Read a Story for Students in Myanmar

Statistics from UNESCO show that the average adult in Myanmar only goes to school for 2.8 years. Even though Myanmar has laws stipulating that primary school education is free, due to the lack of government support, it is difficult for low- and even middle-income families to pay for transportation to schools and additional fees to help the schools buy textbooks and desks.

Read a Story for Students in Myanmar

In June, we went to Myanmar to check on things and went to Sandar Yama Monastic Education School. This school is located in one of the poorest areas near Yangon, and provides free education to about 400 students, starting in kindergarten.

Abbot Sandar Yama, who started the school, was there to greet us when we got there. In the school, we held a special activity class. Starting with some easy chit-chat, we introduced ourselves in a soft voice and encouraged the kids to do the same. Then, students were invited to share their dreams. We asked them why they wanted to be teachers when they grew up. The reason was simple, just as one of the students told us because they knew teachers played a very important role in life and could bring many new things and ideas to the locals.

Myanmar School Kids

Feeling that the atmosphere became lively, we distributed the storybooks to every student, and we read the story "Duck on a Bike" together. We spent a very interesting afternoon at the school.