School building project - Myanmar (Burma)

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Following Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, WJR is working with local partners in Myanmar to rebuild communities, focusing on building a school. The aim is that children will be able to continue their education in a safe and healthy environment, where they can also receive support and counselling following the trauma. Construction on the school began in January 2009 and is causing huge excitement in the village of Thit Kyar Kone.

Following the cyclone, 4,106 schools in the Ayeyrarwady and Yangon Districts were damaged or destroyed. Access to education has become a major issue for more than one million children. Building schools is now a real priority. Most schools are without furniture, water and sanitation facilities in schools have been damaged or destroyed, and many teachers were lost in the disaster. More teachers now need to be trained - not only to provide basic education, but to help the children to cope with the trauma they experienced.

The WJR supported school will be for 100 pupils, and will be complete with water and sanitation facilities. The school is one of a series that will act as model schools for the whole country. The community response is overwhelming, and the children were excited to get a glimpse of what their new school looks like. Seven year old Kyawt Kay Khine is one of 100 students whose primary school was collapsed by the cyclone that hit the town in May 2008: "We used to attend the old wooden school...I am really excited to see a school instead of a plain field which makes us very sad and empty."

The schools will be built in places where no other schooling is currently available, and will provide places for children to play as well as classrooms for lessons. Latrines and hand-washing facilities will also be installed to encourage good hygiene practices and ensure children are healthy in their school environment. Education supplies will include furniture, blackboards, text books, pens and paper. Funds will also be used to train teachers so that the schools can open as soon as construction is complete.

The children attending these schools will receive pyschosocial support as well as basic education to help them overcome the trauma they have experienced and look more positively towards the future.

During building, the head monk from the monastery has provided free water and electricity for the construction and the community has volunteered to provide a fence to help with the construction of the local playground. The head monk said 'now that WJR is providing us with this strong school, we are more than thankful and happy and hope for continued support. The community and I will take great care in maintaining and safeguarding the school.'

A construction worker on the site said, "I used to work in a vegetable farm, which was destroyed by the cyclone. I hope to save and restore my livelihood by working on the school...I am proud and glad to help build this school, which will provide many bright students like my daughter, who is now in the 8th grade."