Piglets for the Poor...and More

We have many “long-term” projects, the goals of which are to strengthen the Church, build up and train believers, educate children, bring about economic and financial independence, and more. However, there are immediate needs that must be addressed along the way, and this page describes two additional projects which are designed to meet some of those needs: Piglets for the Poor and Blankets for the Elderly.

Piglets for the Poor

This is an ongoing project to provide piglets for poor families to raise for food, for income, or both. A family is given a single female piglet to raise, with training and instruction (if necessary) on how to raise and care for the piglet. A local veterinarian is sometimes called upon to provide training, inoculations, and so on.

In exchange for the gift of the piglet, the family receiving the piglet agrees to give back to the program two female piglets from the first litter. Each of those piglets are then given to two more families, and so on. One piglet can be sold for about $40 USD, which is a lot of money for a poor family!

Blankets for the Elderly

Most families in rural villages live in bamboo huts. These huts have floors made of lumber, but many are poorly constructed and are open to the ground below. The walls are made of thinly sliced bamboo, woven into sheets. The roofs are mostly made of thatch, although that is becoming hard to find in Myanmar, and families are turning to corrugated steel when they can afford it.

There is no insulation at all in these huts, and in the winter months it can get quite cold, especially in the higher elevations. The vast majority of people sleep on thin bamboo mats rolled out on the floor of their hut. Some families have thin fold-up mattresses, although even that is quite rare in the villages. (When we gave a mattress to one of the women in our Family and Disabled Support program, she was the first person in the history of her village to own a mattress.)

When it gets cold, the people sleep wearing whatever clothing they have, wrapped up in a blanket if they have one (not everyone can afford a blanket). The elderly are especially vulnerable at this time of year; the cold takes a heavy toll on their health and well-being.

One of our ongoing programs is called Blankets for the Elderly, and every other year or so we make a concerted effort to raise funds to purchase new blankets and then distribute them to the elderly in poor villages. These are large, very thick, felt blankets made in China. Each one costs about $20.00.

Since 2016, thanks to your generous donations, we have been able to purchase and distribute hundreds of blankets like these throughout northwest Myanmar.

Job Training / Entrepreneurial Help

Brick-making project …

Motorcycle Shop …

Custom Wheelchairs

…

Mattresses for the Poor

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How you can help

• Donate $40.00 to purchase one piglet, to be distributed to a poor family in need

• Donate $20.00 to purchase a blanket to be given to an elderly person in need

• Donate any amount to be used for either of the above projects, or another project of your choice.