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Hope For The Child Of War

Ryan — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:47:04 +0000

This coming Friday and Saturday (Jan 22 & 23) we will be working with our friends at Partners on this powerful display of art from the children of Burma. Come and visit or check the dates below for one in your area.

Healing wounds through art and story

Partners staff and volunteers work closely with Burma’s refugees and internally displaced people. One particular community along the Thai-Burma border is Shan Town*.

At Shan Town, Partners has built health clinics, provided emergency supplies to families, built dorms for orphans, and trained teachers and health care workers.

In November 2008, we traveled to a school of 700 students in Shan Town. We asked the children to help us understand their life experiences. Though we only had acrylic paint and paper, the results were incredible.

We were so moved by their hope and courage, we knew their stories had to be shared with the world.

Thanks to the generosity of friends in Midland, Texas, funds were provided to develop their artistic works into an experiential war zone exhibit.

Get intimately acquainted with Burma’s children of war. Their stories will move and inspire you.

Upcoming Events

Downtown Riverside, January 22 – 23
Azusa Pacific University, February 8 – 19
Biola University, March 17 – 19

Visit the exhibit website

Filmmaker Austin Flack On His Upcoming Trip To Thailand

Ryan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:16:14 +0000

In nine days I will be returning to Thailand, finishing a project I began over a year ago. Last July, I spent a morning following two Burmese children, Kimboee and her brother Nezo, from the Burmese/Thai border crossing at Myawaddy into the narrow alleys and crowded market places of Mae Sot, where they went to beg—a daily ritual. My plan was to film them all day, from crossing to crossing.

Unfortunately my film was left unfinished. All of the children I met were barefoot and after several hours of filming I made the ‘mistake’ of buying them sandals in the market. I soon attracted a sizable crowd of street children hoping for handouts, rendering my fly-on-the-wall documentary approach obsolete. I had to leave Mae Sot the next day and returned to the states without a film. More frustratingly, I didn’t have a plan to help Kimboee, Nezo, and the other children like them.

Fortunately, the story doesn’t end there…

eleho is partnering with our friends at Compasio to help them build a drop-in center in Mae Sot. During my upcoming trip back to Mae Sot, I will be creating a short documentary film telling the story of these street children and highlighting the amazing work Compasio is doing to provide these children with safety, education, and opportunity. This film will be the centerpiece of ‘twenty4hope’, social media and monthly giving campaign, which will give individuals the opportunity to partner with Compasio, for as little as $20 a month, and help give hope to the street children of Thailand.

I am excited to announce that Cinevate has generously offered to provide some their amazing gear for the shoot. If you know anything about filmmaking, they make the best lens adaptors and camera accessories money can buy, and we am very, very grateful for their support.

In addition, this film wouldn’t be possible without the support of Pray With Africa, a Nashville-based non-profit, and my dear friends. Please check out the website and the documentary (which I created): “Listen: A New African Narrative.” We’d love to book a screening at your church or school—contact info is on the website.

I look forward to updating you from the field in the next few weeks. As always, your prayers and support are vital. Thank you for reading this.

If you would like to support my trip you can donate here

Photos From The Ignite Project

Ryan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:45:04 +0000

Compasio & eleho At The GO Conference In Colorado

Ryan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:13:01 +0000

We recently travelled out to Colorado to hit up the GO Conference in Estes Park with our friends from Compasio. It was refreshing to be up in the mountains, even if there was 18 inches of snow on the ground. The students we met were part of a unique collection of people. They are passionate about justice. They are standing for the oppressed. These students are traveling to some of the cruelest, most unjust, and precarious regions of the world. We shared about Burma, and about Compasio’s work on the Thai/Burma border, and listened as others shared about other conflicts around the world. We loved another opportunity to connect with young people that are using their skills and talents on behalf of the oppressed.