Ranger Graduates Trek to Bring Relief in Karen State
- mattn109
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Each year, FBR relief team and leadership training culminates in a mission where the new Rangers go together with some of their instructors to help people affected by devastating conflict. This year, the teams hiked through the mountains of Kler Lwe Htoo District, Karen State, to provide help, hope, and love to IDPs in the plains area. Leaving Ranger camp on mission was a momentous occasion for the Rangers. They had been training for three months, learning and practicing survival and humanitarian-focused skills. Now it was time to put those skills into practice.
We departed camp and trekked over through the mountainous country of eastern Karen State to get to the villages in the plains, where the people have been frequently attacked by the Burma Army. Hiking in the mountains in Burma can be a challenging experience. The trails are steep, and the vegetation is dense. The wildlife is some of the most diverse in the world. Many rickety bamboo bridges mark the water crossings, and not all are regularly maintained.
Despite the difficulties, the mountains offer many positive aspects. The warm and hospitable Karen people are always welcoming, there is continuous fresh water, and a beautiful landscape. The landscape also provides cover and concealment from the Burma military, whose soldiers patrol between their mountain camps and whose attack aircraft frequent the skies. From the mountains, our team hiked down into the flatlands, eager to find the IDPs.
Arriving at the plains is a striking experience. The landscape flattens dramatically and offers very little shade or vegetation. The temperature rises, and the ground becomes dusty. There are remnants of old British cobblestone roads from the colonial era. Most of the communities here are farming communities that produce livestock, rice, green beans, okra, and an assortment of other crops. The lack of concealment feels vulnerable. The Burma military has a heavy presence in the plains and regularly deploys surveillance aircraft to hunt and kill. Our teams, feeling exposed, witnessed many reconnaissance drones and Y-12 planes buzzing overhead, which called in artillery strikes that reverberated in the distance. More than a few times, Burma military jets streaked past us and dropped their ordnance on targets across the landscape.
The plains are some of the most contested areas in Burma. They are ethnically diverse farming communities that sprawl between the Burmese-majority towns and the ethnic-majority mountainous areas. Resistance forces, including the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and People’s Defense Forces (PDF) have regained control over a large portion of the plains areas of Kler Lwe Htoo District, but the Burma military still maintains a grasp over key towns and transportation routes. Most notably, the AH1 highway from Yangon to Nawpyidaw runs through the plains and acts as a major transportation artery that the regime will hold at any cost.
The civilians truly bear the brunt of the fighting. Every IDP site or village we visited in the plains had civilians present who had lost family members or homes to the conflict. Our team had the chance to visit the site of the May 2025 massacre in which the Burma military bombed a wedding ceremony taking place at a school in Kyun Gyi Village. We interviewed and prayed with a teacher who was injured and had lost her daughter in that attack.
The war-weary communities of the plains expressed their gratitude for our Rangers hosting the Good Life Club (GLC) programs, apparent by their smiles and laughter. Having the chance to encourage the people and make them laugh is one of the key personal highlights for many of us in FBR. On this trip, we conducted four GLC programs, reaching more than 1,200 people with relief and encouragement.
Our Rangers provided financial support for community needs, educational supplies, snacks, GLC shirts, and medical treatment to care for their physical needs. Rangers encouraged IDPs through song, Jesus-focused skits, games, and shared the Gospel story to men, women, and children through our color book.
In addition to sharing the Gospel at the GLCs, our Chaplains conducted three Gospel programs on various nights with prayer, worship, sharing testimonies, and showing the Jesus film. These programs reached over 220 villagers with the Gospel, resulting in four people who expressed desire to learn more about Jesus. There were some Christians at these programs, but it was a predominantly Buddhist area.
Every IDP camp or village we visited inspired us with their resilience in the face of the many challenges of living in the conflict. They live with the fear of knowing that the military could strike them at any time without notice. But these communities overcome their trials by working together across ethnic and religious lines - Karen and Burmese, Christian and Buddhist. The teachers continue to persist in education, despite having to rotate school locations frequently for safety and digging air raid trenches for students, or cancelling days and weeks of class whenever there is a battle nearby. The teachers are volunteering their time to help develop the next generation, with minimal resources and a small stipend.
Despite such difficult times in Burma and the continual threat of death, we trust in new beginnings from God. We pray over the new Rangers, that they would continue to share God’s love and unity through their actions and words as they continue carrying out relief missions for their people in their home areas.
Thanks and God bless you,
The Free Burma Rangers.