THRIVING IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY

Thirty-eight young Kachin men and women decided to thrive amidst the chaos of a tyrannical military junta and upsurges in coronavirus cases by attending and completing a ten-week Free Burma Ranger Basic Training Course in Kachin State, Burma, in April 2021. The ten week course included a one-and-a-half week mission to provide the students with practical applications of their recently learned skills, relief to surrounding IDP camps and to tell the story of what is happening in Burma. While standing at the crossroads of despondency and positive action they have chosen the latter. They go in God’s love to give help and hope to their people.

Subsequent to the training, FBR leaders conducted a mission in July, hoping to bring help, hope and love to a remote IDP camp, Bumra Yang, by providing food, rain gear, toilets and other much needed supplies.

Mission: Bumra Yang IDP Camp

Villagers fled their homes, April 2018, after Burma Army Jet Fighters attacked with bombs and machine gun fire.  They were escorted by Kachin Independence Army Soldiers to Bumra Yang IDP Camp which then housed only seven families.  As the situation quieted in January 2019 they returned to their villages to find their homes ransacked and their livestock slaughtered by the Burma Army.  After one year of rebuilding and planting, fighting erupted nearby between the KIA and Burma Army.  The villagers fled once again back to Bumra Yang where they currently reside.  Nestled in the remote highlands of Kachin State it is the home of 140 families and sees little aid apart from what is given through small local and foreign NGOs.  A small band of Kachin Rangers reported on the situation and provided as much aid as they were able.