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 Child Action International has been funding and developing projects in Burma since 2001. These range fromfish farms to village schools and include emergency aid and supplies. Most of our work is on the Thai/Burma border amongst the Karen ethnic minority, one of the most oppressed and harried peoples in Burma.
Karen communities fight a constant battle for survival, struggling to make a living mainly from the land, whilst their villages are regularly attacked by the Burmese army, forcing them to flee into the jungle. Our initial involvement lay in supporting schools, in partnership with the Karen Education Department (KED) and the Burmese Migrant Worker Education Committee (BMWEC), in the belief that literacy and numeracy will equip and empower the next generation. (see The History of our Work – provide link???)
Whilst we continue to support eight schools on the Thai/Burma border, our most recent project is a fish and pig farm, a social enterprise to feed the community, close to the town of Mae Sot (the location of one of our schools). In December, 2009, we began funding this great project, co-working with the local people who have committed themselves to raising £700, a huge sum by Burmese standards. By the end of January, 2010, the land had been cleared and the fish pond was under construction.
 Whilst we are committed to the long-term support of our Burmese projects, we are also aware of the need for emergency aid in the aftermath of Burmese army raids. In 2009, a new offensive caused thousands of Karen refugees to flee their homes in what the BBC described as “one of the largest movements of Karen refugees in a decade.” We were able to respond by funding the harvesting and transportation of bamboo for use in building shelters for the displaced people of Ler Per Hur camp, who were already refugees. As the Burmese Army attempts to secure the border prior to elections later this year it seems as if this scenario might be repeated several times.
The political situation in Burma remains oppressive and the economy is failing badly. The devastation left by Cyclone Nargis in 2008 is still a major problem, whilst those young people who are able to continue to leave the country. We need your help to maintain our support for those too vulnerable to escape poverty and persecution.
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