Field Reports

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 of Chiang Saen, these Sisters have done some remarkable work during their five short years in the country. Led by the energetic Sr. Janda Garcia da Costa (from Brazil) and

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, headed by the Venerable Lorm Loeurm, support a high school education for 28 carefully selected, marginalized girls from remote villages. Their plan to expand to 35 girls next year and

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 – OpCam and provides its funding and overall guidance. About 2007 Opportunity Cambodia opened an Education Centre in rural Anlong Samnar Commune. Today, general manager Youchheng Uch (Chheng), and founder, Carolyn

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 Programme itself. Programme Participants We wish to share with you the following statistics which show the numbers assisted by our programme over the past three years. Sponsorship funds are provided

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 by their caretakers. This is where I first met May Mi, a four-year-old girl whose grandmother had been seeking a lethal injection so she wouldn’t have to care for an

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 the Sayardaw, for the Kabahlone Monastery in Hpa-an, Myanmar. That is my good Myanmar friend and our Myanmar Country Director, Treasure, in the background. I first visited Kabahlone in 2013.

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? Well – it all happened because our wonderful colleague in Myanmar, Treasure Shine, working with a local head-monk, along with the Hpa-an Education Foundation, pulled together this highly select group

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 the possibilities of organic gardening. Sure. Why not? We had no clear idea about their real agenda, but we sorted that out during the first meeting when 35 villagers showed

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, and many of the villagers. San Leung has 31 households with 15 kids in the 3 to 5 age range. They have a pre-school for them but only for two

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 filling the gap between what the government provides in the way of education and what is really needed. Each of the members contributes monthly to the Foundation. And, the leadership

The Power of a Thank You
Today I’m delighted to share with you another edition of our Voices From the Field. This one is from our NGO partner in Cambodia – The Global Child (TGC). In

Voices From The Field
A few days ago, I was talking with Mike, a good friend and a generous supporter of our work. Mike asked me a lot of questions. Some really good questions.

Partnerships Are The Key To Our Success
Recently I’ve stopped using a few sensitive words when I talk about our work. Which ones? I’ll get to that in just a moment. What I really want to talk

The Need is as Great as Ever
The Need is as Compelling as Ever Now is the perfect time for you to make an important difference in the lives of so many kids Normally I begin these

These Cambodians Really Need Your Help
I’ve just returned from another of my regular trips to Cambodia and Thailand. While there I visited with more than 25 of our NGO partners. As I ventured out to

Let’s Keep The Momentum Going
I Need Your Help to Keep the Momentum Going When I was speaking with a friend recently our conversation wandered through a variety of topics. However, his queries invariably returned

Holiday Gift Giving with a Creative Flair
During the holiday season my mind invariably turns to gratitude. Like many of you, I have a multitude of blessings. At this stage of my life, however, I realize that

Today I want to talk about books . . . the power of books
Think back with me. Think back to the time you were a kid. What role did books play in your life back then? If you were anything like I was

Three Stunning Success Stories
Even though I was unable to travel to Myanmar during this most recent visit to Southeast Asia, I did have the opportunity to meet with two of my wonderful Myanmar

Looking Back to Strengthen Our Way Forward
Why, you ask, would a forward-looking guy like me talk about looking back? That easy. The past happened only because of YOUR generosity. More importantly, your continuing support gives us