Friday 8 June 2012

Three Orphanages Revisited

On 1st November 2011, I accompanied Dr. Hla Tun and Captain Myo Lwin on a visit to three orphanages on the road to Maymyo. That earlier trip is described here.

Dr. Hla Tun repeated the trip later that month with a guest from RTM and a brief report of the second trip is given below.

Monday, 21st November 2011

(1) Doe Pin Boys' Orphanage

Donation of stationery, teaching aids, antifungal ointment and money to the Head Monk (Photo courtesy RTM).

The RTM team arrived a little before 11.0 a.m., just before classes break off for lunch. A donation of money, stationery, teaching aids and antifungal ointment was made to the Head Monk. There are 1015 orphans and single parent children there. Students can attend up to Grade 8 in the monastic school situated in the Monastery compound.

More pictures here.

(2) Shwe Sin Minn Girls' Orphanage

Donation of a World Map as a teaching aid with the new school building in the background. Photo: RTM).

Since the earlier visit, the building work had been completed and the school was now in use with classes up to grade 7. Although preofessional builders were employed, to keep costs down the two nuns who run the orphanage did much of the work themselves, for instance, by manufacturing the concrete blocks used in construction and painting the new building. The nuns are widely admired for their determination.

More pictures here.

(3) Thukha Myittar Boys' Orphanage

This orphanage takes care of 58 orphans and single parent boys aged between 2 and 8 years old. All the boys are from the Pa-O tribe in Shan State. The visit was late afternoon and the boys were involved in worship and meditation following dinner.

Children practicing meditation (Photo: RTM).

More pictures here.

New School Building at Da Hat Kan

Studying in the new building.

In July 2011, a new school building was constructed at Da Hat Kan near Mount Popa in Myanmar. The work was organised by the RTM Social Initiative and paid for by RTM guests.

There are three classrooms, finished temporarily with a sand floor and brought into use in August 2011 as a Post-Primary school