OVERVIEW
Life is tough in Myanmar (Burma) and tougher if you are an orphan or born into a slum! By offering pre-school education (with snacks, or for those who can’t afford it, a meal), our partners are able to educate, care for and show love to these children. This also gives our partners access to families living in the very poorest parts of Yangon in order to reach out to them also. Many of these families work as day labourers, with no employment security, and get by with sub-standard make-shift housing. Practical aid, encouragement and assistance is offered to these hidden people. This is our fifth year of supporting this work.
Each child is given a a school uniform, books, a satchel and pencils. By providing pre-school education, slum children are then able to access government schools, something which would be extremely difficult otherwise. It also gives the parents an opportunity to work through the day and take better care of their families. Children are taught important health and hygiene information which they then pass on to their families.
WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT IT
Orphaned whilst very young, our partner has a heart to help these children who have no future without this practical help. Children take home the lessons they learn and teach their parents what they are learning! Approximately 75 children from several local (slum) communities are looked after each day. They are taught, fed and loved in this centre. Children learn to read and write, sing, play well together and are given basic health education. Our partner has a vision to establish another 2 pre-schools in the neediest parts of Yangon in order to reach even more children and families!
THE NEED:
Children are raised in a hopeless cycle of poverty and are therefore at high risk of abuse, trafficking or prostitution. They are not able to go straight from a slum lifestyle to a school environment, and thus many never attend school, perpetuating the generational cycle of poverty.
LIFE CHANGE
