December 2023 –  Hopes and Reflections

Dear Friends,
How quickly the time goes by… the kids have completed their exams, the garden is full of veggies, and the school is ready for another semester, now with 140 students. Read on to find out what’s new, but before that, let’s take a look backwards, nearly 20 years ago…

Memory Lane – from tsunami shelters to better futures
My first encounter with the school was unforgettable. I was visiting a temporary shelter for tsunami victims, but found it abandoned.

The highest tides would bring the seawater into the pressboard huts for a short time each day. Wading ankle deep through the water, I was surprised to hear singing in English, and poked my head into one of the shelter rooms. It was 20 kids and their teacher singing the ABC song, all sitting cross-legged on their desks to stay above the tide water. When the tide receded and the improvised classroom dried out, I spoke with the teacher, and realized that many of the kids were living in worse conditions than the tsunami victims.

• Helping to register over 60 undocumented students every year, so they don’t have to live in fear of deportation.  I remember the smiles on their faces when they received official documents.
• Emergency relief to 1,446 people quarantined during Covid. Our team had to dress in hazmat suits to deliver food and water.
• Providing a safe space for kids and teachers escaping political and ethnic violence. We have taken in students rescued at sea, and teachers who were targeted for protesting the junta.  See the student profile below for an example.

Here’s a quick overview of recent developments at the school:

• 🎓 Our sixth classroom is now open for learning, just in time for our numbers to hit an all time high of 140 students.
• 🚑 We enabled 98 students to get health insurance, so they now have access to all local hospitals and clinics.
• 🎶 The school has its own guitar and sing-alongs have become very popular.

Wai Hnin’s Father had this to say, “I love my daughter so much. When she said there was no school in Myanmar, and she was scared, I had to do something. So, I went to get my daughter, and we had to spend one week walking in the forest, avoiding the army to cross the border. My daughter is safe now, and I hope she will become an educated person one day.”