Myanmar (Burma)
Note: The PIME Missionaries do not currently have missionaries in Myanmar. However, PIME has played a significant role in the Burmese Church, founding six dioceses. We continue to be involved in the support of many projects in the country.
Location:
Myanmar is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, Thailand, and the Indian Ocean
Language:
Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Common Religions:
Buddhism. About 4% of the population is Christian (1% Catholic)
Problems for people here:
Education and modern amenities are hard to come by in the rural areas of the country. Many people in these areas work as day laborers, and are so poor some take to selling their children just to be able to sustain themselves for another day. If children are allowed to get an education by the family, rather than working, it is often at the expense of another out of necessity. PIME’s work in this country began with Lepers some seventy years ago, and thanks to those Burmese who helped the original missionaries, they have all but eradicated the disease. In addition to being one of the poorest countries in the world, Myanmar is also the largest opium producer. Opium and heroin are available all over Myanmar and affect a large section of the population, especially young people.
How PIME helps the mission here:
The PIME Missionaries work within humanitarian aid groups to coordinate helping the impoverished and less-fortunate. We continue to be involved in the support of many infrastructure projects in the country, to establish life-necessities for the people of particularly isolated communities.
Through cooperation with New Humanity, and the dioceses of the country, PIME has been able to establish several aid projects: clean water, electricity, orphanages, education, food, safety, leprosy, credit unions etc. All projects are aimed at giving them the means to develop as individuals, and as a country as a whole.
