South-East Asia

Report from the AMURT team in Myanmar

Our mass distribution of food items is in full swing. The food insecurity in the Delta is continuing. In spite of regular deliveries by some organizations along the main roads, there are innumerable pockets of villages that are so remote that they never received any aid.



For food distribution, AMURT operates as a wellwisher (donor) through local individuals and community groups that we know and trust. We purchase the food items (rice, pulses, cooking oil, molasse and salt) in bulk quantities which are then rationed into family-size bags. These food packages are then passed on to our trusted local friends who do the distribution. Foreigners are still not allowed to go to the cyclone-hit delta areas.

Our priority is to tackle the villages that are logistically challenging to reach. Our distribution teams have to negotiate small side rivers within the Delta area to reach out to very poor communities. So far, we have been supplying food to the people in 4 districts townships (Kungyangon, Dedaye, Kyaiklat and Pyapon).

To date, our local distributors have transported by land and by sea around 180 metric tons of relief items to 12 communities comprising 3,380 families, i.e. 18,000 + beneficiaries, at a cost of US $27,000. By God’s grace, they have never had any trouble at the military check-points. The trucks travel with many security guards – 17 in total – so the question of confiscation does not arise.

Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS): We are also looking into "child-friendly spaces" which will provide shelter for kids from 3-6 years through playgroup therapy, trauma healing and supplementary feeding programs.

These CFSs will be operated by local Myanmar organizations that have qualified staff and experience in child protection. Assessments have been made in several locations and MoUs will be signed with the various communities in which they are located. We hope that four to six CFSs will be up and running within the next 10 days.

Temporary schools: AMURT met with UNICEF last week and showed them the temporary school concepts developed from AMURT’s work in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The chairperson of UNICEF proposed that AMURT sponsor 20 temporary schools (with our own funds) while UNICEF will provide funding for another 30 temporary schools with AMURT as the implementing partner. We are now finalizing the details of this agreement.

Integrated development: The German charity Kindernothilfe (KNH) wants to start another pilot project with AMURT in Myanmar to rehabilitate a whole area consisting of several villages of one district and take care of aspects such as food and non-food-items, housing/reconstruction programs, water and sanitation programs, education programs, livelihood programs and infrastructure.

With so many things ongoing and future possibilities ahead, we are hopeful that we will be able to do a lot of good work in Myanmar.

Thailand

In Sanklaburi, a border town between Thailand and Myanmar, Ananda Marga runs three projects:

1. A children's home for girls with 108 residents
2. A school run by Ananda Marga nuns with 260 students
3. A children's home for boys with 50 residents

These three projects are attracting the attention of the public in general and the Ananda Marga members in particular. Our children boys and girls are receiving training in mechanical skills, electrical engineering and sewing.

Malaysia

A fasting camp was organized in Kuching, the capitol of Sawak state in east Malaysia.

Brother Lokesvara, an active margii form Petaling, Java unit (near Kuala Lumpur), conducts ongoing yoga classes attended by 80 to 100 students every week. He also organized a youth camp in the Dusin resort.

Vietnam

In Hanoi, Ananda Marga has 600 yoga students and 45 full-time yoga teachers. A yoga conference was organized on October 12 and 13 and 177 people attended. Dada Arnavananda, Dada Udvelananda, Dada Sumitananda and Didi Amrta gave philosophy classes and several people received personal instruction in meditation. A new Ananda Marga unit (with weekly collective meditation) was formed in Hanoi City.

A conference in Ho Chi Minh city on October 6-7 was attended by 120 margiis and newcomers, many of whom received personal instruction in meditation. A relief distribution was held at a children's home and more than 1500 people received food and relief supplies.