Monk Donates 10,000 Textbooks to Migrants and Displaced schools

The Abbot from Dhamaduta monastery in Wanat Chaung village, Hmawbi Township, Yangon donated more than 10,000 sets of Burma school textbooks to Mae Sot based migrant learning centers and schools in displaced communities along the Thai Burma border.

Ko Zaw Thu Ra, who made the donation on behalf of Dr. Ashin Hsay Keinda from Dhamaduta monastery, told Karen News that a total number of 11,119 sets of Burma curriculum textbooks, ranging from primary to high school level, were donated to 40 migrant schools and 37 schools in Internally Displaced communities through the Burmese Migrant Education Foundation based on the Thai-Burma border.

The Burmese Migrant Education Foundation coordinates students from migrant learning centers and students from schools in IDP areas to have access to State’s high school examination so they can obtain a recognized certificate for further education – it is affiliated with the Burmese Migrant Worker Education Committee (BMWEC).

Speaking to Karen News, Ko Zaw Thu Ra said.

“Sayadaw Ashin Hsay Keinda donated these textbooks to help cope with [financial] difficulties faced by Burmese Migrant Schools and schools in displaced community.”

U Kaung Mya, the Deputy Principle from the Hsa Mu Htaw Migrant Learning Center said, “We are happy to receive this offer, especially while we are facing a decrease in financial support for migrant education. We would like to request the school teachers to contribute their services teaching as well as for students to apply the knowledge and skills they learned effectively as a return from the donation.”

Over 500 teachers and students from a migrant school in the Mae Sot region gathered to receive the donated textbooks including officials from the Burmese Migrant Education Foundation and the Burmese Migrant Worker Education Committee.

Ko Zaw Thu Ra, who distributed the textbook to migrant schools, said that he will also make a visit to some schools in the displaced people areas on Thai-Burma border to handover the donation.

Saw Htoo K’paw Moo, a Grade (9) student from the Children Development Center (CDC) migrant school said, “We are pleased to get these textbooks. The price for a set of textbooks costs more than 200 baht if we have to buy them in Mae Sot. We would like to give our thanks to the donor and all of our teachers.”

The Dhamaduta’s Abbot, Sayadaw Ashin Hsay Keinda donated over 8,000 sets of textbooks in the 2012-2013 academic year to students based in Thailand.

According to BMWEC latest figures, there are over 70 migrant schools and more than 20,000 students in Thai-Burma border Mae Sot area that come under its management.