Dear friends.

We are launching into the “cyberspace” universe a campaign from now until Christmas to try and feed 500,000 families that still have received no aid from the Cyclone Nargis destruction in Myanmar. The campaign is called 5 for 5. For every $5 you donate, we can feed a family of 5 for 5 days. Thanks to charitable partners who are incurring all administration costs on our behalf, every $1 will be sent into Myanmar to the grassroots agencies working on the ground.

The cyclone destroyed crop fields, rice stocks, and seed and grain storage facilities, as well as damaged fisheries, aquaculture and forestry resources.

• Leanne Chan is a philanthropist who observed the work of the CW Asia Fund for many years. Finally, she approached Nina Cassils for assistance with the 5 For 5 Campaign, saying, “You know, I’ve just got to work with you. You’re way ahead of the curve.” Chan told the Asian Pacific Post: “They don’t have staff, they don’t have overheads, they do everything themselves. And that makes a huge difference.” Among the Fund’s recent achievements, Chan was impressed with Nina’s success in shipping a container load of medical equipment and supplies to Thailand. “And it was all free – the donations and the shipping.”
• Wieland Wettstein told the Asian Pacific Post that of all the CW Asia Fund’s achievements, he is most proud of the satellite hospital for the Angkor Hospital for Children project. The Wettsteins donated 15 per cent of the $2.5 million needed, and the facility is scheduled to be finished by next year. “That is just fantastic,” Wettstein said. “And it’s been pretty satisfying to get that accomplished.”

  About Nina, Wettstein remarked: “She’s a whirlwind and she’s the most amazing connector I’ve ever met. Her mind is always turning and she’s always thinking about how can this person help that person, and she’s good at getting people to achieve her goals. It just blows you away.”

• In an open letter written in May, Brother John Beeching of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, based in Thailand and Myanmar, wrote: “In Thailand the Cassils have helped fund schools for Burmese migrant and refugee children… In Laos they have assisted with funds and medical supplies for clinics in isolated villages… the contribution they have made is making a significant difference in the lives of many disadvantaged people in Myanmar… I can say with all honesty that it has been a privilege to support the work of Dr. John and Nina Cassils.”

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