Myanmar-- New furniture and science equipment

 Myanmar-- New furniture and science equipment for recently built school – enrolment 200 pupils – now sister school to the already successful primary school address  Elpis School Yangon, Myanmar.

Kherson Ukraine

 Basic necessities and essential medical supplies delivered to Kherson, Ukraine.

from Timothy in Myanmar

Myanmar - It is important that we never allow the priority on the news to take our thoughts and prayers away from those we love and care for. Please see below an account of tragedy from our dear friend Michael – you must trust us that the attached photographs we received were too harrowing for publication on any medium.

My dear friends, I am writing with a heavy heart to inform you about a tragic incident that occurred on January 7 in Kanaan village, my wife Lily's hometown. During a worship service at the church, we established in 1988, a jet fighter bombed the village unexpectedly. This resulted in the loss of 11 adults and 4 children, with 31 people sustaining injuries, some severely. The attack occurred without any apparent reason, and all the villagers affected were Christians. Approximately 10 houses were destroyed, and the community is mourning the tragic loss and injuries. The situation is dire, and people are seeking refuge in the jungles for safety. The ongoing intensity of the war is alarming, and there is an urgent need to assist those affected by providing food, temporary shelter, medicines, and other necessities. The war is going on across the country very badly. The war is causing widespread devastation across the country, and I earnestly request you to ask your friends to pray for Myanmar during these challenging times. 

  Timothy

Kherson, Ukraine – Update January, 2024

 

Kherson, Ukraine – Update January, 2024
The shelling killed one policeman and injured two other police officers, as well as two civilians.
The attack on the southern Kherson region and its capital hit residential areas and a mall as well as striking the power grid. 
Around 70% of households in Kherson city were left without electricity during the winter cold, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Myanmar Update January 2024

Myanmar Update January 2024
The Arakan Army (AA), an armed ethnic group in Myanmar, said it seized control of a strategic trade town in the west this week, dealing a blow to the generals who led a coup in 2021, and adding to a list of recent army defeats in the country’s continuing civil war.
Paletwa in Chin State lies along the Kaladar river close to the borders of both India and Bangladesh, and is part of a multimillion-dollar sea port project that could soon link India to Myanmar.
 “There is not a single military council camp left in the entire Paletwa area,” the AA said in a statement.
Myanmar’s military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi nearly three years ago, triggering mass protests that turned into armed resistance after the army responded with brutal force.
The Three Brotherhood Coalition or the 3BHA, a collection of armed groups including the AA, launched a major offensive at the end of October, and has since overrun dozens of military outposts and taken control of several towns in the north near the border with China.
Can the alliance overturn military rule in Myanmar?
Operation 1027 has given renewed momentum to the armed campaign to restore democracy to Myanmar.
In one incident in November, soldiers raised white flags, surrendering the township of Kawlin, a district capital in central Myanmar, and allowing PDF forces to take over. It marked the army’s first defeat in a capital district, and also, the first success of resistance groups, which had been largely limited to border areas, in central Myanmar.
The military has responded with force against anti-coup forces, launching air raids indiscriminately, deploying ground troops, and inflicting heavy losses on some of the newly formed resistance cells. Schools, hospitals and displacement camps have not been spared, as it continues a long-held policy known as “four cuts” that aims starve resistance groups of food, funds, intelligence and recruits by going after their civilian support base

Myanmar military government pardons more than 9,000 prisoners

 Annual amnesty marking Independence Day takes place during crisis in the north that poses threat to military rulers.

 

Members of the ethnic minority armed group Ta'ang National Liberation Army stand guard in a temple area of a hill camp seized from the military in northern Myanmar's Shan State on December 13, 2023. [AFP]Myanmar’s military government has pardoned more than 9,000 prisoners, including 114 foreign nationals, to mark the country’s Independence Day.

Friends and families of prisoners gathered outside the high-security Insein Prison in the commercial capital Yangon as the releases were set to start on Thursday and expected to take place over several days. The identities of those slated for release were not yet known, and there was no indication that any political prisoners would be freed. Thursday’s announced amnesty, part of an annual release, comes as the government faces a crisis in the country’s north, where ethnic armed groups have captured military and border posts, threatening to block trade with China. Against this roiling backdrop, the Independence Day celebrations were devoid of the usual pomp and circumstance, and military chief Min Aung Hlaing was notably absent from the proceedings. In a statement, his administration said 9,652 prisoners would be freed.

“Myanmar’s military generals are up to their same old tricks, releasing large numbers of common criminals and a bunch of foreign prisoners during a major national holiday and trying to dress that up as ‘progress’ on human rights,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW). The military came to power in a coup in February 2001 after ousting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, brutally suppressing protests and cracking down on all forms of dissent.

Suu Kyi, 78, is currently in prison, sentenced to 33 years on an array of politically motivated charges from corruption to flouting COVID-19 restrictions. Her party was dissolved last year after failing to comply with tough new party registration laws. Since the power grab, military leaders have been accused of murdering dozens of prisoners and covering up their deaths as escape attempts. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group, more than 25,730 people were arrested for opposing the coup, and almost 20,000 are still in detention. The AAPP reports that at least 4,277 civilians, including pro-democracy activists, have been killed by security forces. In 2022, the generals drew international condemnation after executing four pro-democracy leaders and activists in the country’s first use of the death penalty in decades.

 

Our Myanmar Project

 Our ongoing project in Myanmar is almost complete. Some paint and cosmetic work and this school building will be open for students in June.