Armed with the knowledge of the country and a desire to help any way she can, Gravenhurst resident Lisa McCoy left in the early morning hours last week for the Thai-Burma border.

McCoy was scheduled to arrive at the border on Monday as a member of the charity organization Project Enlighten, for which she is the education co-ordinator. This past winter McCoy spent two months in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot, volunteering in the capacity of English teacher to Burmese refugee students at ABITSU, migrant workers, newly released former political prisoners and members of the National League for Democracy of Burma (NLD-LA).

Project Enlighten is a registered non-government, non-profit, charitable organization in the U.S. The organization aims to provide non-discriminatory charitable giving that encompasses education and humanitarian assistance to international communities based on need. Its current focus is Southeast Asia and 100 per cent of donations go to the programs and people they support.

After the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, and with limited aid getting into Burma, Project Enlighten last week decided to send one of its team to the Thai-Burma border to assist, collaborate and fund the Burmese organizations there. So far relief efforts into the country have been delayed because of the Burmese government.

McCoy explained in an e-mail that due to her knowledge of the area and her connections and friends at relief organizations in Mae Sot, located six kilometres from the Thai-Burma border, she gladly volunteered to help out.

Currently, humanitarian support groups and emergency supplies have limited access into Burma. Project Enlighten, through McCoy, is co-ordinating with organizations on the border that are assisting in the delivery of desperately needed supplies, medicine and food. The groups are composed of and run by local Burmese, who are effectively providing aid. Project Enlighten’s partners in this region are offering their assistance without administrative costs, so 100 per cent of the money given goes toward direct and immediate aid to the cyclone survivors.

“It is imperative that Project Enlighten have a person on the ground in Mae Sot to provide accountability for all the funds raised,” said McCoy. She expects to be back home in Muskoka by the end of June.

Project Enlighten is seeking monetary donations for immediate emergency relief aid for the survivors of Cyclone Nargis. The acquisition and delivery of clean water, medicine, food and other relief supplies will be the focus for relief efforts.

Donations designated for the Burma Relief Fund can be made online at www.projectenlighten.org (PayPal or credit card). Please make checks payable to “Project Enlighten” and mail to Project Enlighten, Burma Relief Fund, Box 53, Gravenhurst ON, P1P 1T5.