at the heart 2011

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011

1/16MARCH issue 2011

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011

2/162 PARTNeRs MAGAZiNe / March i 2011

Partners Magazine March Issue 2011

Publisher Partners Relie & Development

Our visiOn Free, ull lives or the children o Burma

FOunders Steve & Oddny Gumaer

COntributOrs Steve & Oddny Gumaer, Brad & Joyce Hazlett,

Craig Garrison, Ryan and Matthew Smith.

PhOtOs Stuart Corlett, Dave Ellem, Steve Gumaer,

Ryan and Kara Garrison.

layOut and design Sacha Olson

Printed in Thailand

Partners Relie & Development 2011.Permission to reproduce any o the material ound in

Partners Relie & Development magazines can be obtained at:

[email protected]

Partners Relie & Development is a registered charity in the USA,

Canada, UK, Australia, Norway, New Zealand and Thailand

Field OFFiCes Chiang Mai and Mae Sot, Thailand

subsCriPtiOns For a ree subscription to Partners magazine

and or inormation on how you can help us in our mission,

please contact us:

usa

Partners Relie & Development

PO Box 2066

Redlands, CA 92373

USA

TELEPHONE 909 748 5810

EMAIL [email protected]

www.partnersworld.org

Canada

Partners Canada

33130 Springbank Road

Calgary,

Alberta T3Z 2L9Canada

TELEPHONE 403 538 2870


www.partnersworld.ca

australia

Partners Australia

PO Box 13

Alstonville

NSW 2477

Australia

TELEPHONE +61 266 285 387


www.partnersworld.org.au

united KingdOM

Partners Relie & Development UK

PO Box 557

Mexborough S63 3EN

United Kingdom

TELEPHONE +44 (0)1709 578904


www.partnersworld.org.uk

neW Zealand

Partners NZ

PO Box 40 284

Upper Hutt 5018

New ZealandTELEPHONE +6 4 (0) 4889 2644


www.partnersworld.org.nz

rePrints Bulk reprints can be obtained directly rom PRAD as

availability permits.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken rom

the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973,

1978, 1984. Zondervan Publishing House.

FrOnt COver

"Karen girl, displaced in November 2010. "

HSA PAW (star flower)

KAReN MeDiCAL PROJeCTs AssisTANTHsa Paw has joined the Mae Sot team in theMedical Department. Part o her role is tooversee all the administration tasks o themedical oce. She also helps take care opatients by sending them to the local hospital,assisting them with their medical care andtranslating as she speaks & writes ve languages!She is married and has a beautiul son.

STEPHEN & KELLITeAMs COORDiNATORs

Kelli & Stephen joined us at the beginning o

February in Mae Sot. They have a big heart orthe Karen people ater working with them in theUS or ve years and volunteering as teachers atNoh Bo Academy on the Thai-Burma border in2009. Since then they have returned to the US,married, and prepared to start working ull timewith Partners.

RYAN & LEAHMeDiA & AGRiCuLTuRAL DeVeLOPMeNT

These newlyweds have been rening theirskills in photojournalism and arming or thelast ew years in New York. Called to help thepeople o Burma, Leah hopes to bring her

experience in agricultural development todisplaced persons struggling with nutritionand ood security, while Ryan will spend mosto his time doing all things media.

THE UYEDA FAMILYLANGuAGe sTuDY

Wes and I-man Uyeda are rom Hawaii, andhave joined the Chiang Mai team, alongwith their daughters Chloe (three years) andIsabella (one year). Theyre currently learningthe Thai language, helping their daughtersadjust to the new culture and liestyle, andtangibly helping wherever they can whilediscovering where they might best be utilized.

THE GARRISON FAMILY

Craig and Kara Garrison and kids (Emilee,Katy, and Jacob) are now back in Chiang Maiand back at Partners. Their oldest, Sarah, isin college in the U.S. They spent a year back inthe U.S. and are looking orward to thechallenges ahead. Craig is helping to overseeseveral projects out o our Chiang Mai oce.We're glad to have them back!

