Daw Nyo Nyo Win is a major donor to Ashin Dhammapiya and his monastary, Nyar Kyan Pyan Yeiktha, she is also a terrific driver and wheeled us 20 kilometers in dense Yangon traffic with Nascar skill. We met last year on my first brief visit to the Yeiktha, but we never conversed as the Sayadaw was absent; this time Daw Khin Hnin Oo, Yangon University Librarian, was our interpreter. She had firmly cornered me at our Roundtable to arrange a [...]

Cyclone Nargis struck at 6 pm, May 2 and raged through the Irrawaddy Delta until 4 am, May 3. These photos were taken between May 20 and late August during Ashin Dhammapiya’s six trips to lead food and medical aid teams into the most devastated townships.

NARGIS LIBRARY RECOVERY PROJECT NEWSLETTER #9, NOVEMBER 2009 I promised a newsletter at the beginning of each month, but was delayed by our tour of delta libraries and our directors’ round table on October 31, then another week of meetings in Yangon. Fortunately, Jack Simpson filed photos and notes.  Here is my take on NLR events since our last newsletter. Thanks to the generosity of two corporations—Thrift Books and American President Lines—we are sending large numbers of books to Myanmar; [...]

Our project benefits from collaboration with other NGOs restoring libraries and schools in villages, towns and cities decimated by Cyclone Nargis. The Esmee Foundation contributed this school building in Kyundarmin village, 45 minutes by boat from Pyapon, a town midway between Yangon and Bogalay, which is a transfer point for many of our books reaching delta libraries. These photos were taken recently as our childrens books and writing materials were unpacked and distributed to children the first day of school.