Yangon June 19th 2008
Dear Friends,
I have just returned from a four day trip to the delta area. I met with six rice farming villages, population of 4800 thousand people. I was very fortunate to be granted a permit which was facilitated by a business friend of David Chee’s. It is now seven weeks post cyclone. The greatest concern of the rice farmers is getting their winter rice seeds planted. Time is running thin. It must be planted by the end of July, if not, there will be compounding months of hardship with food dependency. These hard working people have never been in debt and are not asking for any more free food. They want to do what they have done for 100’s of years, plant their winter rice.
The cyclone’s rain and water surge destroyed their seeds and surplus rice ( which they use as money) . They need seeds and diesel to plow and plant their paddies quickly. Most of our funds have now been used to fund immediate recovery efforts.
I am looking to the local business community to fund a micro credit plan to help these six villages get their rice seeds planted before the end of July. Any one who is interested in reviewing the complete proposal and my trip report, please email Dave and he will get it to you.
Good Sleep is progressing. We have an office -production site and two dynamite young women managers, one for production the other for office/marketing and sales.
We are making our first prototype bed nets and will be market testing them over the next few weeks. Sam, our son , arrived yesterday and is already making a science out of designing an effective bed net. Our tag line;
Good Sleep
We are a small community non-profit business
that makes the coolest and safest bed nets
Wishing You Sweet Dreams
I forgot to tell Dave to send my camera downloader cord, so sorry no pictures.
Special thanks to Holly and her 5th grade class, Linda and her church support,
And everyone for your support............All my best Helen
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
2nd Update June 6th 2008
June 6, 2008
Dear Friends,
After over 72 hours of pouring rain, large areas of Yangon are left sitting under two feet of water. The 2008 Myanmar monsoons have begun, which means that by next week all will be tinged with the hint of mold. We are probably swamped into our little office for the night—so with the smell of left-over samosas and the sounds of the electric generator drowning out the rain, this is a good time to write an update on what we have been up to.
I am still attending the UN cluster meetings, but each time I am learning less and yawning more. It takes a minimum of four meetings to get a consensus on whether or not there should be a meeting at all. It is amazing to see how much of the world’s money can be wasted by people with such good intentions.
You have probably been reading much on the cyclone’s destruction of life, land and communities, as well as the sub-par response of international relief efforts—and it is all true and worse. It takes all my scheming skills to get our funds directly to the ones who need it most.
I have written up four more proposals for small local organizations looking for funds to continue their relief work. I funded with our money two of these groups because they had realistic proposals and budgets, direct delivery, follow up, accounting records, and they work in close partnership with under-served villagers.
Fresh water pond recovery : $5000
To date a total of $30,000 of our money directly funded cyclone-affected people and communities in need. This week I will be going into the delta and will fund direct medical services targeted to 3 village tracts, whose population post-cyclone is 90,000.
Many of the NGOs are giving away poor quality, nonfunctional bed netting. I would like to take a portion of our funds and start a “social business” in a cyclone-affected area producing functional, affordable insecticide-impregnated bed netting. Waiting for the Gates Global Malaria Fund nets to float down from the sky for free is like waiting to win the California lotto.
The product’s name is “Good Sleep.” It will be a community-based business, producing, marketing and selling the nets locally. All employees will be from the community. I have already bought ten trettle sewing machines (at half-price from a local donor) and good-quality Japanese netting to make the first 1000 nets, and have worked out a functional design for a family bed net based on consumer feedback. I will be interviewing for a country manager over the next few days. Malaria prevention will be integrated at the sales site. I am hoping by next year that “Good Sleep” will cover its running costs; thereafter, any profits will be reinvested into the business. I will write in more detail about “Good Sleep” in my next update.
If anyone is interested in developing “Good Sleep” into a successful, small community-based social business, I need your help.
Dave tells me that your generous donations are still coming in. Sam, our son, will be coming on June 16th, and will hand carry the second load. Many thanks to all of you. I would like to particularly thank Jill Hanna for accounting help, Kathleen Jordan for doing double duty, Susan Comstock at the Foundation for processing your checks, friends who are taking care of Dave, and, of course, Dave, Charlie and Sam who are doing all the things at home that I should be doing!
All my best, Helen
Dear Friends,
After over 72 hours of pouring rain, large areas of Yangon are left sitting under two feet of water. The 2008 Myanmar monsoons have begun, which means that by next week all will be tinged with the hint of mold. We are probably swamped into our little office for the night—so with the smell of left-over samosas and the sounds of the electric generator drowning out the rain, this is a good time to write an update on what we have been up to.
I am still attending the UN cluster meetings, but each time I am learning less and yawning more. It takes a minimum of four meetings to get a consensus on whether or not there should be a meeting at all. It is amazing to see how much of the world’s money can be wasted by people with such good intentions.
You have probably been reading much on the cyclone’s destruction of life, land and communities, as well as the sub-par response of international relief efforts—and it is all true and worse. It takes all my scheming skills to get our funds directly to the ones who need it most.
I have written up four more proposals for small local organizations looking for funds to continue their relief work. I funded with our money two of these groups because they had realistic proposals and budgets, direct delivery, follow up, accounting records, and they work in close partnership with under-served villagers.
Fresh water pond recovery : $5000
- 40 more one-acre ponds; more pumps; gasoline; lime; water-quality testing. Included will be an educational course for villagers on fresh water pond quality maintenance.
- Salt-resistant rice seeds and hand plows for 2 small villages given directly to small rice farmers.
- School readers and school supplies for 3 schools serving a total of 325 children.
To date a total of $30,000 of our money directly funded cyclone-affected people and communities in need. This week I will be going into the delta and will fund direct medical services targeted to 3 village tracts, whose population post-cyclone is 90,000.
Many of the NGOs are giving away poor quality, nonfunctional bed netting. I would like to take a portion of our funds and start a “social business” in a cyclone-affected area producing functional, affordable insecticide-impregnated bed netting. Waiting for the Gates Global Malaria Fund nets to float down from the sky for free is like waiting to win the California lotto.
The product’s name is “Good Sleep.” It will be a community-based business, producing, marketing and selling the nets locally. All employees will be from the community. I have already bought ten trettle sewing machines (at half-price from a local donor) and good-quality Japanese netting to make the first 1000 nets, and have worked out a functional design for a family bed net based on consumer feedback. I will be interviewing for a country manager over the next few days. Malaria prevention will be integrated at the sales site. I am hoping by next year that “Good Sleep” will cover its running costs; thereafter, any profits will be reinvested into the business. I will write in more detail about “Good Sleep” in my next update.
If anyone is interested in developing “Good Sleep” into a successful, small community-based social business, I need your help.
Dave tells me that your generous donations are still coming in. Sam, our son, will be coming on June 16th, and will hand carry the second load. Many thanks to all of you. I would like to particularly thank Jill Hanna for accounting help, Kathleen Jordan for doing double duty, Susan Comstock at the Foundation for processing your checks, friends who are taking care of Dave, and, of course, Dave, Charlie and Sam who are doing all the things at home that I should be doing!
All my best, Helen
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