NEW STAFFWeLCOMe TO THe FAMiLY

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011

3/16WWW.PARTNeRsWORLD.OR

What is at the heart o Partners Relie & Development?Picking up this magazine you will see it is deliveringlie-saving essentials to victims o a brutal war, caringor children the most vulnerable victims o thatconict and fnding ways to transorm the mess intowholeness through development. It is also to documentthe stories we hear o the people o Burma, their dailygrind o injustice and brutality under the military regime,and to advocate on their behal. That is a tight orensicdescription o Partners.

Our vision is ree, ull lives or the children o Burmaand our hope is to see reconciled communities living inpeace. Our mission, in light o that end, is holistic. Theprophet Micah says this better than I can ever hope to do.In Chapter 6, verse 8 he says:

He's already made it plain how to live, what to

do, what God is looking or in men and women.It's quite simple: Do what is air and just to yourneighbour, be compassionate and loyal in your love,and don't take yoursel too seriously take Godseriously. (The Message)

This, you could say, is a two-sentence description thatepitomises our white-hot core. In our drive to be aithulto Gods mandate o compassion we fnd ourselves doingwhat we can to love our neighbours, work or justice, anddo everything we do in concert with the compassion andheart o God.

Oddny Gumaer writes in her article that a society isas healthy as it is kind to its children. A quick look atBurma, especially the ethnic states, makes it clear by thisindicator that Burma is a ailed state under military rulewhere the intentional destruction o lie and livelihood ochildren is a daily event.

Finally, we are a community dedicated to one another.For this reason we grieve the loss o one o our chies,Marv Kahn. Joyce Hazlett writes a tribute to Marv onbehal o the team. Marv was a riend to us all, a atherto many, and a bright light that leaves a mark on thedarkness o this world or all eternity.

Thanks to all o you who pray, who send support,and who volunteer in so many ways. Your generosity asmembers o our team has made a tremendous impact inBurma. You are part o shining the light o love into a very

dark part o the world. I hope this magazine brings you alittle closer to the heart o what that means.

Thankul,

Steve GumaerCEO, PARTNERS RELIEF & DEVELOPMENT

"DO WHAT is FAiR AND JusT TO YOuR NeiGHBOuR, Be COMPAssiONATe AND LOYAL iN

YOuR LOVe, AND DON'T TAKe YOuRseLF TOO seRiOusLY TAKe GOD seRiOusLY."

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011

4/16

Relie. Its a welcoming word which by itsdenition conveys the easing o some sorto burden or stress. We all want it. Most ous have it. But what does it mean or thosewho dont?

Recently I had an experience which helped me seemore clearly the level o Partners Relie & Developmentinvolvement in relie. I knew the stories. I had seen thedata. I believed I had a basic understanding o how reliehelped ease the pain o oppression in Burma. But thischanged on a recent trip inside; a three-week trip o hikingsteep hills in jungle terrain. I met many Internally Displaced

Persons (IDPs) whose lives depend on Partners support.Their only hope is the relie we can provide.

At one point on my trip I was sitting in the woods,deep in Karen state with 33 other men. We were near thesite o attacks rom earlier this year and together we werediscussing how their lives had been aected.

To reach this place I had already walked 12 daysvisiting other villages and pockets o IDPs, many o whomwere rom the villages represented by the headmen nowmeeting with me in the woods. As we talked I began tomore ully understand the plight o the those living in thearea. They told me o the nearby camps rom where theBurma Army had initiated the attacks. While standing in

their rice elds we could look at the camps in the distance.I heard these men tell o how dicult it was to eed theiramilies, even in ideal conditions, especially since theyknow that at any time the Burma Army can come anddestroy what little they have.

As we talked about the diculties they ace, theirwives sat nearby and their children played together at theedge o the group. I was overwhelmed by the realisationthat these were athers and mothers with normal eelingso responsibility to care or their amilies. I was humbled asI listened to them thank Partners or our part in meetingtheir needs and, as anyone would have done, I told them Iwished I could do more.

