In August, we will be traveling back to Burma, with the Burma Foundation, to deliver and install some solar panel at an orphanage in the Mon State, located in Southern Burma.

We are also very exited to be working on our own project to help a local bird and nature guide.

During our last trip there, last year, we met U Naing Thein, a local birding guide. Naing, who is an amazing bird spotter and bird watcher, and is as passionate about birds as we are, would like to establish a bird center, in the Mon state. That would allow him to extend his love for birds and nature to the community as well as develop some conservancy awareness, and hopefully some ecotourism, in this beautiful, but often forgotten part of Burma.

As he says, ”This would be a dream come true.”

Myanmar has more than 1027 species of birds recorded that is a greater diversity than any other country in mainland south East Asia. Southern Burma is home to so many amazing birds, like the great Hornbill, the pouched hornbill, the endangered Gurney’s Pitta, and many more.
We have been very fortunate to bird there, but this area is not part of the traditional birding circuit of Myanmar, so very few birders go there.

We bird watch a lot, and love it more than anything else. We know how much it would mean for Naing and the local community to have a nature center, particularly in such a poor place, where bird watching is rarely a priority. Unfortunately, Naing who is struggling to make a living as a bird guide, and researcher, does not have the resources to set up a center. He also would love to apply to the Harrison Foundation in England, (They provide some local training for guides in most nature related fields). Naing has a degree in Botany from the Yangon University, and he belongs to the Myanmar Birds and Nature Society.

Please help us promote birds in one more little part of this amazing planet. We are collecting material, and trying to raise $2000 to buy a lap top computer with solar batteries. All the money raised will go directly to the project. We will be working for a few weeks this summer, to pay for our plane tickets and to cover all our expenses.

Thank you very much,

Respectfully, Camille and Eleanor Allen