A Visit to WEAVE on the Thai-Burma border

I posted last week about To-Go Ware, sustainable bamboo utensils that you can take-with to avoid disposable plastic cutlery. The utensils come in convenient carry packs, made either from recycled plastic bags by the Conserve nonprofit in Delhi, which I featured in the post; or in pretty cloth wraps made by WEAVE, a group working with Burmese women in refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border. To-Go Ware founder Stephanie Bernstein visited WEAVE last year, in a video I really like. For your viewing pleasure (11 min.):




You can learn more about WEAVE here. To-Go Ware in WEAVE carriers is available at many Whole Foods or online at To-Go Ware.com.

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Weekend Spotlight

A round-up and a thank-you as we begin a sunny late spring weekend here in the Upper Midwest.

May 16th is Endangered Species Day — right in time for our friends the Polar Bears. Other animals are still in peril. Tree Hugger has more info and adorable pix!

China Earthquake: See Thursday’s post for links to three good organizations for emergency donations. I’ve also moved up the Global Giving RSS feed (right sidebar), which includes giving opportunities in China and Myanmar.

Myanmar Cyclone: Aid agencies continue to struggle with Burma’s government. See my earlier post for agencies that already have personnel on-ground, and as such may be the best options for your donations.

Last but not least, a thank-you to Focus Organic for listing and categorizing the many May 15th Bloggers Unite for Human Rights posts, including Daily Mitzvah’s Darfur post.

I’ll be back on Sunday. Enjoy your weekend!

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Weekend Spotlight

Here’s your Weekend Mitzvah round-up:

A food drive that picks up at your house: Don’t forget: Leave food donations in a bag next to your mailbox for the Saturday, May 10 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

A hat tip to Skeet’s Stuff, which included Daily Mitzvah in its Sharing the Good Stuff Thursday post this week. Mahalo, Skeet!

Burma update #1: Agencies that are already in-country: Many of us have seen today’s headlines about the military government in Burma confiscating UN food aid, including supplies that would have fed and provided medical care for 95,000 people. The UN and the U.S. have decided to continue aid flights into the country, despite the Burmese government’s absurd obstructionist tactics. The situation presents a challenge for donors. I’m trying to focus on aid agencies that already had a presence in Burma before Cyclone Nargis, since they have at least a tenuous working relationship with the very dysfunctional government. World Vision has an established presence in-country, according to their web site: a 40-year continuous presence in the country and more than 500 staff on the ground even before the cyclone. Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders has 40 international staff and 1200 international workers already on the ground in Burma. Read an update of their activities here. Since it’s almost impossible to get new aid workers in at present, it’s worth checking out these two groups that are already in the country. (Photo © 2008 Agence France-Presse)

Burma Update #2: UW Credit Union hat-tip: The Myanmar Red Cross/Red Crescent Society is also long established in Burma. My terrific credit union just made Red Cross contributions easier (via the American Red Cross), by providing an link that allows a direct contribution right out of one’s checking or savings account, without any fuss or extra paperwork (must be logged in to Web Branch to access). They typically set this up for Christmastime charities. But I wanted to give a shout-out for this quick and creative response to the current humanitarian crisis. Google is also helping with a donation link right under their search box, facilitating contributions to UNICEF and Direct Relief International.

Weekend Mitzvah: Leave some canned food for the mail carrier on Saturday, and keep en eye on the Cyclone Nargis response to see where we can help.

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Cyclone Crisis in Myanmar

Photo © 2008 Agence France-Presse.

I’m holding the UNIFEM post I planned for today, to talk instead about the crisis in Myanmar after a cyclone killed more than 10,000 at least 22,000 more than 28,000 people over the weekend. I wrote about Burma (also known as Myanmar by its military dictatorship) in one of my first posts for this blog. And now its citizens are suffering even more in this frightening natural disaster. Mercy Corps estimates several hundred thousand people have been left homeless. They note, “United Nations officials say hundreds of thousands are without shelter or drinking water. . . . Agence France-Presse reported Monday that buildings were flattened, roads were blocked, trees were uprooted, and water supplies disrupted in Yangon, the country's main city. Winds topped 120 miles per hour.”

I’m going to dig into the blog’s Charity Piggy Bank and make a contribution to Mercy Corp’s dedicated Myanmar Cyclone Fund. Another good option is World Vision, which was on-ground in Burma before the cyclone and has already established a relationship with the government in a tricky political situation.

Today's mitzvah: Consider making a contribution to aid cyclone victims in Burma (aka Myanmar), a country already in crisis. No cash? The Hunger Site sends a portion of your free click-to-give contributions to Mercy Corps.

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Write A Letter: Support Buddhist Monks in Myanmar

It’s Sunday: do I go to church or find a convenient excuse to stay home? For me this isn’t a big deal. My Quaker / Disciples of Christ / Episcopalian background gives me a wealth of choices -- and confidence that my religious leaders will not be arrested if they choose to speak out against their government.

In Myanmar, which many prefer to call Burma in protest against the military dictatorship, more than 4,000 Buddhist monks have been jailed, a result of national protests in October. How can you help? Amnesty International has posted a sample letter than can be faxed, emailed, or snail mailed to Myanmar’s Foreign Minister. AI believes these letters put pressure on the regime by reminding them that the world is watching.

Today's mitzvah: Let the jailed monks and other peaceful protesters know that the world has not forgotten them. Click here to send a letter, fax, or email message to Myanmar's Foreign Ministry.

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