Supported By: In December, monks from inside and outside Burma issued a statement. This is a crucial time for Burma: the end of 2010 saw unfree and unfair elections, and the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The new Burmese parliament is expected to hold its first meeting at the end of January 2011. [...]

The sub-directorate Regional Affairs, department East, of the Dutch Ministry for Agriculture, Nature and Food quality held their yearly Christmas auction in December. Every year, staff members bring products and items from their home to sell at an auction. This year’s proceeds went to The Best Friend.

At the moment, a few new volunteer English teachers are working at The Best Friend Library in Mae Sot.

The Best Friend Library had a booth at the week-long Nimmanhaemin Arts Promenade (NAP) event in Chiang Mai from 5–11 December. The goals for the booth were to raise awareness about Burma and The Best Friend, to showcase items from Burma-related organizations, and to raise money for the library’s projects in 2011. We were successful [...]

Last weekend, Ashin Kovida visited NuPho refugee camp, together with four international guests.

The construction work for Vimutti Sukha Pagoda has begun. With the help of local villagers and The Best Friend supporters we were able to start work on the new pagoda and meditation center at Nanti monastery, close to Mae Sot, Thailand.