Tag: Myanmar

Teaching Your Children The Heart of Love From An Early Age – picture book sharing: ‘小希的月亮’

Writer: Ness Ma (Communications officer) ‘What is Myanmar?’ In a lively Sunday school classroom, children raised their hands for questions as soon as they saw the word ‘Myanmar’ on the screen. As the Cedar staff switched to the next slide, in which a map of Southeast Asia is shown, she told the children that it takes around 3 hours to go from Hong Kong to Myanmar by plane. The children waited for the next parts of the story while they were fixing their gaze on the map. The staff members from Cedar were invited to go to Tai Wai Peace Evangelical Centre on 26th June to share the picture book published by Cedar –‘小希的月亮’, which was based

Forgotten pain

In the past year, the political situation in the world has undergone some unprecedented changes. Just as we are witnessing the recent war between Russia and Ukraine, many people in other parts of the world also suffer from war and homelessness. Therefore, in addition to serving the immediate needs of the refugees in various places, CEDAR’s partners also assist in community development so that traumatised groups can rebuild their lives. The Myanmar military authority overthrew the democratically elected government on 1 February 2021. After the establishment of the military government, the military was mobilised to suppress opposition demonstrations and to conduct arrests. Al Jazeera, citing a monitoring group, said 1,700 people died as of March this year. The

When Trust is Exploited: The story of Mitra

Trust is a good thing to have in any relationship. However, there are times when trust could be exploited, and that is when tragedy happens. Mitra came from a poor family and lived an impoverished life. When she reached 15 years old, the sister of her stepmother said to her, I have a job for you. Although you will have to move to another country, you will earn a lot more to provide for your family. Mitra completely trusted her aunt, given that she was a close relative to her family. As a result, Mitra listened to her and moved to a neighbouring country for work. Unbeknownst to Mitra, her aunt owned and managed a brothel. When Mitra

The Letter from CEDAR | Apr 2021

Dear supporters, In early February this year, a military coup took place in Myanmar, capturing international attention. Even before the coup, CEDAR has been conducting relief work when conflict broke out in the Karen State. The relief activities were carried out in collaboration with the youth who had grown up, supported by CEDAR’s development projects. My heart is broken for those youngsters, imagining they are going through the same tumultuous experience they had in their childhood. When they were small kids, they fled to live in jungles. After years of recovery and growing up in our partner’s children home, they responded to the calling to head back to their home villages to rebuild and serve their communities. Yet

Pray for Myanmar

From the beginning of February, people from different industries and backgrounds have continued to come onto the streets, a site that is familiar to many. In Myanmar, there has been bloodshed, countless have been arrested during the night and news outlets remain blocked. At the time of writing, at least 50 protestors killed since the military seized control on 1 February. Sorrow, anger and fear have filled the hearts of the people in Myanmar. We pray to our loving and righteous Lord to hear and see the people’s plight and those who are mourning. Coupled alongside danger and instability is the global pandemic. This will only cause the people of Myanmar to become even more impoverished. Alongside our

From Sewing Sanitary Napkins to Three-Layer Face Masks

Banner image: Theit Theit Shwee sewing face masks made by cloth (Source: CEDAR’s partner) “Kacha…Kacha…” Theit Theit Shwee, a woman from the slum area of Myanmar, sat in front of a sewing machine and sewed the fabric. She carefully wrapped the two white bands and sewed them with the fabric and finished making a three-layer cloth mask. This has been her daily job, making cloth masks with other women in the community center of CEDAR’s partner. Due to the local outbreak of COVID-19, Theit Theit Shwee, who was already over 40, immediately lost her job. She had been working so hard to raise her child for many years, but the pandemic has made her lose all her income.

CEDAR’s Second Phase of Relief Assists 2,500 Burmese in Western Myanmar

Banner image: Villagers who fled conflicts are temporarily living in an abandoned government office building The conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, an armed group fighting for greater autonomy in western Rakhine, has not ceased since December 2018. In June 2019, the Myanmar Government ordered telecommunications companies to shut down mobile internet service across local townships, hindering external access of updated information which the safety of civilians are of concern. [1] CEDAR Fund and our partner in Myanmar, Full Moon Children Development Family, began the first phase of relief work in the conflict-affected region in February 2019. Collaborating with us in relief distribution was a local team led by Pastor Aung Din, who had rich experience