Heart-to-Heart, Person-to-Person Aid to Burma
Posted on May 15th, 2008
by 
evelyn
evelyn
A friend of mine, let's call him 0, is a Burmese artist, residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Normally, 0 self-funds his frequent visits to Burma (loaded with medicines, water purifiers, energy drinks and foods, books and educational materials) to bring to his village of about 1000 folks with his art work sales, but this time he'd only just returned from a 5-week trip in April with $5 in his pocket. Then Cyclone Nargis hit Burma.
He still hasn't heard from his family or been able to reach them.
In a blog post months ago (over at Crossroads Dispatches), I mentioned that I had a small cluster of friends that helped each other out. If anyone sells a painting, while yet another's scrounging for scraps to eat, they'll share the money, and/or cook you a home-cooked simmering soup and Burmese noodles supper.
"Artists gotta help other artists," my Burmese friend would say from time to time until the mantra was instilled in me.
In a time when large aid organizations are being turned away, a single individual (his visa is secured) can make a difference.
If you'd like to help, I'm taking donations at http://panmesa.chipin.com/burma-cyclone. Another friend - who's not even met O - is donating 100% of artsales through 5/21 to the aid trip from their site, http://basilandantimony.etsy.com/. And we've just starting to curate another Etsy site for ongoing Burma aid, http://art4burma.etsy.com/ - if you've like to contribute your DIY art/craft, leave a comment.
You may have your own unique way of jumping in and helping out too. Just let me know.
And, lastly, there's a fun-raiser in San Francisco, May 17th, 6-8 p.m. Come say Bon Voyage to my Burmese artist and humanitarian friend. He's the guest at a fun-raiser (do-it-yourself fingerpainted gift cards) and art show at Citizen Space, thanks to Tara Hunt. Address: 425 2nd Street, #300, San Francisco, CA.
0 does some really glorious fingerpaint (yup, handmade!) cards - watch, and/or do your own.
Scrumptious Burmese food will be served. Donations requested, (never mandatory) $7-10. Simply come by to show your support of an individual headed to help Burmese cyclone survivors next week.
(Upcoming RSVP, not required, for the fun-raiser.)
Bonus tale, origins unknown: "But," protested the old man,"the beach goes on for miles,and there are millions of starfish.What you are doing won't make any difference."
The boy looked at the starfish in his hand, gently threw it into the ocean, and answered: "It makes a difference to this one."
He still hasn't heard from his family or been able to reach them.
In a blog post months ago (over at Crossroads Dispatches), I mentioned that I had a small cluster of friends that helped each other out. If anyone sells a painting, while yet another's scrounging for scraps to eat, they'll share the money, and/or cook you a home-cooked simmering soup and Burmese noodles supper.
"Artists gotta help other artists," my Burmese friend would say from time to time until the mantra was instilled in me.
In a time when large aid organizations are being turned away, a single individual (his visa is secured) can make a difference.
If you'd like to help, I'm taking donations at http://panmesa.chipin.com/burma-cyclone. Another friend - who's not even met O - is donating 100% of artsales through 5/21 to the aid trip from their site, http://basilandantimony.etsy.com/. And we've just starting to curate another Etsy site for ongoing Burma aid, http://art4burma.etsy.com/ - if you've like to contribute your DIY art/craft, leave a comment.
You may have your own unique way of jumping in and helping out too. Just let me know.
And, lastly, there's a fun-raiser in San Francisco, May 17th, 6-8 p.m. Come say Bon Voyage to my Burmese artist and humanitarian friend. He's the guest at a fun-raiser (do-it-yourself fingerpainted gift cards) and art show at Citizen Space, thanks to Tara Hunt. Address: 425 2nd Street, #300, San Francisco, CA.
0 does some really glorious fingerpaint (yup, handmade!) cards - watch, and/or do your own.
Scrumptious Burmese food will be served. Donations requested, (never mandatory) $7-10. Simply come by to show your support of an individual headed to help Burmese cyclone survivors next week.
(Upcoming RSVP, not required, for the fun-raiser.)
Bonus tale, origins unknown: "But," protested the old man,"the beach goes on for miles,and there are millions of starfish.What you are doing won't make any difference."
The boy looked at the starfish in his hand, gently threw it into the ocean, and answered: "It makes a difference to this one."
Access: PublicTagged with: burma, aid, nargis, cyclone, fundraising, compassion, disaster, natural+disaster, myanmar, art, etsy, san francisco
aid
May 2008