School Days in Myanmar, Minus Thousands of Schools

With the opening of school this week we are beginning to see more reports on the effects of Cyclone Nargis on the social infrastructure. According to UNICEF, 4,000 schools serving 1.1 million children were damaged in the storm. Most schools remain damaged, but a few in and around Yangon have been repaired thanks to quick efforts of relief groups. Schools nationwide in Myanmar officially opened June 2nd, while Schools in seven townships in the Irrawaddy Division and one township in Yangon division will reportedly try to open in one month. But with thousands of schools completely destroyed, students in many areas may go without any proper school buildings for some time.

The economic hardship will be felt by hardest by children, who will lose out on opportunities to study. Many families who have lost their livelihoods will be unable to afford to send their children to middle school and high school. Compulsory education in Myanmar only covers primary school, and according to UNESCO less than 50% of children go beyond the primary level.

We have had some direct reports from sources in the Irrawaddy delta that people there have their children’s education prominent in their minds. Imagine a child 13 or 14 midway through their high school years being unable to continue because of the sudden impoverishment of their entire extended family. There are tens of thousands of such children in Myanmar today.

Here are some other news reports that have come in on the opening of schools.

UNICEF to focus on damaged schools in unreached areas of Myanmar

Myanmar reopens schools 1 month after cyclone

Myanmar evicts cyclone victims from schools, so classes can resume

Here are some agencies we know that are directly helping to improve the lives of children. Perhaps you or someone you know can also give them a hand.

UNICEF

World Vision

Save the Children

A Daunting Task to Rebuild Lives in Myanmar

What would you do if you lost everything? Imagine a 20 foot wall of water rushing through your home while you slept and somehow you survive by clinging to a tree. What would you do? Who would you turn to? A neighbor? Family? Your local place of worship? Well, what if everyone in a 80 to 100 mile radius was in the same situation as you? Imagine if it were you?

“Her mother died in her arms in the boat,” said Davis, a Martinez native. “She’s in her 50s. She lost her two children, her mother, her grandchildren. She’s the only one left. And there’s a lot of people in these kinds of situations.”

Or…

“In my entire life, I have never seen a hospital. I don’t know where the government office is. I can’t buy anything in the market because I lost everything to the cyclone,” said Thi Dar. “So I came to the monk.”

With tears welling in her eyes, the 45-year-old woman pressed her hands together in respect before the first monk she saw at Sitagu’s clinic and told her story. The other eight members of her family were killed in the cyclone. She now felt suicidal but no longer had anyone to talk with.

That’s the reality on the ground in Myanmar (Burma) today. People are struggling to survive and at the same time looking at what they can do to rebuild their lives. But, when you start from having nothing, you need everything: clothes, shelter, farming implements, animals to pull a plow (and fertilize your land), seeds. When a police official or soldier might make $15 a month and someone with a Masters degree might make $50, the future can seem awfully daunting. What would you do?

For the surviving children, ideas for the future might be to work hard in studies and get a good job so they can take care of their families and build a better life in the future. Today (June 2nd) is the first day of the new school year in Myanmar. No one knows how many schools have been destroyed in the storm. But even when they are rebuilt, many families will not have enough money to send their children to school. That’s the reality of the future for many children in Myanmar, unless enough people reach out and help.