JCTP - Japan consider the poor

The village school project was started about five years ago as a community project. One of the village families donated a piece of land and a simple building was erected collectively by all of the villagers. This is a primary school for about 50 children.

There is a government school near the main road about six or seven miles from the village where the children are registered. However this six of seven-mile walk each day by small children is impossible during the rainy season. The monsoon rains are usually from June through until the end of September. So for these four months the village children miss their needed schooling. As a result of the missing four months of schooling every year they did very poorly in the year-end exams; they often missed so much school that they were unable to even take the test.

These are the circumstances that brought about the formation of their own little tuition school by the villagers themselves, so that the children could get a consistent education throughout the year. The final test are still taken at the village seven miles away at the end of the year, but now the children have a much better chance of passing. An agreement has been made with the government school to allow the children to attend classes in their own village, remain registered at the main school and take their annual grading tests there.

Day Lay Mon has been teaching at the school from two months ago and is the latest addition to the staff. She is a Mon - one of the ethnic groups from Southern Myanmar.
Naw Thorey Nyein is the senior teacher and has been teaching in the village since the school started; she originally comes from a district not too far from the village.
Naw Sur Thee Paw come from Yangon city and has been teaching at the school for about two years.

Naw Paw Say has also been teaching at the school for about two years and came together with Naw Sur Thee Paw

Three teachers live together in a small bamboo hut attached to the school building. The school building itself is a wooden framed building with bamboo beams and a grass-thatched roof, which is about 40 ft long by 35 ft wide. It is one large hall with no patrons, which accommodates 51 children in four grades, from kindergarten to till the end of fourth grade. In all only four teachers teach the classes.

The teachers themselves do not have a fixed salary but receive contributions from the village families; usually about 250 Kyats (US$0.40) per child per month, this fee covers books, school materials and teachers support.

Apart from being the village school the school building serves other purposes a meeting place for the villagers, a place for religious worship on Sundays. The owner of the plot of land donated the land to be used for the benefit of all in the village people.

Everyone in the village is very proud that they have their own school and it has brought a sense of unity and togetherness amongst them; not only to the children but also to the elderly people whom the teachers also try to care for.