U Agga Nyana in Utica Monastery - January 2010

 The story of how U Agga Nyana managed to come to the USA is told in an extraordinary radio piece that was just broadcast on National Public Radio.  The title of the story, Utica – City with a Warm Heart, is part of the series called State of the RE:Union.

The story gives a perfect explanation to the question frequently asked of the monks, “Why did you settle in Utica?”  It begins:

“A couple of decades ago, Utica, New York, was dying, by even its residents diagnosis: a popular bumper sticker in the ‘90s read “Last One Out of Utica, Please Turn Out the Lights.” Once a bustling textile city perched on edge of the Erie Canal, Utica lost its mills in the mid-20th century, and has been losing population ever since. But something has changed in recent years, with a surprising influx of refugees to this part of snowy, cold upstate New York—the newcomers have given Utica hope for second chance.”

If you click on this link, you will visit the radio program’s website and you will be able to listen to the whole 50-minute program or just to Segment C, which is the story of U Agga’s escape from Burma and settlement in Utica.

Get ready for an amazing story of how the American Dream is still working in a small city.

___________________________________________________________________________________