Burma Humanitarian Mission
Last week we received an update from Burma Humanitarian Mission (BHM). This is a really special non-profit organization founded by our dear friend
girlinthemoon's brother, Jeremy.
Jeremy passed away in November of last year, several decades before his time, after a heartbreaking battle with prostate cancer. He was very much the type of person I think many of us strive to be - giving, loving, positive, determined, empathetic, perceptive, and full of a joie de vivre. To say I wish I had been able to meet him is an understatement.
Although Jeremy has passed, the organization he founded lives on, in as much a tribute to his activist spirit as it is to the thousands of people it serves each year. The organization is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers, a mix of folks who were Jeremy's extended family and who share a commitment to improve the world, one moment and one person at a time.
The goal of their organization, Burma Humanitarian Mission, is to provide support for internally (and externally) displaced persons in Burma, particularly the Karen people*, a people who the Burmese regime is targeting for death. Although the Karen face unimaginable horrors living under a military dictatorship - experiencing oppressions which sadly, to date, appear too large, too other for the world stage to even attempt to address - these are not the only calamities they face. The World Health Organization ranked Burma 190th out of 191 countries in healthcare. The military junta are not the only killers in Burma. HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria also take center stage.
Burma Humanitarian Mission tries to counter this health crisis by providing much-needed medical supplies and services to approximately 4,000 people each year under the care of their "Backpacking Medics." Think of a doctor's office on foot - something that can make the world of difference when trying to reach people, forgotten people, tucked away in remote places.
One of the projects BHM undertakes is providing financial assistance to train more Backpacking Medics. These are young men and women who have at least an 8th grade education and are nominated by village leaders. Senior Backpacking Medics interview prospective students and, if accepted into the program, the students leave their families and villages for the duration of a year-long curriculum. (Trainees are selected based on their willingness to commit to the mission, their openness to new ideas and share them with people in the community, their desire to remain in the remote areas, and their respect and appreciation of the beliefs of the Karen people.) And BHM's financial support provides the trainees housing, food, study materials, clothing, and personal supplies.
Anyway, all of this gets me back to the update we received. BHM hopes to expand the Backpacking Medics program this year. To do that, they need to triple the amount they've raised on average in previous years. In 2007, they raised around $9,000. In 2008, they hope to raise $28,000.
Given Burma Humanitarian Mission is a tiny, tiny, tiny non-profit organization but one that does more worthwhile on-the-ground work than some of the largest non-profit organizations in the world...well, I thought a plug for them in my LJ might be worth a shot. (Also worth mentioning - 100% of donations received goes directly to medical aid. The volunteers who run BHM pay for all administrative costs out of their own pockets.)
So if you have an extra $1 or $5 or $10, it's definitely something worth thinking about. (You can donate here.) This really is one of those causes where just a few extra dollars can mean a world of difference. :)
*This is a cause that is very dear to us because of our beautiful friend and her sweet brother, and because we have several Karen friends who were driven from their villages in Burma, and who have no choice but to survive in refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand. Our refugee friends work illegally outside the camps which, if discovered, could mean jail time in Thailand or, much worse, deportation back to Burma. And they risk their lives by sneaking back not only to the camps, but across the border and through the jungle in order to get some money back to family members still living under military rule in Burma. These treks are incredibly dangerous; it can safely be assumed if caught by the military, they will be killed. And so on a very personal level, the idea of an organization helping our friends and their families out, easing their troubles just a bit, is incredibly reassuring and inspiring.
girlinthemoon's brother, Jeremy.
Jeremy passed away in November of last year, several decades before his time, after a heartbreaking battle with prostate cancer. He was very much the type of person I think many of us strive to be - giving, loving, positive, determined, empathetic, perceptive, and full of a joie de vivre. To say I wish I had been able to meet him is an understatement.
Although Jeremy has passed, the organization he founded lives on, in as much a tribute to his activist spirit as it is to the thousands of people it serves each year. The organization is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers, a mix of folks who were Jeremy's extended family and who share a commitment to improve the world, one moment and one person at a time.
The goal of their organization, Burma Humanitarian Mission, is to provide support for internally (and externally) displaced persons in Burma, particularly the Karen people*, a people who the Burmese regime is targeting for death. Although the Karen face unimaginable horrors living under a military dictatorship - experiencing oppressions which sadly, to date, appear too large, too other for the world stage to even attempt to address - these are not the only calamities they face. The World Health Organization ranked Burma 190th out of 191 countries in healthcare. The military junta are not the only killers in Burma. HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria also take center stage.
Burma Humanitarian Mission tries to counter this health crisis by providing much-needed medical supplies and services to approximately 4,000 people each year under the care of their "Backpacking Medics." Think of a doctor's office on foot - something that can make the world of difference when trying to reach people, forgotten people, tucked away in remote places.
One of the projects BHM undertakes is providing financial assistance to train more Backpacking Medics. These are young men and women who have at least an 8th grade education and are nominated by village leaders. Senior Backpacking Medics interview prospective students and, if accepted into the program, the students leave their families and villages for the duration of a year-long curriculum. (Trainees are selected based on their willingness to commit to the mission, their openness to new ideas and share them with people in the community, their desire to remain in the remote areas, and their respect and appreciation of the beliefs of the Karen people.) And BHM's financial support provides the trainees housing, food, study materials, clothing, and personal supplies.
Anyway, all of this gets me back to the update we received. BHM hopes to expand the Backpacking Medics program this year. To do that, they need to triple the amount they've raised on average in previous years. In 2007, they raised around $9,000. In 2008, they hope to raise $28,000.
Given Burma Humanitarian Mission is a tiny, tiny, tiny non-profit organization but one that does more worthwhile on-the-ground work than some of the largest non-profit organizations in the world...well, I thought a plug for them in my LJ might be worth a shot. (Also worth mentioning - 100% of donations received goes directly to medical aid. The volunteers who run BHM pay for all administrative costs out of their own pockets.)
So if you have an extra $1 or $5 or $10, it's definitely something worth thinking about. (You can donate here.) This really is one of those causes where just a few extra dollars can mean a world of difference. :)
*This is a cause that is very dear to us because of our beautiful friend and her sweet brother, and because we have several Karen friends who were driven from their villages in Burma, and who have no choice but to survive in refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand. Our refugee friends work illegally outside the camps which, if discovered, could mean jail time in Thailand or, much worse, deportation back to Burma. And they risk their lives by sneaking back not only to the camps, but across the border and through the jungle in order to get some money back to family members still living under military rule in Burma. These treks are incredibly dangerous; it can safely be assumed if caught by the military, they will be killed. And so on a very personal level, the idea of an organization helping our friends and their families out, easing their troubles just a bit, is incredibly reassuring and inspiring.