Displaced by armed conflicts in Burma and ineligible for refugee aid from Thailand, a garbage dump outside of Mae Sot, Thailand has become home to a group of Burmese people. Unable to return to Burma, where many of their villages have been destroyed, and unable to gain legal refugee status in Thailand, they have nowhere to go. People living in the Mae Sot dump, even the children, earn a meager living by picking recyclable plastic from piles of garbage.
The sole mission of Eyes to Burma is to assist this group of approximately four hundred refugees. We provide the most basic essentials, including food, clean water, footwear, and shelter where the incomes of the dump’s residents fall short. We provide medicine to prevent diseases caused by poor sanitation and we offer transportation to medical facilities in emergencies. The community at the garbage dump maintains itself at a subsistence level; our role is to assist where such aid is needed.
If you are inspired to help, please spread the word about our efforts and help raise money for the children and families living in the dump. Every dollar donated goes directly to these people. You can see from Fred Stockwell’s photos and letters that a small amount goes a long way.
READ ABOUT FRED in Oregon’s NPR magazine or at www.ijpr.org
Greetings- I noticed your article in the Medford paper and it caught my eye. I will be at the Country Club Tuesday to hear you speak. Please ask or look me up if you can. I just returned from Thailand where I trekked into the villages of the Meo and Karen tribes. I was there during the massive flooding. This was a life changing trip and I plan to work on a special Visa to return again. It would be nice to meet you and your board to share thoughts.
Fred,
Thank you for presenting to our Medford Rotary club on Tuesday. Your presentation was inspiring and reminded me of how lucky we are in this country. We take our security and comforts for granted. Keep up the good work, and I’ll see what support I can drum up for you here locally. Do you just prefer cash, or can our club organize a boot or clothing drive? Can we ship to Thailand or is customs or theft too big of an obstacle?
Alan Kelly, MD
Great job.
I found out all about http://www.eyestoburma.org through a girl in my class. She showed my class an educational powerpoint that made me thankful for what I have.
Dear Fred:
We met the other day at the Mae Tao clinic, I was the old American with the video camera. Any chance I can come photograph your story the week of Feb 20 as I will be in the area once again.