WHEREWOULDWE GO?

by Brad Hazltt

They thanked me or the radios or the EarlyWarning System and shared how the radio network savedlives by warning o the advancing army. They explainedhow the Burma Army destroys their ood and thankedPartners or providing rice, storage barns, and rice millsto be used in times o need. We talked about medicine,clothing, blankets, tarps, plastic sheets and the rest o thevalued components o Partners relie.

During our discussion I began to more ullyunderstand the need or relie and the importance oPartners response. At one point during the discussionI asked how many believed there would be more attacksduring the next three months. Without exception all handswere raised. For awhile we sat there as no one spoke and

I took in the seriousness o their situation. As I thought othe many amilies who had decided to fee to other areas,I nally asked why they chose to remain. I ully expectedthem to respond in deance. I thought they wouldstrongly declare that the land was theirs and no one wasgoing to take it rom them. As we sat in silenceI wondered why they didnt respond. Finally one manstood and simply said, Where would we go?

While I had expected determination, their responseshowed resignation. In that one brie moment I got amuch clearer picture o the desperate and despicablesituation in Burma. These men and women are trying tosurvive, and provide or their amilies, in the shadow o an

enemy set out to destroy them. For them, relie is morethan just something to ease pain and suering, it is ameans to survive.

Brad is a pilot who has let his airplane in order to yPartners to its destination. He leads the work o Partnersin Thailand and that can at times be more o a challengethan keeping an airplane ying. And a lot more un.He loves to put on his hiking boots and go to visitthe people we help in the jungle. He is married andhas two grown kids.

4 PARTNeRs MAGAZiNe / March i 2011

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011


8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011


DeVeloPMeNt

by Cig Gin

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011


Sustainable development continues to bea hot topic in the world today. And rightlyso. As one o our our core areas o work atPartners we certainly believe in its importance.Its even in our name! From the beginning,

we have believed that real-lie change or thepeople in war-torn areas o Burma must startwith relie (due to the ongoing civil war andsubsequent humanitarian crisis) but would allar short i that was all we did. To that end,over the last several years we have establisheda wide-ranging development plan that wouldprobably surprise you. Following is a brieoverview o some o the development workwe are involved with.

Partners has two development arm-training centers thatocus on simple, reproducible ideas to help the peopleo Burma become more sel-sustaining. Pigs, sh, plants,appropriate technology, biogas, hydro and solar power,compost and many other areas are emphasised. Thisapproach orms the basis o our traditional developmentapproach and we are seeing exciting results inside Burmathrough these initiatives. In act, we are moving beyondthe amiliar mantra o I you give a man a sh, hell eator a day; teach a man to sh and hell eat or a lietime,to Lets help him develop his own sh pond! Thats theidea behind sustainable development. Its the dierencebetween a handout and a hand-up.

However, seeing the development work that Partners

does solely through pigs, sh and arms would be a mistake.In the last several years, Partners has been creating whatwe call transormational development steps to addressthe varied needs o people inside Burma. While the term'development' usually connotes material change only,transormational development seeks positive change in thewhole o human lie materially, socially and spiritually.*

Within Karen and Shan States, Burma, we arebeginning to see real transormational development takeplace. Consider this: in Karen State the Communities AtRisk program was started a ew years ago by Partners asa way to get immediate help to those villages in Burmawho were located in close proximity to Burma Armyoutposts and thereore at high risk or abuse, orced labour

and worse. Today, local villages have taken ownershipo the program to the extent that it is almost entirelylocally led. Training in such areas as evacuation planning,prepositioned relie, knowledge development, nutritionand education is being developed and led by local leaders.

Additionally, a list o transormational indicators hasalso been established to aid in evaluating whether ornot the interventions are actually making a measurabledierence in the lives o the people. One local leaderinside Karen State recently shared with us, Relie is goodand vital when we are under attack. However, in order tobuild up our people we need to look beyond relie andhelp the communities to rely on themselves."

Moving urther north and east rom Karen State,were also seeing signicant signs o transormationaldevelopment taking place in Shan State, Burma. In 2010Partners trained ten community leaders rom central ShanState to start schools and train teachers. One particularleader returned to his community with hope and a newvision. That area has six villages in it and or more than 28

years, no child has ever studied past 4th standard (eightyears old). Only three people have ever graduated highschool (and did so only by leaving the community). This isone o the lucky communities. Indeed, in the confict areaso Shan State as ew, as 4% o children go to school.

