Shelter Relief Sayadow Sitagu	Medicine Donation	Children Crowd

"Generosity is not giving me that which I need
more than you do, but it is giving me that which
you need more than I do." - Kahlil Gibran

Dear Friends of Metta Dana,

We are grateful for your generous donation to support the Burmese people devastated by Cyclone Nargis. The storm killed at least 140,000 people and the country's rice bowl was destroyed, making it the second-deadliest cyclone on record. Two and a half million people have lost homes, shelter, and land and many still rely on aid for medicine, clean water, and food. As the crisis endures, the military regime continues to halt aid efforts initiated by the international community.

We want you to know where your gifts went. Your heartfelt response was received through the hands of local volunteers and courageous nuns and monks. Together, we have collectively raised over $20,000 for the survivors living in the flooded Irrawaddy Delta. Your resources have directly reached displaced children, farmers, and families across the region via support networks run by local nunneries and monasteries. Your generosity has helped to:

1. aid monks and nuns in the rebuilding of monasteries and nunneries. In turn, the monks and nuns help the community. Thus, the core relationship and mutual interdependence between ordained Sangha and lay community are being restored.
2. support the establishment of orphanages for children who lost their families in the crisis.
3. aid the nunneries and monasteries in purchasing supplies and providing shelter for those who have lost their homes.
4. provide health care for disabled orphans.
5. help artist activists tell the real story of daily civilian life.
6. purchase food, purified water, and medicine for the victims.
7. build women's shelters and prevent prostitution.
8. halt the trafficking of children.

How important was your gift? Extremely important, as locals have had great difficulty in accessing aid obstructed by the Junta. Your compassion and generosity have infused relief and hope into a region destroyed by the country's largest national disaster, helping to reduce the suffering of the people of Burma.

There is a need for a constant flow of supplies and direct assistance over the months and years ahead. Following his retreat in Australia, Steven Smith will return to Thailand and continue to provide support from within the region. In January, Michele McDonald and others will be going to Burma for the Kyaswa retreat to check in on projects and disperse funds. Our interconnected efforts are making a difference. Thank you again for your commitment to supporting sanity and peace in the world.

With deep gratitude,

Metta Dana