The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It is a 2007 book by Professor Paul Collier exploring the reason why impoverished countries fail to progress despite international aid and support. In the book Collier argues that there are many countries whose residents have experienced little, if any, income growth over the 1980s and 1990s. On his reckoning, there are just under 60 such economies, home to almost 1 billion people.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, An Entrepreneur’s Odyessey to Educate the World’s Concern, by John Wood Founder of Room to Read. “Our future goal is more ambitious than ever: to enable more than 10 million children in over a dozen developing world countries to maximize their educational experiences by 2015.”—-John Wood Founder of R2R. We are proud to share that through the end of 2009 Room to Read has…
Established: 9,220 libraries
Constructed: 1,129 schools
Published: 433 local language book titles
Printed: 4.1 million local books
Donated: 3.3 million English language books
Supported: 8,707 girls’ educations
Benefitted: 4,066,775 children!!

My Road to Deschapelles, by Grant Grant Mellion.The Road to Deschapelles is the story of an extraordinary couple who, in 1954, founded Hospital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles in central Haiti and where they and the hospital have cared for the most needy and the sick for more than 40 years.   For over forty years Gwen Grant Mellon has lived and worked in Deschapelles, Haiti, where she and Dr. Larimer Mellon built and actively operated Hopital Albert Schweitzer. In these pages she tells her story of courage, inspiration, and humanitarian service. She tells us how she and Larry Mellon met, grew, changed their lives, and established a life-saving landmark for the benefit of the 216,000 people in Haiti’s Artibonite Valley. After the 2010 earth quake, was one of the only two hospitals still standing in Hait!!.

Song of HAITI, The Lives of Dr. Larimer and Gwen Mellon at the Albert Scheitzer Hospital of Deschapelles by Barry Paris.
“On Wednesday, October 18, 2000, Gwendolyn Grant Mellon will travel from Deschapelles Haiti and the Hopital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) which she founded with her husband, Dr. Larimer Mellon almost 50 years ago, to receive the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Award for Humanitarianism. The award is timely due to the recent release of “Song of Haiti,” a true-life love story, adventure story and biography by Barry Paris describing in compelling detail the lives of Dr. Larimer and Gwen Mellon and their legacy of remarkable service amidst the exotic voodoo atmosphere of Haiti.” HAS was started as a small hospital clinic and has grown into a medical center, a model worthy of duplication in other developing countries.  NO ONE WAS TURNED AWAY!

GIVING, How each of Us can Change the World, — Bill Clinton. “Bill Clinton’s Giving is an inspiring look at how individual endeavors can save lives and solve problems, and it offers compelling examples of both citizen and corporate activism at work in the world today.–OPRAH”

The Wisdom of Whores, bureaucrats, brothels and the business of AIDS by elizabeth pisani. Elizabeth Pisani is the director of Ternyata Ltd., a public health consultancy based in London, UK. She is formerly a journalist and currently an epepidemiologistbest known for her work on HIV/AIDS, in particular for her controversial book The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS.

A LAND LIKE NONE YOU KNOW, Awe and wonder in Burma on the road to Mandalay, Patrick Forsyth. This is a lively and engaging account of his journey. The author’s sincerity and affinity with the many common people he meets on his unusual journey shines through.

Welcome to the Bangkok Slaughterhouse, The Battle for Human Dignity in Bangkok’s Bleakest Slums, Father Joe Maier. For twenty-five years, Father Joe Maier, a Catholic priest, has lived and worked in Bangkok’s bleakest slums, establishing more than thirty schools, five shelters for street kids, and the city’s first AIDS hospice and home for AIDS mothers with AIDS kids – working with and in opposition to authority, while being threatened and shot at and, ultimately, praised by even his enemies. Here he tells the stories of the poorest of Thailand’s poor.

Three Cups of Tea, is a New York Times bestselling book by Greg Mortenson, one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.