Returning home to his community, this leader calledan area-wide meeting. Together, they decided to builda school that would provide or grades ve and six.Pooling their meager resources, they cleared some land,built a bamboo building and hired two teachers. Today,approximately 150 kids go to school. And what was thetotal cost to Partners Relie & Development? AboutUS$350. All that was needed was the organisational tools,

vision and hope to make it work.

Stuart Corlett, Partners Shan Projects Manager, commentson what he sees happening in Shan State:

The Shan people are primarily Buddhist. DoesJesus come into the equation? O course! I was recentlytalking with a Buddhist, Shan riend. He said this to me inbroken English, Three years ago when you frst startedworking with us, I thought you only wanted us to beChristians. Now I realise that you wanted to be like Godto us What he meant was that his initial thinking aboutPartners involvement was about religion; what he hasound out is that we desire to represent God to him andthe Shan people.

While a communitys spiritual development is difcultto quantiy it is also clear to us that each communitywe work with in Shan State understands why we arethere: because o Jesus. It is also evident that God is

transorming lives in these communities. As I prayed withone Buddhist Senior Army leader recently, he returneda prayer or me praying, This year, may everything thatStuart does, and Partners does, be done with real genuinelove. I get a sense that transormation is going on

(Stuart Corlett, Sonya Claase and Chris Dolan contributed to this article.)

*Myers, Bryant. Walking With the Poor, 1999, Orbis Books.

Craig Garrison has a heart or the poor, or children and orBurma. This is why he works or Partners. When he is not busyhelping people in Burma, he likes to play his guitar or beat hisriends in tennis. He is the husband o Kara and the ather oour children.

"...iN ORDeR TO BuiLD uP OuR

PeOPLe We NeeD TO LOOK

BeYOND ReLieF AND HeLP

THe COMMuNiTies TO ReLY ON

THeMseLVes."

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011


O dcm 6, 2010 several hundredvillagers in Dooplaya district, Karen State,Burma ed rom a Burma army attack asfghting in the area escalated. As villagersscattered through heavily mined jungle,mortars rom a Burma army hilltop outpostcontinued to bombard the homes below.A group o around 200 were ledto saety by a Free Burma Rangers teamwho stayed with them as they began to

make the best o what they hoped to bea temporary hide site. Bamboo shelterswere constructed with nothing more thana machete, erected in only two days.A constant light rain made a difcultsituation worse. W f o theinitial attack, emergency supplies romPartners and FBR arrived including 2,400ko o c, blankets, tarps and clothes.yo o c p !

vllag had

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011


LOVE

ourworldwith

Its a DIffEREnt kInD Of GIft

ar on thr way to commnt n Brma!

tHank YOU!

*p://www.w.o/c.pp?_=20621 "b bm' o, d. t s, co' dp ao g, po bm jo p, comm o m oo, coop w un hm r spc eo o bm, tom Oj Q."

u th nclod rpon form and nd yor gft today. Or donat onln: www.partnrworld.org

1384GIfts of loVe

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011


Eh Htoo1 is a nine year-old Karen boy I metin Burma in 2009. He lives with his uncle ina temporary camp o 697 people whosevillages were destroyed by Burma Armyorces. Most o the people living there havehad to fee to new hiding places 12 timessince 2006.

I was with a number o relie teams who were setting up apresentation or the children in that camp. As the childrenstarted to arrive I noticed Eh Htoo. He had a mischievousgrin, a confdent stride, and a slingshot in his back pocket.I tapped his shoulder and asked what the slingshot was or.Birds, he replied with a dry smile, as he joined the othersbeside our bamboo hut.

Later that day I asked the community leaders i I couldhear the stories o some o the people who have survivedattacks. Among the 10 people who crowded into the hut totalk with me was Eh Htoo. Along with help rom his uncle,he told me his story.

