The Amazing Project - Stepping Back to Burma

DARE Network-Networking in Burma

 As Sweet December, as the Karen people call it because the weather is finally cool and yielding, descends upon us, DARE Network is completing our first year inside Burma. While we continue our programs for the Burmese refugees in the 5 refugee camps on the Thai side of the border, DARE Staff and Addiction Workers have travelled far through the mountains of Hpa an District in Karen State to 20 villages. Here we provide knowledge to the villagers about the dangers of substance abuse and train our 20 Village Addiction Coordinators about preventing addiction in their communities.

 Meanwhile, we have brought members of these 20 villages together with our refugee trainers into to Mae La Refugee Camp to train 10 new Addiction Workers. The training is a serious one of 6 months both theoretical and practical with supervision by our DARE Master Trainers. It has been busy but rewarding. On December 20^th our new Karen State Addiction trainers will graduate and return to their villages, ready to start to work for DARE in the New Year.

 Our first task of the New Year is to build our first DARE Network Training and Treatment Centre amidst the remote villages. We need help with the basics such as cement, toilets, kitchens and wood for the structure and a roof. The Headmen of the 20 villages we are working with have promised to supply the bamboo for the floors and the walls. Each village will contribute and the new DARE Centre will belong to the villagers and the communities. All will be built on land donated by the Karen Government and created by our workers and the villagers.

Meanwhile, our Program Coordinator, Law La Say and our Advisor , Pam Rogers have been in Yangon (Rangoon) and Hpa an Town, networking with other people working in the field and trying to raise funds from governments. Development is coming to Burma but it is a rocky road…literally. Please see the attached video of the traffic jam from the Thai/Burma Border heading back and forth to Yangon. We were stuck for an hour while hundreds of trucks laden with consumables from Thailand and China (yes, we saw Chinese carrots going in) plied the narrow road. The roads are being widened by hand. Breaking rock by hammer into gravel and pouring boiling tar on top while trucks, cars, motorbikes and bicycles try to get by is the not meeting the demand.

 Meanwhile, these truck drivers and road builders take advantage of the cheap methamphetamines to help give the energy to work. It is a drug dealer’s bonanza. There is no law enforcement. Some people are even paid with drugs.

 It is into this “new” Burma that we step. As we enter our 2^nd year, we are hopeful of the return of the refugees. Over half of our refugee camp staff will join our Karen State programs, when it is time for them to leave the camps. It is important to us all to keep our assets through this transition. Our assets of course, are our highly trained and experienced Addiction Workers.

 Now in Sweet December, we thank you for your support of our work and request that you continue this support. GlobalGiving’s year end campaign is on and we are on the quest for the bonus funds they award to the top fund raisers. Thanks to you we have been in that category for the last 3 years and want to do it again. Please support us with a donation either once or recurring. Here is our link to the campaign.

 https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/the-amazing-project-stepping-back-to-burma/

 For your interest we include attached our 5 year strategy for Stepping Back to Burma.

 Happy Holidays from all of us at DARE Network

Links:

• "Development" in Karen State
• Our Website

• 5 Year Strategic Plan (PDF)