As we begin the “Year of the Mercy” in 2016, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to our friends and partner-donors for their continued support and patronage over our decade of committed devotion.

Kindly allow me to start off the annual message by highlighting our incredible record of accomplishments this last year. Chief among them was our annual fundraising event for “Yadanar Min Za Ri Orphanage” in the Bago Division, Myanmar on July 25, 2015. It was by far our most vibrant charity event to date. The turnout was more than 400 people from the Burmese American community. The glittering entertainment, the live music, the stage performances, and our popular food sales would not have been fulfilled if the community did not come together to generously offer their valuable time and effort. We should be extremely proud of our work and our dedication to bring empowerment to the orphan community of Bago Division. Your charitable contributions have positively impacted the lives of more than 380 orphans from the “Yadanar Min Za Ri Orphanage.”

The message of “Hope” to these neglected and underserved children was successfully delivered in the largest orphan compound in Bago Division. As a result of your compassion, led by “Thila Shin” a.k.a “Little Teacher,” along with our team of volunteers, we are now earmarked as one of the two International Organizations since 2007 when Yadanar Min Za Ri orphan house was first opened, and the only non-profit Foundation registered from United States to be given the opportunity to support this Orphanage. The unified message, “A hope for all orphans” was prominently conveyed at all the events we actively participated in during the year. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to our volunteers from San Francisco and Yangon who brought out the best in our outreach.

As we advance into the jubilee “Year of the Mercy”, I am thrilled to see the passionate growth in the energy demonstrated year after year. Let us not forget how we started and how far we have come. We started in 2001 with a simple charity plan for food sales, and now, after 15 years, we find ourselves with new the new excitement and challenge of our expanding programs. As part of our new perspective, we are looking forward to introducing new initiatives and new outreach programs this coming year. These initiatives include, the “High School Diploma” program, which should be launched sometimes second half of the year. We hope to garner new partnerships with organizations and individuals who value the importance of completing a high school education. A recent survey from UNICEF shows only 10% complete a high school curriculum in Myanmar. The struggle of those high school students who come from disadvantaged orphaned backgrounds to achieve a high school education is even harder.

Our board will work strenuously to address this disadvantage and help the Myanmar orphan community. We will continue to be the voice and the hope for the needy children in years to come.

Abundance of love for your time, attention and care.