In 2005 Eh Htoos ather made a decision. Havinglived under the constant threat o violence, extortion, andabuse by local Burma Army orces, he gathered his amilyo our and hiked deep into the jungle to hide rom thesoldiers that harassed them. For two years they lived othe land, oraging or ood and enjoying relative peace andsecurity. But in 2008, just ater burning down the villagewhere Eh Htoo was born, the regime orces discoveredEh Htoos amily in their hide site. The leader o that patrol

pulled the pin on a hand grenade and threw it at the them.Eh Htoos dad caught the grenade and was blown up inront o the amily.

Somehow Eh Htoo, his mother, and older sister

escaped. The ollowing year Eh Htoos mum hangedhersel rom a tree and died. Later that year his older sistergot sick and died. It was then that he ound his way to hisuncle's hide site.

Eh Htoo is a smart child. He was articulate and braveas he recounted his story. He somehow fnished frstgrade but didnt want to go to school anymore. Instead,he wanted to hunt birds in the jungle. I looked Eh Htooin the eyes and pleaded with him to go to school, helpwith chores, and be the man he was created by God tobe, despite the destruction o so many sacred things. Ilet money with his uncle to help with ood and schoolsupplies. I prayed or them.

His community lives two hours on oot rom a Burma

Army camp. The landscape around their valley waspeppered with the sooty remains o burned down villages.His neighbors all bear the scars o Burma Army abuse. Iasked his 58yearold uncle how many times he has had torun or his lie. More times than I can remember, he said.

So advocacy is not just a programme in Partners Relie& Development; it is part o what we must do as brothersand sisters to Eh Htoo and his neighbors. We cant justtell them God loves them and leave them to die. In thesame vein, we cant just give them the ood they need tosurvive and leave their story untold. To do so constitutesaithlessness to the mandate o justice and the LoveCommand o Jesus Christ (Luke 10:27).

by stv Gmar

LEaRn

tO DORIGHtsEEkJUstICE

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011

11/16

Is it right to earn nancial returnson investments in companies thatcontribute to human rights abuses?Is it right to prot rom companies that

uphold violent dictatorships? Thesequestions underpin a new 40-pageEarthRights International reportreleased with Partners on December5th 2010 in Oslo, entitled BrokenEthics: The Norwegian Government'sInvestments in Oil and Gas CompaniesOperating in Burma.

The report exposes how the Norwegiangovernment has $4.7 billion dollars invested in 15 oand gas companies operating in Burma. These huge

multinationals are complicit in orced labour, landconscation, killings, and other abuses connected tonatural gas and oil pipeline projects in Burma, whilenancially upholding the dictatorship.

Why Norway? The Norwegian governmentmanages the world's second largest sovereignwealth und. It's worth over $500 billion dollars andhas clear rules intended to help it avoid investmentsin companies that contribute to human rightsabuses. When a company ails to meet Norway'sstandards, it is either excluded rom the Fund or putunder observation.

Broken Ethics doesn't ask Norway to developnew investment standards the standards are the

best in the world. The problem is that they aren'tbeing applied. The ethics are broken, but notbeyond xing.

Ethical investment is not a new idea. Theprinciple o not harming your neighbor throughbusiness practices has deep roots in Christianity.Pioneering Christian communities in America andEurope decided it was unethical to invest in thetrade o human beings long beore abolition gainedlegal traction in the 19th century. The enduringguidance was to rerain rom certain investmentsthat stood in clear violation o God's law. It was amessage o ethical inaction.

The idea that investment capital canproactively work or repressed peoples rather thanagainst them is newer. I the Norwegian governmentakes immediate action to apply its standards andexclude the Burmese regime's corporate partnersrom its Fund, it will send an ethical shockwave tocorporate executives and capital investors aroundthe world. It will, in eect, help reconcile the worldto social justice by combatting the military regime'slieline, one complicit company at a time.

Matthew SmithSENIOR CONSULTANT, EARTHRIGHTS INTERNATIONAL

The prophet Isaiah lists the sins o the Israelites andthe ways their religion has ouled the name o God. Inthe verses leading up to verse 17 a lot o religious basedactivity is called out or what it is, hypocrisy. Then, in verse17 the prophet says:

ln d igh; k juic.

