The Free Funeral Service was formed 10 years ago to provide free funeral services to needy people. The charity now runs a free medical clinic and free English classes with more than 500 students. Mizzima reporter Myo Thant interviewed Kyaw Thu on the objectives of the organization, the difficulties it has encountered and public attitudes toward social work.

Question: A bust of Thu Kha was unveiled at the ceremony. Please tell us how the idea of honoring him was developed.

Answer: In our country, the histories of noted and renowned personalities are suppressed and often forgotten. If you ask the children about r zar ni (martyrs), they will answer that he is the singer R Zar Ni. Similarly, there are many people who have never seen a portrait of Aung San (Burma’s independence leader and father of Aung San Suu Kyi). So we must reestablish the histories of famous people. Thu Kha was the leader of our group. He also first advocated for a Mothers’ Day in Burma. We distributed T-shirts with portraits of Thu Kha, and we inscribed a brief biography of Thu Kha on the pedestal of the bust to honor him.

Q: How did Thu Kha get the idea to establish the organization?

A: He was hospitalized at Rangoon General Hospital in 1999. At the time, an elderly woman was hospitalized beside his bed. The family of the woman was very poor. One day a doctor told her family to take her back home because there was no hope for her. After that day, her family members stopped coming to the hospital. Thu Kha found out that the family could not afford to pay for her hospital and funeral expenses so they left her at the hospital where she died and was cremated as an unclaimed body. In other religions, they have charity organizations for social work but the Buddhist religion doesn’t have as such. He decided to establish this organization. I joined him by donating some seed money.

Q: Who else took part in establishing the organization?

A: My wife, writer Aung Thin, writer Than Myint Aung and some others. Thu Kha and I donated $500 each. First we started with an old car for a hearse. Then many people joined us and it gradually developed. We now use donations carefully and maintain proper accounting and book keeping.

Q: What sort of difficulties did you face during the early years?

A: We faced many problems. The biggest was a misunderstanding about our organization. We are not a political organization; we are not a political party. We just render our assistance to needy people. But we were harassed based on this misunderstanding.

Q: Since then, you’ve been very successful.

A: Many needy bereaved families rely on us now. They contact us and ask for our assistance. Many young children came to us too at the clinic and for English classes. The enrolment in our summer English language classes was only 80 last year, but it was over 500 this year. The summer classes were intended for poor children but now some children from affluent families also come to our classes by private cars. It means affluent families have respect for us and our work so they send their children to our classes. Moreover, we provide medical treatment to more than 200 patients daily at our free clinic.

Q: How many members do you have?

A: There are up to 600 members in our organization, and full-time volunteers number about 300.

Q: What kind of work do volunteers do?

A: First, we train them for about six months. Upon completion of the training, we assign them to specific areas such as the clinic, funeral services, reception, etc.

Q: Many young people want to join you in doing social work now. What do you tell them?

A: We only do social work, but some parents have objected to their children joining our organization in fear of getting involved in political activities. Our organization always welcomes those with an altruistic spirit. Spirit and attitude toward social work are important to us.

Q: What assistance has the government provided to your organization?

A: Major General Htay Oo of the USDP party came to us and studied our work. Then they donated some money to us. They helped us in getting electricity connections when we were in Thingangyun Township. We received about $4,000 from them at that time.

Q: Do you think the new government will provide assistance to social work groups like yours?

A: I don’t know, because the government and ministers are new. Former Mayor Aung Thein Lin invited us to his office and offered help and told us that our social work were contributing to their municipal work. Then the situation changed. Similarly, Information Minister Major General Kyaw San greeted me heartily when we met each other at the office of the Motion Picture Association and said he appreciated our work. He urged me to write articles about our work, and he promised me to print the articles in state-run daily papers. But later my photo and my name were barred from newspapers by the censorship board.

Q: Previously, you were a famous actor, and now you’re a regular citizen doing social work. What are the differences in those two types of lives?

A: Now I can deal directly with average people. Previously, I acted and met with my fans mainly through movies, and I was paid for my performances. Now I’m giving back to the people by working for them.

Q: Donors from inside the country and abroad provide assistance to your organization.

A: We can do our work successfully only because of  these donors. We can help needy people only through these public donations.

Q: What would you like to say to young people who have an urge to join in social work?

A: I’d like to say, ‘Walk your path, do your work, fulfill your duty, keep your character high’. This is my motto. I wish them success. The key is attitude and altruism. Keep you’re character pure.