Short Summary

The Best Friend organization, founded in Rangoon in 1999, has been dedicated to working for improved education, social welfare, democracy, and peace in Burma for nearly 15 years. The Chiang Mai branch of The Best Friend Burmese Library was established in early 2010, and we were able to open a new branch of the library in Shan State, Burma, earlier this year.

Here in northern Thailand we maintain the largest public collection of English-language books, reports, and films about Burma in the region. But we are so much more than 'just a library'! We provide:

• free English and computer classes for migrants from Burma (over 200 students in the past four years!)
• 'Compassionate Care' campaigns to generate life-saving financial support for migrants and refugees facing medical emergencies
• free workshops on physical and sexual health, cross-cultural understanding, photography, and environmental conservation for our students
• Burma-related public events such as forums, film screenings, discussions, and exhibitions to encourage engagement with Burma among members of the international community
• publications and online media to raise awareness about current developments in Burma

Since starting in Chiang Mai in 2010, The Best Friend Library has become a vital community resource for many, and we are now excited about the potential of our new library and Green Training Program in Shan Shate!

This campaign is incredibly important because it will help to secure the future of our programs, allow the expansion of our work inside Burma, and keep our classes, workshops, and events free-of-charge for all. Specifically, we hope to expand our new library in Shan State to enable us to serve more students, develop a computer/media training program for Burmese migrants living in northern Thailand, and expand our 'Compassionate Care' campaigns to be able to assist more people affected by conflict and natural disasters.

At this crucial time in the development of Burma, it is more important than ever that members of the global community continue to support the people of Burma and the emerging positive reforms that have taken place. Supporting this campaign will enable you to take part in projects with tangible effects and positive results for the people of Burma!

What We Need

Our ambitious goal is to raise $20,000 (600,000 Thai baht), with $10,000 raised from this Indiegogo campaign. This will cover our modest operating expenses for one year of operations in northern Thailand and eastern Burma. Here is how we will use the Indiegogo funding:

• $2,400            salaries for two teacher-librarians from Burma for six months (all Westerners involved with The Best Friend are 100% volunteers!)

• $2,000            one five-month cycle of the Green Training Program to teach 70 students in Hsipaw, Shan State

• $1,200            rental costs

• $1,100            quality learning materials and healthy snacks for our students

• $900              new books and films for our libraries

• $900              expenses for coordination of community Burma awareness-raising events 

• $800              quarterly newsletter printing costs

• $700              estimated campaign fees and processing costs

We have some great perks on offer for those who are able to support The Best Friend's essential projects through this campaign. Check out everything in the right-hand column!

The Impact

This campaign is so valuable because it will allow us to continue building the capacity of the future generation of Burmese leaders! More students than ever before are now studying English, computers, and environmental conservation at our libraries in Chiang Mai and Hsipaw, Shan State. We need to continue offering them the opportunity to increase their skills and opportunities to contribute to their country's development in a meaningful way.

As civil society and media space has begun opening up inside the country, large-scale international donors are eager to allocate their resources to projects inside Burma. While this aid is most welcome, it has come at a severe cost to Burma advocacy groups based outside the country. Many border-based groups have already ceased to exist. 

Although it became possible in 2012 for our organization to work openly inside Burma, a large migrant and refugee population remaining in Thailand continues to beneft from our education and social welfare services. In addition, our libraries are now more important centers than ever before for an increasing number of non-Burmese seeking information and understanding about Burma.

We firmly believe The Best Friend Library in Chiang Mai continues to have an essential role to play in working for continued positive change in Burma, and we are very excited about our new projects in Shan State and Sagaing Division, Burma.

In under four years of operation, we have already taught more than 200 students in Thailand and Burma, welcomed 500 active members to the library, coordinated more than 50 awareness-raising community events, raised over one million baht to support the people of Burma affected by conflict and natural disasters, and collected over 3,000 unique materials in our Chiang Mai library utilized by activists, academics, journalists, and students. Please help us continue our success and reach! 

Other Ways You Can Help

Every single donation, matter the amount, will do much to encourage us in our work and further our cause. Even if you are unable to make a contribution at this time, you can still play an important role:

• Spread the word about this campaign among your friends and networks through Facebook, email, word-of-mouth, etc.!
• As your colleagues and friends to make a donation!
• Stop by our library to become a member!
• Keep up-to-date on our projects and current happenings in Burma through our website (www.thebestfriend.org) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BurmaLibrary)!