Dnd h ppd.

tk up h cu h h;

pd h c h id.

Thats it. Thats what our advocacy programme is allabout. Thats why we worked on Displaced Childhoods2,why we develop reports or policy makers, why we workwith lawyers who advance litigation towards justice, andwhy we stand with other organizations like ERI (see acingarticle) as they appeal or justice. Its why I write thisarticle and why my teammate Ryan made a video3 aboutnineyearold Naw Paw Ta Eh Moo.

We are all learning to do right, to seek justice, totake up the cause o the atherless, and to plead thecase o the widow. We are learning, as we plead, what it

means to be aithul to the gospel.

1 Name changed to protect identity

2 http://partnersworld.org/usa/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=134&Itemid=290

3 Visit our Vimeo Chanel to see this amazing video: http://vimeo.com/channels/partnerstv#17909489

Steve Gumaer is the co-ounder and CEO o Partners. Whenhe is not traveling, he spends his time sharing the things he ismost passionate about God, Burma and Partners. He enjoysclimbing mountains on a rope, skiing down steep mountainsand riding ast on his bike. He also enjoys his amily.

aDV

oCaCY

WWW.PARTNeRsWORLD.ORG

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011


CareforCHIlDreN

ofCoNflICt

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011

13/16WWW.PARTNeRsWORLD.ORG

I this is the measure o a societys soul, thenBurmas soul is suering. While Burmasleaders say that their children are the jewelso their society, their actions show somethingquite dierent: one o the highest inantmortality rates in the world, more child soldiers

than anywhere in the world, less than halo the countrys school-aged children get toattend school, lack o medical care in all placesexcept in the cities, orced labour evenamong children, violence, rape and murder.

At Partners we have always elt that a special ocus has tobe put on children in Burma. Our vision, ree, ull lives orthe children o Burma, has permeated everything we havedone over the years. We have supported orphanages andchildrens homes, we have started schools and supportedteachers, we have provided scholarships and conducted

health checks, we have perormed dental work andacilitated vacation bible schools. All o this we have donebecause we believe that children matter.

One o the teenagers who is under our care right nowis Lay Keh Por. Although he is 18, his lie has been shapedby what happened to him as a child. This is his story:

In the 18 years Lay Keh Por has been alive he has seenand experienced more than any human being should.

I had just arrived at a home or children and youth thatPartners supports in Mae La reugee camp. The home isrun by some o our best Karen riends, Arthur and Clasper.They care or kids with love and dedication, wanting eachchild to succeed, eel valued and sae. Most o all they wantthem to discover Gods will or them.

Lay Keh Por had his lunch break rom school, and cameover to where we were sitting to talk to us. He seemedshy and spoke with his eyes downcast. He had only beenat Clasper and Arthurs or a year. Beore coming here hewas studying at a school located in a Internally DisplacedPeople (IDP) camp just across the border in Burma. Last yearsoldiers entered the camp and burned it to the ground. Allthe people living in the camp had to fee or their lives.

Growing up he knew too well what it was like to livewith the enemy. His village, Htee Per, was occupied by theBurma Army when he was young. Many times the BurmaArmy would come to their village and burn it to the ground.I cant count how many times that happened, he saidin a low voice. Every time they came we had to pack upwhat little we could carry with us and run. Lie hiding in the

jungle was harsh. We did not have enough ood to eat, sowe were always hungry. What little we had, we did not dareto cook because the smoke would have alerted the enemy.It is almost impossible to sleep on the jungle foor. Peoplegot sick and died.

They would stay in the jungle 4-5 weeks at a time andthen try to return to their village. This was a perilous thing todo since the soldiers always placed landmines around thevillage and on the path back.

Once they had returned and rebuilt their homes, theywere still under the control o the enemy. The soldiers

would give the villagers rules to live by and enorce them byterrorising or killing anybody who disobeyed. One o the rulesstated that they were not allowed to leave the village to getood. It is an impossible rule to live by since all the elds othe villagers are ar away. He remembers the soldiers shootingone young girl who had been caught leaving the villagelooking or vegetables when he was 14.

