LOCAL woman Tin Htu Nu lives by the simple Bhuddist philosophies of life: that in the first stage you learn, the second stage of life you earn and in the third stage you contribute back.
Tin is a regular helper, teacher and contributor to several local groups and charities. Her latest project will raise funds for the victims in Burma’s Cyclone Nargis in the Irrawaddy Delta.
Tin is a Burma-born Australian and, with her husband Ian Oxenford, is also building a school in Burma in an underprivileged rural area – but that’s another story.
Funds raised from the dinner and associated fun (at the Laurieton United Servicemen’s Club August 9, tickets $25 per head) will be distributed to help the Burmese beneficiaries supply water, food and housing.
“There is an urgent need for water and medical supplies,” Tin said.
“As there is no piped water in the villages, people use water from village water ponds or dams for drinking and cooking. With the cyclone, dam water in the villages is polluted by cadavers and livestock carcasses.
“Bottled water has been supplied by some aid donors but this is expensive and not sustainable. The Burma Medical Association members in Australia and doctors in Burma are implementing projects to pump out the contaminated water and clean up the dams. The dams will then fill with rain water during the coming monsoon season enabling the people to get clean water for consumption. Cleaning up a dam in each village will cost $300.
“Various donor groups including Buddhist monks and nuns and Christian groups are allocating rice, cooking pots and clothing to the people. One basket of rice (estimated about 22 kg) cost about $30. One basket can feed about 100 people. The price of rice was only about $10-15 in the area before the cyclone struck. The cyclone struck the area where there is much surplus production of rice. The price increased as the people have to import from other areas of Burma with high transport cost. The danger of starvation of the people is eminent of there is no regular aid flow.
“The Australia Burma Community Development network and Moe Gyo based in Sydney and Tents for Burma based in Hobart, have Burmese and Australian members who are assisting infrastructure and urgent housing needs. People want to go back to their villages rather than living in refugee camps but they must have shelter. They want to get on with their lives, plough the soil, grow food to consume and sell. One hut costs about $100 for a family of five or six. Since the cyclone struck two months ago, the Australian public is concerned whether the aid will reach to the victims. There are two possible ways to reach the aid. One is to donate through the international aid organisations and the other is to go through established organisations set up by the former Burmese residing in Australia. So there is no transaction towards the Burmese Banking system, but the money goes directly to the people.”
Tin said it’s estimated it will take 18 months for the farming regions to get back on their feet.
The dinner on Saturday August 9 at the Laurieton United Servicemen’s Club will see authentic Asian food prepared by Tin in conjunction with the club’s award-winning chefs. Her most popular dishes, which she also teaches to cook at Camden Haven Adult and Education (CHACE), will be on the menu: fried rice Burmese style, chicken vindaloo (Indian), braised pork and fish sauce (Chinese), fried fish with ginger sauce (Thai), Burmese slow cooked beef curry and steamed vegetables. There will also be a selection of small starters and desserts accompanied by a fruit platter and green tea.
“It is a stereo type that all Asian dishes are spicy and hot. But not all spices are hot, and most Asian cooking is a blend of natural taste with spices and condiments to make the food exciting,” Tin said.
“According to ayuvedic (knowledge of health and longevity) instructions, a human body must consume all six kinds of taste (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, hot and richness) to have a balanced food intake, and Asian cooking has a high priority to that issue. I will explain this a bit during my short talk in the evening about Burma.”
Photographs and clothes worn by different ethnic groups of Burma and many artefacts will be displayed. A short talk about Burma, including the recent disaster and how people are coping, will be presented by Tin.
Entertainment will be live music by Clem Collier and also a performance by Tin. Also there are ticket sales for raffles with prizes including a basket of food from Tin’s organic farm processed foods, a two-course lunch for two at The Meeting Place Café in Kendall, a course at CHACE to study one of Tin’s cooking courses (valued at $120), a gift voucher from Top End Fruit and Veg, gift voucher from Laurieton Health Foods and morning tea for two at Beetroot’d Café in Kendall. Watch the Courier for dates and locations to purchase raffle tickets. An auction of Burmese crafts, silk, jade and materials will be conducted by Yarra (Jaroslav Kovanicek—former broadcaster, ABC FM radio).
Cyclone Nargis caused about the same amount of destruction as the tsunami in 2004. However, unlike Tsunami, the aid flow into Burma is constrained to just a trickle.
On June 29 there was a fundraising event for Nargis victims in Kendall.
“The money has already been sent to the people of Irrawaddy Delta in Burma for their huts, food and pumping out dams,” Tin said.
She hopes to have the same support by citizens of Laurieton, Port Macquarie and Hastings region.
“The help from our part of world goes along way and they will be much appreciated,” Tin said.
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