Support for the Oppressed Peoples of Burma (SOPB)

Since 1992 Burma has been ruled by an illegal military regime. This regime has committed innumerable atrocities including; ethnic cleansing of its minority groups, rape, the use of forced labour, including human minesweepers and the forced conscription of over 70,000 boy soldiers.
In 1990 elections were held in Burma and the National League for Democracy (NLD) won over 80% of the seats , but this result was ignored by the generals and the NLD leader, Nobel Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been held in detention for more than 11 years.
As a direct result there are now over 1100 political prisoners in Burma's jails, who suffer torture and even death and over a million internally displaced people (IDPs).
A once prosperous country has been ravaged politically, economically and environmentally and health and education standards have plummeted.
In January 2006, Ben Rogers, a human rights activist, made his tenth trip to the refugee camps on the Thai/Burma border. His mother, Juliet and sister Ruth, accompanied him, visiting orphans, refugees, former political prisoners, landmine victims, Karen soldiers and IDPs .

As a direct result of this trip, the Support for the Oppressed People of Burma (SOPB) began in an attempt to raise much needed funding and awareness of the situation. They found the need for support amongst the refugees was totally overwhelming.

Early in 2006, the Burma army began their worst offensive in almost a decade, causing more than25,000 civilians in Karen State to flee their villages into the jungle. Over 82,00 people in eastern Burma were displaced last year alone and the offensive continues still.

The SOPB has been able to contirbute to health and education projects in Chin, Kachin, Shan, Karreni and Karen States. On a recent trip the SOPB identified the needs for ; funding a clinic in a camp of IDPs in the Karen State, supporting a Mon nursery school in Thailand and providing for eight Karen IDP children.

For just £25 a family of five can live for a month. They need a machete to cut wood. a lighter to make fire, a tarpaulin for shelter, a pot for cooking and rice and salt to eat. SOPB support the Burma Free Rangers who take these items directly to them.
SOPB is a Charity, but not a registered one. It incurs no travel or administrative costs. All monies raised go directly to points of need among the peoples of Burma. In 2006 we raised £20,000.

If you wish to help , you could be saving lives and will certainly be helping a much overlooked , desperate part of the world.

Cards sold supporting the SOPB are sold exclusively through Juliet Rogers. Please see details of packs below and contact:
Juliet Rogers, St. Edward's Chantry. 01747 852789 to order Or email parry.rogers@waitrose.com

Packs of 5 cards & envelopes 5" x 5" (125mm x 125mm)

Packs of 5 cards & envelopes 7" x 5" ( 180mm x 125mm)