The soldiers would also demand services rom them. Thevillagers could not say no. A ew years ago they came or hisather. You are with the resistance, the soldiers accused theather. He wasnt o course. He was just a simple armer. But thesoldiers took him away to porter their equipment. Four dayslater the soldiers killed him. This was on 8 December 2008.

Lay Keh Por let his village totally on his own. Nobodytold him to go. The rest o his amily is still living in the village.I worry about them all the time, he almost whispered.

I asked about his uture and when I did so Lay Keh Porsat up straight, looked me in the eyes and spoke with morepassion than I had seen in him the entire time we were talking:I want to deend my people. They dont even have the mostbasic human rights. I I dont deend the innocent, then whowill? I nobody deends them, the government will continue totake more and more o their belongings and their rights.

Beore he went back to class, we prayed together andI told him that I was proud o him. I told him that his peopleneed men like him who will stand up and deend the cause o

justice and peace. I hope that he will be able to orgive andthat bitterness and hate will not guide his actions, but thatlove will. I am condent that in Arthur and Claspers care, thisyoung man will be able to receive and embrace the kind olove that can change a nation.

by Oddny Gmar

Oddny is the co-ounder o Partners. She is living in Norway withher amily. When not leading Partners Norway and keeping tracko her kids and husband, she cross-country skis, runs or works onher second book which she hopes will be published in 2011.

ParnersChildrens

homeshousing,

1,0

91childrenwho

aregivenhygiene

packs

andannualh

ealhchecks.

Oe i ve childre iBurm die beore heir

theBurmeseJuna

spen

dsonly0.6%

ofallisspending

owa

rdseducaion.*

childre re educed

wih he ice o

Prer Relie & Developme ech yer.

school meril re

delivered o 1,025

chool i kre se

(home o 4,033 ech-

er), thi provide

echig d lerig

meril, educio

reource boo, d

por equipme.

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011


How are you doing today, sir?

Lousy" was Marvs abrupt response. "I have terminal cancer.

With a twinkle in his eye and a chuckle that turned tolaughter, Marv let the store and speechless clerk. That wasseven years ago. Two years later at age 69 he, along withhis wie Dorothy, decided to come to Thailandto chooseChrist over cancer. He wanted to make a dierence in Godskingdom...and what a dierence he made!

There are many things we all miss about Marv. Thehumorous way he looked at lie was just one o hismany unique gits to us here at Partners. He was alsoa microbiologist, a dad to many, a man o vision, acreative developer, a servant with a huge heart, an intellect,

encourager, great conversationalist, researcherwe hadnever heard o moringa until we met Marv. Did we mentionhis passion or his pigs at the Partners arm, where hismoringa also grew? Marv was inspirational. Always lookingor ways to improve the quality o lie or those who weredearest to his heartthose he came to serve. So whateverit was, rom soap-making to producing moringa capsules ornutritional supplement, he did it with purpose and passion.And whatever task any one o us had, however insignifcantit seemed, he spurred us on with his encouraging words. He

just had a way o making each o us eel special.Two days beore Marv died, we were visiting him in

his hospital room. During the visit he was persistent insomething he wanted to say to my husband Brad. His speech

was laboured but he made it clear that it was important andor Brad to pull up a chair. Brad realised he wanted to asksomething that was heavy on his heart. It took awhile butBrad fnally understood he was asking about people whodidnt know Christ. As they talked it became even moreclear that he was saying how blessed we are to have theopportunity to know Christ while others die without knowingHim. He then went on to challenge us to continue the worko helping those in need. We shouldnt be surprised. Marvfnished his lie the way he lived it, caring about people.

On his deathbed, while in pain, he voiced his concern orothers and presented a charge or us to not give up inreaching out to them.

