“They are lovely people and
they want to work. That is why they do not want to go to the refugee camps
because they can not work there.”Ashin Sopaka, Co-Founder of The
Best Friend/Project patron
On 1 January 2010, the Relocation
Project for the people of the rubbish dump of Mae Sot will be launched.
About 300 people (68 families)
currently live in dismal conditions on the rubbish dumpsite of Mae Sot, a town
on the Thai-Burmese border. These refugees fled the brutal military regime in
Burma, lack working and residency papers and are illegal immigrants. They earn
a meager income by collecting and re-using plastic and other refuse.
Seven of these families take part
in the Relocation Project. Fourteen adults and eighteen children (between six
months and ten years of age) will be relocated to newly rented land with basic
infrastructural facilities such as housing, toilets and drinking water. The
families will take part in workshops on topics such as health, child care and
development. They will be offered training on job skills such as agriculture,
handicraft making and sewing. The Best Friend is offering them a new life.
Fundraising
Your help is needed to make this project a success! We need space to advertise, raise awareness and collect funds. Any help is very welcome. Money is needed for: yearly rent of the land, construction and materials for the houses, food, transportation, teachers’ salaries, nurseries. A € 10 donation buys a bamboo floor mat, € 20 gift a simple leaf roof for a house. A complete house can be built for € 100.
Your help is needed to make this project a success! We need space to advertise, raise awareness and collect funds. Any help is very welcome. Money is needed for: yearly rent of the land, construction and materials for the houses, food, transportation, teachers’ salaries, nurseries. A € 10 donation buys a bamboo floor mat, € 20 gift a simple leaf roof for a house. A complete house can be built for € 100.
Background information on The
Best Friend The Best Friend was founded in 1999 in Burma by Burmese Buddhist
monks Ashin Issariya and Ashin Sopaka. It is currently run by the
Kölner-Buddhismus-Center e.V. in Germany. Its purpose is to encourage young
people to open their eyes and ears by means of education. The organisation
believes that education is the only way to eradicate poverty. Apart from that,
emphasis is put on teaching foreign languages such as English, as this is the
language that enables people around the world to communicate. There are
currently many voluntary teachers working for the organisation, teaching both
inside as well as outside Burma. The Best Friend also runs libraries in Burma.
All free of charge. The organisation depends entirely on donations and voluntary
work.