Another Quiet American, Stories of Life in Laos —Brett Dakin.This is a first-hand account of a poor country struggling with economic crisis, political instability, and a legacy of war. Above all, it is the story of a young American coming to terms with his country’s role in the world at the beginning of a new century.”No other personal account of contemporary Laos is as informative, under-the-surface, and well-written as Another Quiet American. By paying close attention to the Lao and falang (foreign) lives around him, Dakin makes Vientiane jump off the printed page.” Joe Cummings, author of Lonely Planet Laos

Stalking the Elephant Kings – In Search of Laos by Christopher Kremmer. Twenty years after the Indochina wars, Christopher Kremmer visited Laos. Stalking the Elephant Kings tells the story of a Southeast Asian revolution and its tragic consequences. Based on extensive travel inside Laos and exhaustive research abroad, the book reveals new details of the fate of one of Asia’s oldest monarchies. A must for both student and traveler, it provides a contemporary portrait of a country which will play a key role in the future of Indochina, as well as a glimpse of its secret history.

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Mike Bryan and Greg Mortenson.By 2009, Mortenson and his foundation, the Central Asia Institute, have established more than 130 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, most built especially for girls. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and achieved celebrity status in the world of philanthropy on the strength of his mega-bestselling book about his endeavors, THREE CUPS OF TEA….More memorably, he provides stirring examples of how tolerance can diffuse aggression by sharing a few of the success stories from the more than 50,000 students he has helped to educate.

The Angkor Hospital for Children, founded by renowned Japanese photographer Kenro Izu in 1999, supported by Friends Without A Border, provides comprehensive medical care to children in the Siem Reap area. On average, 400 children and their families arrive at the hospital each day. Recognized by Cambodia’s Ministry of Health as an official teaching hospital, it serves as a training site for health professionals throughout Cambodia through its Medical Education Center. The Capacity Building and Health Education Program works to both strengthen the capacity and improves the quality of local health centers and works with community members to teach good public health practices. 

Charity Navigator, America’s leading independent charity evaluator, endorses Friends Without A Border with four stars.

www.angkorhospital.org | www.fwab.org

The slogan of this charitable hospital is “For the poor of all communities” and that it truly is, serving the Buddhist, Muslims, Hindus and Christians of Yangon city. We were greeted at the entrance by hordes of patients lined up to collect their prescribed medications. The out patient department was calling patient number 346! And it was only 10:30am. Our group arrived laden with bags of medical supplies, donations in kind from Canada, making for difficult passage in an already very crowd space. The donations we bring each year include sutures, anti-biotics, ambu bags, multi-vitamins, skin ointments, surgical blades, steri-strips, dental instruments and book.

I have sent you a thank you similar to the attached but just wanted to make sure you did receive it.

The truck is wonderful and has really made a difference to the lives of the children in our direct care and the children in our free school. I took a group of young children to the zoo near Kanchanaburi last week and they loved going in the truck. So much easier to keep the children safe and to manage large numbers.

The truck has even made a couple of late night emergency runs to the hospital in Kanchanaburi.

It is brilliant, Thank you,

Kind regards, Mark
Manager
Children of the Forest Project
Sangkhlaburi
Thailand.

How long getting there?
7 hours by car which is enough to kill you, 7 hours by ferry and 2 hours by my raft with a 40 HP motor. Left at 2 am and got there for dinner. Very difficult trip!!!

What did you see?
50 % of the homes have USAID plastic sheeting on their homes. Lots of homes completely destroyed. Very sad eyes. Lots of children and life moving on as normal. Except the people are having to live on hand outs rather than making a living. They want to get back to making a living. Shortage of, actually a lack of supplies,i.e. have no fishing nets and they desperately need these nets now or they will miss the fishing season!

And in terms of permanent physical damage to the landscape?
I did not see any real physical damage to the landscape. It certainly is very beautiful down there.

What was the state of rebuilding?
Those that can rebuild are rebuilding. Those who cannot are not rebuilding. I don’t think there is any corruption. I met with hundreds of villagers and their only request was for nets so they can start fishing next week when the fishing season starts.

What is mood of the locals?
Very sad. Most have lost so many family members. They feel hopeless because they have to depend on hand outs and can not get on with their life because they lack the tools to earn a living.

Did they look healthy or hungry?
They are fine. Just very depressed and feel hopeless. In your opinion what do you see or sense will be the most difficult issue in the coming months? Post traumatic stress!!! Food shortages!!!

