been a monk since he

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 undeniable truth just becomes more and more evident. Philanthropy is simply never enough. That’s the issue we spent a day and a half wrestling with earlier this week in Siem

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 primary school for their kids. That’s it. No secondary school. No high school. Given the difficulties of transportation to reach the nearest secondary school (not to mention the cost),

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 visited, all of which are benefitting from improvements made possible by YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS to our Foundation. MYANMAR At the Koenawin Monastery I got to see first hand the progress

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, off we went to the lunch area. Turns out that 418 kids live here and all return from the local government schools for lunch. Plus, a bunch of local kids

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 previous report a few months back that we were seeking a donor to fund this building so the Monks at Koenawin could provide safe housing for at least 100 of

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, Kyaw Naing, 35 students from remote villages come here to Hpa-An, the capital city of the Karin State, to study in a Grade 11 “college prep” program. Here’s Treasure talking

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” or “heaven”. After my visit I left convinced that this place was well named. Marga is an inspiring story of local community leaders banding together to address common needs that

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 community with an Adult Education Center. (Carol and George are my Rotary colleagues here in Northern Thailand.) So far the villagers have raised 250,000 Thai Baht (about $7,100). They have

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 Star”, a name we think is highly appropriate. A high school education is such a premium in Myanmar, and especially in the Karin State, that children will travel long distances