This Way to Burma...

Water puddles, muddy side roads, sidewalks stained by red betel nut juice. This too is Burma (Myanmar)to me.

But what I treasure is memories of the children of Burma. Kids with organic cooling tanaka on their faces. Kids for whom wood and plastic blocks are a novelty. Kids whose parents can only afford to put steamed rice in their lunch boxes, so the school takes care of their meat or veggie dish.

Many of Burma's children are undernourished, so it's fairly common to see children who are stunted and underweight.Nutritious meals are beyond the reach of many poor families who subsist on rice porridge, and so is safe water. In the community where these photos were taken, water must be boiled. Cooking gas is too expensive for many families and firewood is a scarce resource, so the poor must make do with unboiled, unsafe water.

Despite these limitations, these kids' parents strive to send them to school because they value education. More than half however of the 80% of children who are enrolled do not complete primary school.

My friends and I do what little we can and personally I am grateful for the chance to help. Yet I feel like I'm standing on the shore of an endless sea of needs. Feelings of helplessness and inadequacy do set in. Many times. Far too often than I prefer. But because we are part of a big community of people and organizations helping the people of Burma, we refuse to lose hope.

We keep on.."one child at a time."