I’m heartbroken for these kids. I’m also inspired by them. By their bravery and resilience. By their resourcefulness, and their hope. By the smiles that they still carry despite the traumatic experience they have been through, fleeing for their lives, living in the jungle, watching their friends and family die before them.
I’m inspired by their ingenuity, their love for one another and the family they have built. I am inspired by their strength, and how they carry on each day, rather than letting loneliness, fear, and uncertainty be their guiding light like so many of us who have so much more than them.
I cannot imagine the strength it takes to get them to where they are now, mentally and physically. As someone with money in the bank, all of the opportunity in the world, in a place where I speak the language and have full control of my life, even I have anxiety and have dealt with crippling fear of uncertainty and debilitating loneliness and depression over the years. The way these kids overcome is one of the most beautiful things I’ve come to know and experience and I feel so greatful to spend time with and know such incredible humans and leaders.
These are the people I look up to. The real influencers of the world. These refugees that I have had the honor of breaking bread with have a spirit that the world needs more of.
When we look on the news, we hear about all of the bad things happening around the world as if it’s a storyline from a movie, without acknowledging how real it all is for millions of people. We are forced into urgency to help only when the news, and others in society tell us we should jump in the bandwagon.
I urge you to be different… to make a difference, to help the world and to help these people. Help me to help these people. If you are an influencer, I urge you to use your influence for the good of the world… that is the kind of influencer we need. We need people your skills, we need your heart, we need your energy in places like Burma. These kids need you.
The next time you go to buy something, I implore you to consider what impact your dollar has on the world. I implore you to use your dollar consciously while supporting for profit businesses, and to consider donating some time and energy towards people that really need it, next time you feel bored or lonely. There are a lot of people in the world to whom your love, your support, even if it is just $1 mean the world.
When we showed up at this house with refugee kids, we gave them hope. Hope is something that will keep them going, even in the darkest times. They were so happy and thrilled that someone cared, and someone wanted to help them. They were sad to know that this was just a preliminary pioneering trip to assess the situation and find out how we could help. They thought we were finally there to help them, and would be returning the next day to give them the education with which they could use to acquire jobs and some form of income, which is what they really want. It was heartbreaking to tell them that we were leaving, without being able to help them find jobs in this very instant.
We don’t know if we can or not, itll depend on if we can find the financial support for it, but my colleague Charles and I threw out that we may be back in about two months, which may or may not be the case depending on the support we get.
It was heartbreaking to see their faces with this news, and to hear them say, “we have to wait two months for you to come back?” 💔I’m going to do everything in my power to raise the money so that I can go back to help them… I just can’t let them down.
Please consider helping me in my mission. Any skills you can provide, time, energy, support, spreading awareness on social media, all of it will make a huge difference. Any resources you can provide or connect me to, any items you can donate will make a huge difference.
Right now, these kids are getting by with the help of a few people with big hearts, but they can only do so much, for so long. Please consider donating, even if it is just $1… I promise to be a good shepherd of your money and to find the best way to create the biggest impact and to help these people.
I want to invite anyone who’s interested to help. Though we will try, Charles and I cannot do this alone. There is so much need, and so little time. The crisis in Burma is just as urgent as what is going on in Ukraine, it just doesn’t make the news since it has been ongoing for the last two years since the military coup, and since China is backing the military and wiping it from the news. Their president Aung San Suu Kyi is still in jail, their newly founded democracy shattered with bombs and gunfire on civilians everywhere. Many of these refugees were protestors and fighters on the front line. Any Burmese people who have posted photos and videos are targeted and their whole community suffers, so there is no sharing of information on this side of the world, sadly. My hope is to do everything I can to shed more light on this situation so these people can get the help they need.
I met a young girl who at the age of 17 took up arms to fight the military government, and like many others who became wanted, fled to the jungle where she lived with her newfound family for six months. She is the only girl of this group of kids that I spent time with, mostly because of the danger that comes with everything. In addition to the risk of being killed, put in jail or dying some other way that all the men have to deal with, the females are at an extremely high risk of being sexually abused and also trafficked. The fact that this girl had made it across the border, and was with me today is astonishing.
Each one of these refugees has such an incredible story. Unfortunately since they are wanted peoples, and not welcome by their home country of Myanmar, nor their current home of Thailand, I cannot share any photos or videos of these people, for fear that they will be found.
If you’d like to learn more or see some of the photos and videos that I do have of these sweet souls, I’d be happy to show you in person, but I cannot send anything digitally in the off chance that it ends up in the wrong hands.
Your love and support mean so much to these people, and to me. Even with a $1 donation from 1,000 people, I can tell the kids that 1,000 people love them, and want to help them, and that love will give them more hope than any dollar amount will. Every time you share our mission on social media, I will be able to tell them that all of these people know about their fight, and that the word is spreading and that we will be able to find ways to help. Thank you, thank you thank you in advance for any people, resources or time and energy that you can contribute, from the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of my Burmese friends. Let’s do everything we can to spread more love around the world. 💖