Help Kachin Refugee Children From Burma

I want to tell you about my recent trip to Kachin State, in Northern Burma, and to ask you to make a donation to help thousands of children who have been forced to flee their villages, and are now living in temporary camps without proper food, shelter and clothing.

You can see a report on their plight on the BBC Newsnight programme here.

Please make a donation today:

You can also donate with a credit or debit card via PayPal:

The Burmese government bans foreigners from this area, so I had to sneak into the country illegally via China.

What I found there was tens of thousands of people living in temporary overcrowded camps, all of whom had fled their villages in recent months because of attacks by the Burmese Army. It was such a shocking contrast to the more positive news we have been hearing from Rangoon.

Almost every child I saw was suffering from a cold, many had skin diseases, scabies and measles was spreading. They didn’t have clean water, and many had diarrhoea as well. One camp I visited had two thousand people, and just seven toilets.

I met mothers who cried as they talked about not being able to feed their children properly, how they could no longer go to school, and how everything they had back in their village was stolen or destroyed by Burmese Army soldiers.

The Burmese government has been blocking aid to these internal refugees, and most help has been coming from local people and charities who are struggling to cope. I saw first-hand what an incredible job they are doing, they are saving lives every day. But they don’t have enough money to pay for rice, shelter and medicines. With the rainy season coming soon, the situation will become even more desperate.

Everywhere I went people asked for help. Now I am passing on their request to you, will you help by making a donation? We know the local community groups on the ground and can make sure your money reaches them fast, saving lives.

Thank you.
Mark Farmaner
Burma Campaign UK

Please make a donation today:

You can also donate with a credit or debit card via PayPal: