the joys of my work, and the hope for myanmar

In my work I get to visit with some wonderful people and discuss their lives, challenges, and aspirations. This woman is of the Kayan Lahwi ethnic group in Myanmar. They have suffered a lot because of the fighting in the region, leading many families to flee to the Thai/Myanmar border as refugees or IDPs. People are slowly returning to their traditional lands and going about their daily lives, but with considerable caution.  Aung San Suu Kyi has a huge leadership challenge of uniting a nation that has been divided by warfare for the past 60 years. There are about 130 different ethnic groups in Myanmar and many of them have their own army. The adaptive work will require each group to give up something in order to attain peace, security, and a functioning nation that generates value for everyone. A dominant faction in this mix is the Myanmar military. They have been running government and fighting battles for a long time. Their work now is to support fully the transition to a civilian government and do the bridge-building work with the ethnic communities to heal deep wounds and promote reconciliation. Hopefully the day will soon come when all groups can sit around the campfire together and share their songs.