Burmese Refugee Youth Prevent Addiction & Violence

DARE Network in the time of COVID 19

Hello Friends,

All of us at DARE Network hope you are safe and keeping that way for the unforeseeable future. Despite all the news, it is important that you put your health as a number one priority.

Likewise, at DARE Network we have had to come to grips with the reality of this ghost tiger that roams among us.  It seems like we just slid into the situation that has taken the world by its collective throat.  However, it is our only goal at this stage to prevent the virus from entering the refugee camps on the Thai/Burma Border and our DARE Centres there, as well as our DARE Centre in Karen State.  

You can imagine the devastation of COVID in a refugee camp, where social distancing is impossible. At the height of our treatment cycle in Mae La Camp, for example, we might have up to 50-60 people all in one and half bamboo buildings, sharing everything. There are still almost 100,000 people in refugee camps along the border.   DARE Treatment protocols are very hands on, up-close and personal.  We realized the dangers immediately.

In addition, our staff in the camps and in Karen State move around giving prevention education, following up on clients and helping families understand the impacts of addiction.

 We decided we needed to put everything on hold until it is safe to proceed again.Yet, in some of our centres we were in the middle of a treatment cycle. Our first line of defense was to stop all our acupuncture, herbal saunas and traditional massages.We broke our group work into smaller groups and rotated them so that there were no more than 10 people in one place at a time.Then social distancing was possible.

We decided we needed to put everything on hold until it is safe to proceed again.  Yet, in some of our centres we were in the middle of a treatment cycle. Our first line of defense was to stop all our acupuncture, herbal saunas and traditional massages.  We broke our group work into smaller groups and rotated them so that there were no more than 10 people in one place at a time.  Then social distancing was possible.  

Most importantly, our core staff from Mae Sariang travelled to the camps, before they were shuttered by the Thai authorities, to provide Covid19 education to everyone in our teams and any clients that remained.  We installed hygiene stations and taught hand washing in detail.  We showed people how to cover their coughs and sneezes and not to spit (a cultural habit).  We spread people out, as best we could.  Our staff also went to Karen State to share the same education and to help our staff strategize on how to get food and cook safely.  Our outreach program was stopped.

Now we are working through budgets to ensure that our program holds together, that our staff are retained and paid and that they have what they need to survive and stay safe. We want to thank all of our donors, who are standing by us during this challenging time.

All of us at DARE Network

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

All of us at DARE Network wish you the best in 2020, the start of a new decade.  We hope you and your families have love, security and prosper.

Firstly, we want to thank you for your most kind and compassionate giving over the last year and during our Year-End Campaign.  The difference you make to our work is phenomenal and every donation we receive goes right to our beneficiaries.

You may not know that 2020 is DARE Network’s 20^thanniversary working with the displaced people from Burma.  20 years is a long time and we have accomplished a lot on a shoestring.  The reason we are still here is the never-ending situation of oppression and violence perpetrated on our people and the pain that they suffer as a consequence.  The enormous supply of drugs plied by the drug lords of Burma and their protectors the Burmese Military look like a good solution to that pain for many who remain hopeless for their futures.  We are here to help them find other ways to relieve their suffering. Many have come to us and many have been prevented from walking down the road to addiction.

So, 2020 is a year of celebration for us in the face of such a protracted situation.  We will be expanding our program inside Karen State. Unfortunately, we are suffering the same fate of many organizations of the Thai/Burma Border, as major International donors continue to withdraw their support from the refugees.  We are having to make adjustments and compromises in order to survive.  

But just be reassured that it is you and your support that keep us resourced and motivated.

Next report we will offer you some of the results of our annual evaluation.  In the meantime, work has begun in the refugee camps and in Karen State after a short holiday for all of us.

We keep to our motto A Free Mind Cannot be Destroyed