Support Pindaya in their fight against Covid-19

Since the coup on February 1st, Myanmar has experienced massive political and economic turmoil. Now a devastating third wave of Covid-19 has hit the country. Due to a lack of state assistance, communities up and down the country are taking matters into their own hands.

 

One such community is in Pindaya, Southern Shan state, home to all of the smallholder farmers who work with the Lost Tea Company.

 

This is a township of 100,000 people, but only 2 health clinics with just 100 beds. Pindaya’s medical infrastructure is strained at the best of times, during a pandemic it begins to crack.

 

Most people who test positive are having to fend for themselves at home. A group of brave young volunteers, called Say Ta Nar Mon, have been leading the community effort to ease the pain. They are finding accommodation for people to isolate, and are preparing meals for those who cannot leave their homes, either sick with covid-19 or quarantining to stop the spread of the virus.

 

But Pindaya`s greatest challenge currently is access to oxygen. The nearest oxygen refill point is in the state capital of Taunggyi, which is at least a 5-hour journey round trip from Pindaya. Volunteers are making this journey every day, in the knowledge there is of course no guarantee that oxygen will be available on any given day.

 

Our close friend and colleague Lin Pyae Htun is, along with many others, fundraising to help his community to pay for this food and fuel. Lin Pyae also has a vision of supplying the town’s medical centres with at least two oxygen converter machines. These clever bits of kit convert purified water into oxygen. Having a steady and secure supply of oxygen is an invaluable weapon in the fight against COVID – literally giving people breath and allowing their bodies the time to fight the virus.

 

To help Lin Pyae and the Say Ta Nar Mon volunteer group in their fundraising efforts we will be doing a 70 km sponsored walk, the distance that volunteers from Pindaya have to drive to Taunggyi to refill their oxygen tanks. We will walk this on 21st September and will take us roughly 14 hours to complete.

 

Say Ta Nar Mon’s efforts will and do save lives, but to achieve them they need your help. We implore you to donate what you can to supportin Pyae and the community in Pindaya, not only to provide the urgent need now, but also to future proof for the inevitable fourth and fifth waves.