It is important to learn to see life from different perspectives.

I was so happy to see my friend Stephanie in Hong Kong and our group of Gobi friends had so much fun at Soho. At some point Stephanie and I were in a debate about whether we can have a roving race in Burma. She and I are on two opposite ends, hers being "absolutely no no" for a long time, and mine being "anytime".

The discussion made me want to reflect more on this topic. I guess there is no right or wrong, but from what perspective one is seeing life from. IOs have lots of access to information, official and unofficial. No matter how hard the Burmese government is trying to advertise its reforms, it remains to be seen whether the reforms are genuine and even if they are, it will take a long time.

But from my humble experience of working with IOs for a few years, I have always felt that something is missing. Behind the objective and well-researched information and analyses, I have always felt a lack of understanding to what the locals were really thinking and feeling.

It was a blessing to have the opportunity to work at grassroots level. Most of the time I was lucky enough to stay outside of the government's radar and did our own stuff. At the grassroots level, the rules of the game are different. You have to live the local way in order to understand their culture and needs.

This is taken from the Irrawaddy Delta disaster area back in 2008. I spent quite a lot of time travelling in and out of the delta working on relief and reconstruction projects. I will always remember the learning. Our priorities are completely different from the locals. You may think that after the cyclone, a bed or a tent is important for them. But actually, they were more desperate for fishing boats so that they can continue to make a living. Accommodation wise, they could do a pretty good job with palm leaves, bamboo thatches what have you. As a result, I have seen tens of thousands of tents donated (with good intentions) by IOs lying on the outskirts of Yangon serving no purpose at all.

And what about the moral dilemma that we are giving credit to a government which doesn't deserve it? I was privileged to have met Reverend Sitagu-Sayadaw (see below). It was certainly an enlightening experience talking to him, but seeing what he has done on the ground has changed my life forever.

I never expected to have the opportunity of meeting Reverend Sayadaw in person. He was once an opthalmologist and gave up his job to become a monk. His organization is a registered charity in the US and he spends time travelling all over the world fundraising for worthy causes. He has built numerous schools and hospitals in different parts of Burma. That day, I was only intending to deliver a small amount of construction materials as a donation and I was completely amazed by the resources that he was able to mobilize. I saw fleets of hundreds of boats and thousands of people working for him as volunteers. He saw me, a non-local, and came to talk to me. He said, "the government is not doing its job and so we take matters into our own hands." He knew I came from Hong Kong and said, "please keep up with the good work. This country needs you." Even now, I still have a clear impression of him - his inner strength, wisdom, courage, compassion and influence.

 
From the past 12 years of working as a volunteer in different parts of the world, my humble two cents is that it is all about the people I want to serve. My values and moral judgment simply don't matter. When I interact with the children and families who are in need of help, to be able to talk to them, to look into their eyes and see things they way they see...that for me is to be in touch with real life and that's all that matters. Politics has no place there.

But I must concede, the reason why I think it's really difficult to have a roving race in Burma any time soon is really the logistics. Because of the embargo, every cab in Yangon is made of scrap parts. The handful of new cars are owned by a small group of the super privileged class. I find it hard to imagine getting together enough 4 by 4s for a roving race. But having said that, the beauty of living in Burma is that it is very similar to Cuba, people make the best out of what they have. So you would often find the coolest vintage cars. I was privileged to have been driven around the country in this.