Offering Relief Aid and Love to Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Near the China-Myanmar (Burma) Border

By Yunnan Province, China Relief Team (Originally in Chinese)

In Lincang City, Yunnan Province, China, many areas border Myanmar (Burma), including Mengding Township in Gengma County, Nansan Township in Zhenkang County, and Cangyuan County. At the beginning of 2015, many Burmese living along the border made their way to these towns due to civil unrest in Myanmar (Burma). The Chinese government provided humanitarian aid for these people and set up many refugee camps near Maidihe, Yunnan Province, close to the border. Tens of thousands of refugees live in tents in these camps, the majority being women and children.

Refugees in Yunnan Province, China 

On March 15, our Kunming Association members, following Master’s loving instructions, formed a relief team and set out to provide assistance to the refugees. On March 17, we entered the Maidihe refugee camps with the help of local volunteers and witnessed the difficult situation of the women, children and elderly people living there. Based on their needs, we went back to Nansan Township to purchase relief items including rice, vegetable oil, sugar, clothes, medicine, daily necessities, tent fabric and a solar power generator. We then asked local volunteers to help deliver the items to the camps. The dedicated managers and staff at supermarkets and pharmacies tried their best to give us the items at a discount. Ms. Guo, the Chairwoman of the Burmese Women’s and Children’s Association, and the local volunteers were touched to learn that the refugees would be receiving more aid. Then, on March 18, we arrived at Mengding Township in Gengma County and picked up the military quilts, clothes and rice we had purchased and gave them to the local civil affairs government agency that would help deliver all the relief items to the camps.

Internally Displaced Persons in Kachin State, Myanmar (Burma)

A few weeks later, we learned that the orphanages and schools in the camps for internally displaced citizens on the Myanmar (Burma) side, near Zhangfeng Township, Longchuan County and Yingjiang County in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, were especially in need of help. Individuals in the camps were from earlier civil unrest that had occurred in Myanmar (Burma). We first gave RMB 21,000 to our Burmese Association members in Kachin State so they could begin to help these people and later purchased some items for the children.

On April 16, we contributed clothes, stationery, daily necessities, rice, vegetable oil, soy vegan meat substitutes, cookies and other food items to Shapan Boarder orphanage in Maija Yang City in Myanmar (Burma). We also provided RMB 20,000 for the construction of a foundation for the school. The school principal and teachers thanked us repeatedly. In addition, we gave one bag of rice and one bottle of vegetable oil to each of the 28 families in a village in Kachin State who were experiencing difficulty as the women had lost their husbands in the conflict. The villagers were moved to tears.

On April 17, with the help of a Burmese guide, we delivered two truckloads of rice and salt to the camps in Maija Yang, where over 5,000 internally displaced people were living. The governor of Eastern Kachin State came to the camp in person to accept our contribution. He said the rice and salt brought timely comfort to the individuals staying there and could help sustain the camp for more than a month. He said he would be forever grateful for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s help. We also gave the people more than 300 copies of an anthology of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s lectures on veganism and environmental protection. Wherever we went, the recipients expressed their sincere thanks.

During our relief work we met a couple in Zhangfeng Township, Longchuan County, Yunnan Province, China that earns a living making tofu and selling it near the China-Myanmar (Burma) border. The couple had been vegan for over a year and sincerely wished to follow Supreme Master Ching Hai’s teachings. We gave them RMB 3,500 to help them buy a three-wheeled motorcycle. The wife also gladly accepted many copies of the anthology of lectures on veganism and environmental protection for later distribution.

Next, we traveled quickly to Yingjiang County in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, where we purchased relief supplies in response to the requests of a Western Kachin State’s government official. The items included rice, vegetable oil, salt, stationery, umbrellas, children’s clothes and cookies.

On April 18, we loaded the truck with the supplies and went to Pajau camp for internally displaced persons in Kachin State, where we transferred the items to the camp’s management staff from Myanmar (Burma). The teachers at the camp school were happily surprised, and the government official was moved to tears. We also contributed RMB 10,000 in cash to the school, and gave 70 solar lights we had previously ordered to the government official’s deputy to be delivered to displaced persons in Kachin State.

We pray that Kachin State will soon have peace and stability, so that its people can live and work there happily, and that all its children have families that can give them love and care. Our deep appreciation to Master for Her blessings, which helped us successfully complete our relief work for camps for the refugees in Yunnan Province, China and internally displaced individuals in Kachin State, Myanmar (Burma).

Expenditures by The Supreme Master Ching International Association for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Relief Work Along the China-Myanmar (Burma) Border

The relief team members paid approximately RMB 2,100 for their own transportation, accommodations and food.