Among the humanitarian workers in Burma, Daw Myint Myint Khin Pe and her husband help operate the Free Funeral Service Association (Rangoon).

Question : The organisation has expanded services to include a free clinic, library and education. Are there any young people who come to join your organisation to perform these works? Answer : About 20 to 30 new youths come to our organisation every month but we don’t accept all of them. They submit forms to join our organisation. We study their attitude regarding this social work, their time availability and other factors, and scrutinise this information before selecting those to join our organisation. Then we train them by explaining our objectives and our activities. The first four days of each month are for training. After that, we assign them duties for future months.

Question : You provided water distribution free of charge in April and May, didn’t you? Answer: Yes, we did. First we did this out of our own pocket. The money was donated by my father-in-law and mother-in-law. It was not funds from our organisation. We distributed water and dug wells in areas where water shortages was severe, especially in Pegu and Dala. As we could not visit these places in person, we delegated this work works to local people. Similarly, we donated money to victims of the bomb blasts that took place in the Rangoon (Thingyan water-festival) plaza. We pooled our resources and donated money. In Hlaing Township there was also a fire that burned down more than 1,400 houses. We donated money as well as basic goods to the victims when they were relocated to an area without civic amenities.

Question : Did you provide humanitarian assistance to Cyclone Nargis victims too? Answer : In this relief operation, a boy who was once one of our members and was living in Singapore helped us. At that time, Ko Kyaw Thu was sick and only I was available. I could not do this heavy burden of work alone and appealed for further assistance. The volunteers had to come and work at their own expense. Many of them are still working in our organisation now. We got many new recruits from this campaign.

Question : The USDA had attempted to use your service for political purposes. How did it happen? Answer : Major General Htay Oo (then General Secretary of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association) donated four million kyat (US$4,000) to us, saying they were also interested in doing this free funeral service. He requested to let them learn from us. We replied that they needed to wear our black and white uniform. Not agreeing, they ordered the dissolution of 24 organisations in May 2007, including ours. But, they later gave us back our organisation after we wrote letter requesting the reinstatement of the Free Funeral Service Association (Rangoon).

Mizzima 2010.08.20