Thanksgiving with South Philly Refugees, Sunday November 21, 2-5pm, Stiffel Senior Center

Philadelphia Chapter of US Campaign for Burma is helping again this year with HIAS and Council's Thanksgiving Dinner as we share the holiday with newly arrived refugee families many from Burma.

Please join us on Sunday, November 21, 2010 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Stiffel Senior Center, 604 Porter Street in South Philadelphia (corner of 6th and Porter).

Please bring food (no meat!) to share with 5 people! If your name starts with letters A-M, bring a main dish. If you name starts with letters N-Z, bring a dessert/fruit.

For more information contact Marina Merlin, 215-832-0903, mmerlin@hiaspa.org

Benjamin Franklin Thinking Society

A discussion on Burma will take place on Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 10:30 am at the Flying Monkey Cafe, 1112 Locust Street in Philadelphia.

Why does this date sound so familiar? It is the the date the generals have selected for thier sham elections. Come honor Aung San Suu Kyi and her party the National League for Democracy as they boycott the election by raising your awareness of her and the people of Burma on this day. We plan to have lunch following the program. Contact Susan 215-848-1382 for more information and/or if you need a ride.

Volunteer Opportunity at Saturday ESL School with Burmese kids in South Philly!!

The US Campaign for Burma, Philadelphia Chapter has identified a need to teach English and tutor Burmese refugee children who have been relocated to South Philadelphia. Children vary in ages and some speak very little English, but all are very eager to learn. Some have been in the United States for only several months, so teaching should incorporate use of pictures & body language, as well as cultural education about food, holidays, geography, etc. It's a wonderful opportunity for anyone interested in helping and making a difference in people's lives who are struggling to make a new in America.

Please be sure to view our site: ESL School: Refugee Education Partners!

Ideally, we are looking for volunteers who can commit 2-3 hrs on Saturday, at least once per month so that the children can develop a rapport with you. If you have time constraints and can only volunteer once, we are happy to have you too!

If you are unable to volunteer, but would still like to help, we appreciate donations of school supplies, books, educational materials, English Language learning games.

For more information and to sign-up, please contact Kim Leichtner via email at kim.leichtner@gmail.com or by phone at 267-687-1740. 

Planning Meeting in West Philly on Wednesday, 9/22/2010

Back-to-Burma-Fall-Action-Planning-Meeting in West Philly

Please Plan to Attend!

4235 Osage Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19104

for directions, call Veronika at 267.752.7254

Meeting begins at 6:30pm

Topics include:

• helping Burmese refugee children in South Philadelphia
• discuss upcoming scam election in Burma and ways to protest
• documentary preview of "Burma VJ"
• brainstorm and plan events

Please try to bring school supplies ranging from $1 to $5. These donations will be collected for the Burmese children in South Philly.

June 19th House Arrest Party Planned

Philadelphia Chapter of US Campaign for Burma hosts a House Arrest Party on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's 65th birthday, Saturday, June 19, 2010.

The party will be held from 4 -7 pm at Ruby's home 225 Wingate Road, Upper Darby, PA 19082. To show soladarity with Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for more than 14 out of 20 years, Ruby is putting herself under 24 hours of house arrest! You can show your soladarity too by coming to the party and helping to raise awareness of the Free Burma movement. This event is a fundraiser for US Campaign for Burma.

You are welcome to make a donation at the party. Burmese food and birthday cake will be served. For more information, please contact Susan at szbaird@msn.com.

Support Burma & Get On The Bus to NYC!!

Local Philadelphian Burma Supporters, here's your chance to rally!

GET ON THE BUS for Human Rights with Amnesty International to NYC on Friday, April 16th! This event protests human rights violations in Sri Lanka, Burma and Tibet.

You can join a group at 7:30am or come on your own via MegaBus. Please reserve your ticket in advance ($11 each way) on the web-site.

Schedule is as follows:

• Meet at 30th Street Station no later than 7:15am (you should see a group of people waiting for MegaBus)
• Board at 30th Street Station at 7:30 am
• Arrive in NYC at 31st Street and 8th Ave. 2 hours later.
• Take the subway from 34th St/Penn Station to the 8th St/NYU Station. (we'll have to change trains once)
• Walk to 7 East 7th Street for registration and opening speakers
• In the evening we could take the 5:40 pm MegaBus for the return trip

Schedule of Events

10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Registration at The Great Hall of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science, 7 East 7th Street, New York NY

11:00 to 12:30 p.m. Speakers Panel, also at the Great Hall

12:30 to 1:50 p.m. Lunch and travel to Sri Lankan Mission, “Permanent Mission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sir Lanka”. 630 Third Avenue

1:50-2:00 p.m. Sri Lanka Rally, then travel to the United Nations Building, 1st avenue and E 46th Street.

2:55-3:40 pm. Burma Action Rally in the 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza across from the United Nations Building. This will be followed by a sidewalk procession down 1st Ave to the Chinese Mission. There will be Side Actions; Support Justine Masika Bihamba and Women’s Rights Defenders

4:15-5:00 p.m. Tibet Rally at 350 E 35th Street

Walk to Penn Station and catch the Megabus to return to Philadelphia.

March 24, 2010 - Movie & Discussion at Penn's Women's Center

The Penn Women’s Center and the Philadelphia Chapter of the US Campaign for Burma, are collaborating on a film screening and discussion around the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and human rights issues in Burma.

When: Wednesday, March 24th

Time: 7:00pm

Where: Penn Women’s Center, 3643 Locust Walk, Philadelphia PA

*refreshments will be served

We are holding this program in March, during Women’s Week, in order to highlight the struggles and triumph of Aung San Suu Kyi as a leader in Burma and a strong woman fighting for justice! Additionally, it was in March 2009 that the UN most recently declared her detention to be illegal.

Please join us to honor this amazing woman and to help spread awareness about Burma and it's struggle for human rights and democracy!