Empowering Education in Sagaing Region

Thanks to your very generous support of our mission, Better Burma has been actively engaged in providing stationery to support the education of children in a township located in Sagaing. These children, who hail from various townships, face challenges due to the ongoing conflict, which has resulted in some of their parents losing contact with their extended families.

The journey to deliver the stationery was difficult and subjected to many inspections by the Burmese army, which severely delayed our efforts. As a result, it took nearly one and a half to two months for the items to be purchased to eventually reach the children! Consequently, the purchases had to be made separately instead of all at once.

While providing stationery for 152 school children would typically be a straightforward process in peaceful times, the areas we are targeting have a high degree of interaction between the army and local resistance forces. Therefore, apart from the inherent risks faced by the transporters, numerous other obstacles arose.

Our on-ground contact shared some of the additional challenges encountered during the project. He expressed, "When I attempted to purchase the stationery items in a nearby major city, I faced difficulties with certain stores refusing to accept payments from war-torn regions. They were apprehensive about the potential closure of their accounts, and online bank transfer services. Consequently, I had to diligently search for trusted shops that were willing to deliver the items." It is crucial to highlight, particularly for our overseas readers, that the SAC closely regulates online payments and may suspend accounts if suspicious transactions are detected. So we really have to be careful to ensure that all the funds reach their proper target.

Unfortunately, there have been recent incidents of violence in the vicinity of the school, resulting in the temporary closure of the institution for security reasons. Two youths lost their lives in a fight that occurred approximately 20 miles away. The frequent air bombings and use of heavy weapons by the warring factions pose significant risks to schools and hospitals, leaving children anxious about their safety.

Please note that the project is ongoing, and while we have managed to deliver a limited quantity of stationery, further efforts are needed to ensure a successful outcome, and so we would like to call upon you again to consider offering a contribution. We remain committed to our mission of supporting these children in their educational journey despite the challenging circumstances.