Back to Burma

I send this short report from the Emirates Lounge at Birmingham Airport, prior to boarding the afternoon flight to Dubai with an onwards connection to Yangon (which the British used to call 'Rangoon').

Regular readers will be aware that I have established a pattern of an annual visit to Myanmar (as we should now call what was once 'Burma'). On my first visit in 2008, the people and the location captured my heart and I became involved in supporting, in a small way, charitable initiatives there. Initially, these initiatives were concerned with education, helping to build new schoolrooms and contributing to the running costs of schools. This work continues but, in 2011, a long-held ambition of Doctor Hla Tun and the Abbott of Bagan Monastery was fulfilled with the opening of Bagan Medical Clinic to provide medical care to poor people. Although intended purely as a local clinic for the Bagan area, its fame has resulted in patients travelling large distances - even 200 and 300 miles - to receive treatment. This success has attracted both local and overseas donors, allowing additional buildings to be constructed accommodating different facilities so that the site is becoming more hospital than simply 'clinic'.

So, it is with some excitement that I set off from England on a journey which will re-unite me with friends in Burma, take me to a number of educational and support organisations receiving charitable donations and spend a few days closely studying the work of the Bagan Medical Clinic. In addition, I intend to make a 'side trip' to an area of Myanmar I've not previously visited. I'll also spend a little time looking at the railway system, still antiquated but with initiatives in hand to upgrade the network.

My 2017 Trip

As I am able, I will add posts describing my progress but the format of the journey will be similar to that in previous years (such as Burma-2016, Burma-2015).

Next 2017 Trip post.
All 2017 Trip posts.

You can find all my posts on Education Support in Burma here and those on Medical Support here.

My Pictures

Pctures from may be selected, viewed or downloaded, in various sizes, from the collection listed:-
All my albums for Burma 2017.