Action Alert: Stand up against violence in Myanmar (Burma)

I wanted to share this action alert from the MCC advocacy office in Washington, DC. This line of advocacy is the one supported by our partners in Myanmar and, while the results are uncertain given Russian/Chinese support for the military coup, the fruit of witnessing for peace and justice often appears in unexpected ways. Please…

ធម្មយាត្រា | Dhammayietra

In traditional Cambodian village life the local Buddhist Monks served as educators, healthcare providers, and – along with the village elders and chief – meditators of local conflict. When the Khmer Rouge fully took power in 1975 they forbid all religious practice. By the time the Khmer Rouge were driven out of power only around…

What do we mean by Peace?

Mennonite Central Committee is a global, nonprofit organization that strives to share God’s love and compassion for all through relief, development and peace. One question that we get a lot is… What do we mean by Peace? By peace, we do not mean the simple absence of armed conflict or even reaching surface level harmony….

Myanmar: Light in the Darkness

“I hate the military. They kill. They rape. They torture. But if they come to my house I will offer them something to eat. Not because I like them. But because we must have forgiveness in my country. There is no peace possible if we do not choose what is best for all of us,…

Rural Livelihoods and Social Cohesion in Interethnic Communities

I wanted to share some snippets of the grant proposal that we submitted at the end of June. It’s not the full proposal, that’s 20 pages long with around 40 supporting documents, but just a short snippet on the proposed project. As I mentioned in the previous post, this brings two of our local partners…

The Holy Week Meditation: Jesus’ Journey to Calvary, thence to the Empty Tomb.

This reflection was written by one of the pastors we work with in Myanmar. Name and identifying details withheld for security reasons. The Holy Week, also known as the Passion Week, began on Palm Sunday, and will end on Easter Sunday. Christians all over the world commemorate in their own church’s tradition—fasting, praying, contemplating, meditating,…

Summer 2020 General Update

I wanted to give you all a quick update before getting into more specific details. YAMEN Departures: In my last post I shared that Moudy, our volunteer from Indonesia, made it home safely. Last week Jonathan and Victor, our volunteers from Kenya, made it home safely. There were a lot of COVID-19 challenges to navigate…

Wounds take a long time to heal here

Wounds take a long time to heal here.  A scratch on the skin of my strong and healthy children used to heal within a day or two in the United States.  Here, it’s at least a week, sometimes more.  Perhaps it’s the air quality as thousands of cars, motos and tuk-tuks pump unregulated toxins into…

Prey Veng Education Program Ten Years Later

On Day 6 in Cambodia (yesterday), I got out into the countryside on my first field visit to see Chhourn Maly at work. This visit was at the Kraing Kaet Primary School. I was the initial Partner Adviser for the education program in Prey Veng during my first term with MCC and it’s exciting to…