Trust you are well…When will we see you in BKK? I hope to be back down in the Delta in November and December. I truly hope you can help with some fishing nets ASAP. The season is just starting and it is during the next 3 months that the majority of the fish are caught for the year. After meeting with hundreds of villagers it was obvious that this is what is needed more than anything. Your help would be very much appreciated. Thanks, KM

I go to help every Friday to cook and deliver the food with my new friend Merlyn. We together feed the children rice and curry and also check what the monk needs for coming week to feed the children. There are 138 primary students, who can not afford to attend school so instead they come and study school lessons in this Monastery. There are 3 teachers, 5 cooks and about 15 monks at this Monastery. Last month, we made a meeting with teachers and monks to donate weekly to feed the children.

After calculating, it is 250,000 kyats (approx $225USD) per week for everything. They feed the children 3 days meals (rice, vegetables, egg, meats) and 2 days snack (soft drink, cake, bread). In addition, Merilea and Merv gave donations to the monks for ceiling and roofs repairs for the Monks’ accommodation and 2 toilets ( Built of bricks).

The toilets are started build in last week and it can be finished in last week September. I am very happy helping to feed the children. With regards,

Yes, everyone is busy focusing on the Delta. However, I will see if there is anyone with the organization and infrastructure to help. Everyone’s funding is for the Delta regions. I think any work in Yangon would be dependent on if you were able to raise the funds for this. Hope you can!

But unfortunately, on our second day there we were told that buses were going to cease running for the next 4 days because the price of fuel had risen to high. So that if we needed to get to Yangon we would have to leave that night. Of course everyone was trying to get on buses and we ended up paying 20 dollars to sit in the aisle!

While we were travelling we had no idea the amount of damage the cyclone had caused. There was not much shown on the news. When we got to Bagan there was no telephone or internet connection. And then when we got to Yangon there was no telephone, internet or even electricity. The damage was very bad. Lots of power lines knocked over. Huge trees fallen into streets and buildings. I did manage to take some pictures. Unfortunately, I was mugged when I got to Chiang Mai and had my camera stolen with all the pictures as well as my passport and money. I am most heartbroken at having lost all of my pictures.

So anyways, I am not sure when I would be able to talk with you on the phone! I am doing lots of visiting out of town before heading off to Istanbul to teach. If I don’t get to talk to you, then keep up your good work! And thank you for all your tremendous help in Burma! We loved Myanmar and loved meeting Joe, Sheila and visiting the hospital! Sarah says hi! Take care, Julie

Then she started telling me all about her family & what had happened to them when the cyclone hit. She said that their little house in Dawbom (across the river} the roof blew off & the walls of their house fell down, so they were in the rain all night. She wasn’t able to sell for the next week, so they didn’t have anything to eat except for 4 condensed milk cans of rice, that was distributed one day. Her husband, who is a construction worker – daily laborer – has no work during rainy season. After about a week she was able to start selling again, but they didn’t have any money for repairing their house until she was able to save up enough, over 3 weeks, to buy a tarpaulin, for 12,000 kyats (about $10) that her husband then made into a roof for their house. Whenever it rained, they would all run to a tea shop & sit until the rain stopped, or, if it rained at night, they would all try to sit under any place that gave some shelter. Up to now they haven’t been able to fix the walls, so the rain comes in the sides & they get wet.

Her children range in age from 4 to 15. She is 35 years old. She’s been able to put the 4 oldest in school, but, the last 2 years her 15 year old dropped out of school because he felt embarrassed that he couldn’t the donations of money that the teacher asked the children to bring. She’s thought of letting him work in a tea shop, but really, in her heart, doesn’t want to do that as she said, ‘Children this age should still be playing.’ He stays at home & looks after the 4 year old & also takes his 3 siblings to & from school.

She was able to save up enough money to buy the 3 children 1 uniform each, so, when they come home, he takes their uniforms to his aunt to wash & then dries them (by the fire if it’s raining). She said it was good when school started – June 1st – because then the children could be in a safe, dry place all day. She herself has only 1 blouse & 1 loungji. At night she washes her loungji & dries it by the fire. However, she showed me how the bottom of it got burned because she fell asleep the other night while she was drying it. She has to go out selling every day, as otherwise they don’t have anything to eat. She never steals & has taught her children not to. She also never borrows, as she’s afraid to because they ask 40% interest. If they don’t have something, they do without.

