My friend Hsann Nyein (pronounced Sahn Nyay) is a journalist in Yangon who has fallen on hard times.

Since the military coup of 2021 shut down independent news organizations, he has been out of work.

He and his wife have opened a noodle shop to earn money, but it's not bringing in enough to support their family. They have three sons living at home.

Hsann Nyein's wife is diabetic. Two of the sons, their college education cut short by the coup, are working menial jobs for, yes, $1.50 a day. Life is hard in Myanmar.

"I and my wife work all day...morning 5 a.m. to evening 7:30," he tells me in an email. "We sell fried rice and noodles. But the price of rice and cooking oil go up so fast, our investment cost is more than profit."

"Our house rent fee is nearly $450 for six months," he says. "Our shop's rental fee is $25/month. My wife needs medical treatment some time. It's when she suffer."

The family has no car.

Hsann Nyein, 56, is the former editor at the Kumudra Weekly News Journal and The Modern Business Weekly. He hasn't seen his journo colleagues since the coup. Many have fled the country, mostly to Thailand.

The U.S. embassy in Yangon sent Hsann Nyein and seven other Burmese journalists to the University of Montana in 2011 for a month-long training session, where I was an instructor/mentor. This is how we became friends.

I've been helping Hsann Nyein periodically and now am asking friends and colleagues to chip in. Just a little will go a long way in Myanmar.

Thanks for your consideration.

Tom Cheatham