While Marv never did get into Karen State to do anydevelopment training, his little moringa seeds have beenplanted where his ashes now lie. It was Dorothys wish tohave his ashes scattered where his heart had been. It was atribute Brad elt honored to have ulflled on his last trip intoBurma. Isaiah 61:3 says to us, To console those who mourn(in Burma and Thailand), to give them beauty or ashes, theoil o joy or mourning, the garment o praise or the spirito heaviness; that they may be called trees o righteousnessthe planting o the LORD, that He may be glorifed. Marvslie produced a testimony o Gods grace and blessing, right

up to the end and will or years to come.The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about fghting thegood fght and fnishing the race. Marv is our example ofnishing the race well. I lie is a race, then Marv sprintedacross the fnish line with perect orm, looking straightahead. We have lost an example and a riend but Marv isnow in a better place receiving his reward rom his Friend hknew so well.

Thanks, Marv, or choosing Christ over cancer! You havelet us a wealth o reminders o what really counts in lie. Wewill always miss you!

by Joyce Hazlett

MarVKaH

N

19352

010

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011

15/16WWW.PARTNeRsWORLD.ORG

Dear God,

Partners doesemergency relief.This means giving, food, medicine, clothing and shelter to those who are on the runaway from the Burma Army. Multiply the supplies and make them last a long time. Strengthen and protect the teams that

carry the supplies to the people in need. Many of them risk their own lives in the process.

Partners doessustainable development.This means long-term solutions to a longterm crisis. As we build health clinicsand agricultural facilities, do training in health care, organic agriculture or teacher training, as we pay teachers salaries or buy school

supplies, please lead us, protect us and provide for the needs that constantly arise. May the development projects bring the long-term

solutions they were intended for.

Partnerscares for children in conflict.The children are the most vulnerable in Burma. We pray for the orphanedchildren, the abused and the distressed. We pray for the children who have seen and experienced more than any child should.

Heal them, God. We pray for the homes, the schools and the communities Partners support. Make the caretakers sensitive to

your voice and able to give the children what they need the most.

Partnersadvocates.We speak up for the oppressed and vulnerable. We tell the story of the people of Burma togovernments and media. Make our words come to life and bring change. Make the leaders of the world see what you see

when they look at Burma.

Amen

DIRECTORS

DESKLast December one o our UK Trustees, Mark Rowland,completed an epic run which started in Amsterdam andfnished in London, to raise money or Partners work inBurma and awareness o the issue o human trafcking. Hewrites the ollowing;

The run was such an amazing experience andcovering such a long distance has really helped me learnabout big challenges.

We ran 140 miles and over 1.1million steps over sixdays. At times the end seemed unreachable (we wererunning a marathon a day), the cold too intrusive (weexperienced a blizzard on day two with temperatures as lowas minus 15) and the fatigue overbearing (my knees are stillprotesting). We had to steel our resolve many times. We

decided not to think about the end but focus on what wecould achieve - running to the next corner, the next road

sign, the next drinks break. Just getting out of bed somedays was an achievement.

We didn't do much each day other than put onefoot in front of another. But after hours of running, themost amazing thing happened; we found we'd made realprogress! When we looked at the map we couldn't believewe'd covered so much ground. As each day passed our faithgrew stronger. We had an amazing adventure because of,not in spite of, the pain!

So it is with issues of justice, like that in Burma. Theend feels distant, hope is sometimes in short supply andprogress is painful. But we know we cannot give in. Mostlybecause there are many others, much closer to the struggle,who refuse to despair. You have read some of their stories inthis magazine. We take our inspiration from them.

Thank you to all o those who supported Mark in hiseorts he raised over 3000 towards our work. I his storyhas inspired you to do something similarly outrageous toraise money to help the people o Burma, please do contactus and let us know. We would love to help you make ithappen!

Sarah ArmitagePARTNERS RELIEF & DEVELOPMENT UK

8/3/2019 At the Heart 2011

16/16

Partners Relie & Development Australia

PO Box 13Alstonville NSW 2477

[email protected]

www.partnersworld.org.au

Partners Relie & Development NZ

PO Box 40 284Upper Hutt 5018

[email protected]

www.partnersworld.org.nz

Partners Relie & Development UK

PO Box 557Mexborough

S63 3EN

[email protected]

www.partnersworld.org.uk

at the heart 2011

Documents