One time her youngest was crying to her that he was hungry, so she said, ‘Just a minute.’ & she went & had her hair cut off & sold it so he would have something to eat. Her hair is very dull, which shows she’s malnourished. She wanted to stay home today, because she was losing her voice, but the thought of her children being hungry made her go out to sell. She buys the snacks from a woman who makes it and then tries to sell everything she has, but some days, especially when it’s raining, like it has been for the last 4 days, she doesn’t make much profit. When she was selling today, it started to rain, so, she sat down on the stairs of the hospital. She was feeling really bad, but just then someone came & bought 1,000 kyats worth. Then, she walked around the corner & started down my little lane and she saw me!

I tried to think of what I could give her that she might accept. Because she accepted clothes the last time, I got a jacket of mine & a t-shirt that I gave her. I didn’t have any children’s clothes at the house. I also got all of the pencils I have & a pad of paper for her children to use at school. I told her that, for the sake of the children, I wanted to give her the money, 20,000 kyats (about $16) to buy tarpaulin for the sides of her house. At first she said she wouldn’t take it, but, when I told her that she should take it now, and then when they are doing better financially, she can repay me. She brightened up then and accepted the money. I could tell that she was depressed & really wanted to talk. As she was telling me all of this, the tears would come to her eyes & she said, ‘I don’t know what I’ve done so that I have such a hard life, but I just want a better life for my children.’ I told her what a good job she was doing by making sure her children went to school, even though she can’t read herself, and by raising them so well.

We talked for about 45 minutes. Then we went out together – she to go home & me to go to the pharmacy. She held my hand as we walked down the lane & told me to be careful that I didn’t slip & fall. She also told me to please go to her home with her next Sunday as she really wanted me to visit. I didn’t tell her that foreigners aren’t allowed to go across the river without permission – just told her that I would be away, but that maybe, when rainy season is over I could come.

This isn’t a very dramatic story or anything, but it shows the lovely hospitable nature of many people here, even in the midst of SO much poverty and, on top of that, the extra problems that have come to them because of the cyclone – not just in the Delta area, but here in the peri-urban townships of Yangon. Of course there are also many who steal & lie and some of the children who are really rude and difficult, but I appreciate SO much these people, especially the women, who are trying their best in the midst of such hardships – makes my problems very, very insignificant.

P.S. I just read something: ‘Light a candle instead of cursing the darkness.’

Day I
Yesterday we went to visit several villages on the opposite side of river with a new guide because foreigners can’t go with us. We talked also with several locals along the way. Oh a very poor area with the houses submerged in water. Sending you some pictures I took. We will be going there on Sunday to buy some food and give it to some families, so I will be using some of the money from our own meal fund. There is a big school nearby but it seems impossible to give to everyone from our own meal fund because there’s a lot of students to feed, maybe when we go there next time I will try to learn more of some possibilities. Next trip we will give some money to a few mother’s to start little businesses of selling fruits in town. I don’t know really know whom to help since all the people are so poor and a lot of them, maybe a thousand families or more. We talked with the village chief and he said there is no problem with the government interfering.

Day II
We have gone twice to across the river; the first was just plain visits and the second time we brought some food stuff to give to some 80 families, candies and biscuits to some children. The needs in that place is so enormous with more than a thousand families living in very poor condition, the picture you received is only a small portion, of the 80 families we have given food. In addition, there are 4 widows and I am sure there are many HIV positive people too. I can not make any commitment about helping this one village because the needs are so great. But if you like to help people there which I know you are very willing I should recommend that a Burmese staff who knows something on community organizing should be the one to manage the project, I will certainly help in what ever way I can but I cannot do it on my own…too much needs to be done.

Day III
Sorry for responding so very late. I have been in bad shape the last days; I was down with flu after the visit and giving out of food across the river. I am better now. Thanks for the vegetables seeds but as of now they cannot yet be planted because this village like many others is still submerged in water. Not unless we buy pots and soil so people could plant vegetables in pot but also there is the problem of stealing in the neighborhood. I don’t know during summer if it possible to plant vegetables in their backyard, Also, their are alot of poor families so how can we choose whom to help. Some families that we were not able to give food last time complains because they are all neighbors to the families who received food but we told them they will be the one to be given next time. Next step is find sisters working with people in this area. Thanks,