Hi Rick,
I have received a grant of $1,000 for Lailui School in Chin State! Great news.
I am so happy about this because as you have made clear these funds will be very helpful for them:
Undoubtedly there are many needs to address in Lailui, The people of Lailui - and Chin people in general - are really good
(but neglected) people who deserve better. I would be delighted to
bring some donations to them.
So, a few questions:
1. Do you have even a rough idea how these funds will be utilized/spent? If you don't know now, just let me know when you have that information
2. What is the best way to get these funds into your hands?
3. This might be possible given how remote is Lailui School, but can we get any recent photos or video? If not, I can understand.
I look forward to your reply.
Marc
I was finally able to go to Lailui, Chin State in 2018. The previous
school project was the only one that I was not allowed to go there.
Lailui (and other Chin places) is an impressive place - I look forward
to going there again. It’s not possible during this damn war - Chin
State is one of the hardest hit areas of the country - but me and my
wife will go again when the war is over.
I can get any donation money there, and as you know, I don’t keep any portion of donations, I like to give the complete donation to the
trusted person or committee that will oversee the projects.
Undoubtedly there are many needs to address in Lailui, and with me
living here, I will be able to document the use of the donation.
The people of Lailui - and Chin people in general - are really good
(but neglected) people who deserve better. I would be delighted to
bring some donations to them.
Hi Marc -Good news for Lailui. Here is what I’ll do.
First I’m going to email Simon Lamno - he is the guy from Lailui whom I met about 20 years ago in Bay Area, and he told me about his burning desire to build a school in his village - LaiLui. He had moved from LaiLui to Mandalay to go to university and he got political like a lot of students did at that time, and the n the stated being arrested and he had to flee into Thailand and finally got to USA. He now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Simon will know what’s happening and what needs there are.
When I got to Lailui in 2019 Simon’s brother - Khampi - was our main coordinating contact there.
Khampi can also assess the situation.
I will not be able to go to Chin State at this time -unless things change very quickly.
Realize that Chin State has been a war zone for the last 3 years. We will soon find out
if Lailui and the big town of Teddim near Lailui were damaged, or evacuated, or what. I follow the war quite thoroughly and I think Lailui and Teddim were unscathed. It would be impossible and extremely dangerous for me to try to get there - I would be arrested at anyone of numerous checkpoints.
There are ways to send and receive money thruout the country.
I do not need to take any of it for me - 100% of it will go to Khampi or Simon’s cousin, Fr. John Khup, the Parish Priest of Assumption Church in Teddim.
So - we will now soon about Lailui’s situation, and what this money will address.
And if the military gets defeated soon (strong possibility) I will eagerly go there myself!
And, I have very good video and photos from 2019. I’ll gather some.
Take care,
Rick
Chin State has suffered a lot during this civil war,
Very soon the military will collapse, and then there will be a lot to do -
Rebuilding infrastructure like bridges and roads, buildings and schools, food supply transportation, etc, etc.
Simon says:
He discussed, with his sister, brother, and some others what to do with it, and the unanimous consent was to give food (primarily rice) to about 50 people that are the neediest of the village. Realize that Chin State has been a war zone for the past 3 years, and has been subject to the military's cruel strategy known as the 'four cuts’ - preventing the resistance from receiving funding, food, communication, and recruits.
Simon says:
The cost of a bag of rice (the staple in most of Asia) has doubled and tripled, and more, deeply effecting most people. Some kids are showing signs of malnutrition and stunted growth. Men (and women) in some areas are prevented by soldiers from going to their fields.The price of fuel has skyrocketed, making it impossible for some farmers to transport their crops to markets.
There are a number of families in Lailui that lost their breadwinner (father or husband) who are either prisoners or dead. And, there are children who lost both parents and are now orphans.
He and his brother and sister made a list of villagers who would most benefit from the donation.
Simon’s sister and brother will dole out the money carefully especially with the orphans because they don’t know how to spend money.
Simon says:
In the future we can upgrade the school, and other things, but now, because of the situation, food is what the people need the most.