Nora Dunn and Kelly Bedford, two Canadian travelers with a penchant for service, were in Chiang Mai, Thailand, when Cyclone Nargis struck Burma in early May. While the rest of the world watched in shock and horror as the death toll climbed and Burma’s junta blocked critical aid, Dunn (31) and Bedford (32) took action.

“Knowing how close we were to this tragedy, we didn’t feel right just ignoring it and carrying on with our trip,” Dunn told ET. In a May 9 blog posted just days after the cyclone hit, Dunn wrote: “[W]e have hijacked our trip agenda as it stands to see how we can make a difference.” Their goal was simple: get aid to the people in need.

Red Tape and Closed Borders
But making a difference isn’t always so easy, particularly when you’re as ambitious as Dunn and Bedford, and when the group you want to help is as politically isolated as Burma. Not only did these travelers have to lean to do the work of a full-fledged international NGO in a few short weeks (“We’re just two Canadians who wanted to do something good,” wrote Dunn), they had to contend with bureaucracy and frustrations galore.

The Thai Red Cross, after acknowledging that they wouldn’t take donations in kind, suggested that Dunn and Bedford work with the Thai military. However, that route would ensure that their donations ended up in the hands of the Burmese military, which was both unacceptable to the Canadian travelers and to their government; the act would have been a violation of Canadian Sanction Laws.

In a May 16 blog post, Dunn wrote: “We have found ourselves navigating one of the toughest situations we could ever find ourselves in: trying to give aid to a country with closed borders, a totalitarian government, and a military that keeps an ever watchful eye on absolutely everything.”

Acts of Kindness
Dunn and Bedford pushed on, abetted by the local owner of an internet café who, said Dunn, offered “unmitigated access to his internet café and computers, drove us all over the city, acted as translator for us, and connected us with various Rotary clubs in the city. Without his help, we would still be chasing our tails, I’m sure!”

As Rotarians, Dunn and Bedford were able to tap into the incredible network of fellow Rotarians in Thailand and Canada. These communities, which abide by the motto of “Service Above Self,” provided crucial logistical, financial, and emotional support for the increasingly frazzled—but still passionate—Canadians.

Other travelers also became an important part of the project, despite the fact that many were at first “unaware of the extent of damage and suffering just a few hundred kilometers away,” Dunn told ET. “It is very easy when you travel to be blissfully unaware of your surroundings.”

Once travelers understood the situation in Burma and became exposed to Dunn and Bedford’s struggles, the support came rushing in.

“People opened their wallets and gave cash to us without being asked,” said Dunn. “Others even rallied support from their families and friends back home by forwarding our blog to them, and even giving us cash on their behalf! Yet other people provided us with whatever logistical support they could, by making phone calls, printing out signs, and even just physically and emotionally being there for us.”

Through active blogging on several websites and media attention in Canada, the UK, Australia, and Germany, Dunn and Bedford tirelessly rallied for more support. The Canadian couple decided to partner with UK charity ShelterBox (www.shelterbox.org), a unique program that offers long-term emergency relief supplies to enable families to survive for at least six months. ShelterBox was also one of the few relief agencies able to confirm effective distribution of aid on the ground within Burmese borders—a decisive factor for Dunn and Bedford.

Tangible Success
After several weeks of obstacles and elations, everyone’s hard work paid off. Dunn and Bedford counted 77 individuals and organizations among their donors, contributing a phenomenal $CAN 13,597.81. Donors included Canadians, Germans, Austrians, Australians, Americans, British, Dutch, Japanese, and Thais.

Though the bulk of the project has come to an end, Dunn and Bedford will continue to keep their donors well-informed of how their donations are being spent, and how the situation in Burma changes in the coming months.

As they depart Thailand for a year-long contract in Australia, these two travelers reflect on their whirlwind experience as an on-the-fly NGO:

“We embarked on a life of world travel to not only have some fun and personal adventures, but also to help others wherever we can. We got more than we bargained for in this project, and are still reeling from the experience. We would be hard-pressed to take on something this ambitious again, but we also acknowledge that we were working in one of the toughest situations we could find ourselves in—with a country with closed borders and a reluctance to accept aid.”

Those of us at Ethical Traveler applaud their efforts, and their success. For more information about Dunn and Bedford, please visit their blog http://freedom30.blogspot.com.