Another eventful year has passed, and at this time of sharing and joyful season, the Moegyo Team would like to thank all the donors, contributors and supporters for the wonderful support given to the orphans and vulnerable children in Myanmar. We would also like to acknowledge the hard work and personal sarcrifices made by the Moegyo volunteers in Myanmar to deliver the aid to difficult-to-reach places and to make sure that aid money is spent wisely and effectively.
2009 was a busy year for the Moegyo Team. The Moegyo Team organized 11 fundraising activities and raised over twenty thousand US dollars to help the children. Moegyo volunteers in Myanmar made numerous trips to orphanages in Yangon and Delta regions. Moegyo is now supporting five orphanages monthly with their day-to-day operations.
All of this would not have been possible without your support. But, there is so much more to do. Many more children need your help. Many more buildings need fixing. Many more schools need new roofs or floors. In 2010, we would like to do more to help. Please join us in this journey.
We heard about this orphanage in remote area of Kyite Latt township from nuns at Pyin-Nyar-Waddy girls orphanage and we decided to inquire about it. Our volunteer KK went there at the end of October and donated $100 worth of supplies for the children. We decided to support this orphanage with monthly donation after KK reported back of her findings. Below is the report from the field.
First Trip to Pay-Chaung Youth Development Center
On 25th Oct, 2009, I went to 'Pay-Gyaung Parahitta" in Pay Gyaung village, Kyite-Latt township in Ayeyarwaddy division. The only way to get to this place is by boat and sampan (a motorized row boat). It is 2 hour boat ride from Kyite-latt. We started the journey at 10:00 am and arrived there at noon. Due to hot weather and the serpent-like river way, the trip was very tiring. The scenery of the river was quite pleasant but I was afraid of the many snakes swimming in the river. As soon as the boat shored, 2 boys came out from the monastery and helped us carry the things we brought.
About Pay-Chaung Orphanage
According to the chairperson of the school, there are 25 students (15 boys are orphans & 10 boys are from nearby village). Out of 25 children, 2 are high school students and the rest are middle school and primary. The monastery became a registered school in 1958-59 and started out with 26 students. The children are taken care of by the monks and a guardian. A 21 years old U Tin Ko Oo is the guardian of the school. He has got some high school education and didn't even pass the 10th standard yet. He took over the duties of the previous guardian who passed away. He sometimes has difficulty taking care of all the children. Occasionally, the school has problem providing daily food for the children. The daily meal of the children is shared from the monks 'Soon' (donated rice & curry). The school provides 2 meals a day at 9:30 am and at 4:00 pm for the children. Everyday meal for the children is "Hin-paung" (all mixed up donated dishes). For the evening meal, the children can only have some sour vegetable soup (chin-yay-hin) and white rice. The kitchen in the school is said to be used only when there is meal donor cooking. The children consume 6 bags of rice a month. The school has got 60,000 Kyats from saving account but that amount is not enough to buy 6 bags of rice for the children every month.
Children's Education
For the children education, there is no school in that village. The monks and some other men take care of the children’s education. There is no classroom. The temple buildings are used as classrooms both for the children at the monastery and the children from nearby village. Some of the middle and high school children go to the schools in nearby towns. There are only 2 temple buildings being used as classrooms. There is a library in the monastery donated by some donors from Yangon. Sadly, out of over 200 books, there are only a few books that are suitable for the children. Most of the books are about religion, witchcraft, curses and ghost stories. When I asked the children, they said that they only read some story books. They have never read religion and witchcraft books. Sometimes they rent books and they can read for on weekends.
Children's Living Condition
The sleeping quarter for the children is in near collapsing condition after the cyclone. The children sleep in the main building of the monastery with the head monks. Even though I saw 2 toilets, I didn’t see any bathroom for the children. The children said that their bathroom is the river. They also take bath in the river. The children also don’t have enough clothes to wear.
Conclusion
I have been to several orphanage houses on behalf of Moegyo. I find that every new place I get to is in worse condition than the one I’ve been before. When I went to Kani Village boys orphanage house, I saw how the cyclone survivals lived and ate. Then when I got to Kyite-Latt Girls Orphanage house, I saw starving poor little girls there. With the help of Moegyo’s $100 monthly donations, the children can have enough food and live happier and more properly than before. I am always glad to see that $100 donation is made good use on their food, school accessories and clothes. On the trip to this new boy-orphanage house, I found that they need help with everything. I couldn't stop thinking how I can be of any help to these children on my way back home.
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Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to help the children in Myanmar who are in desperate need. Together, we can make a differnce in young lives.
Please click here to see the photos of the Pay-Kyaung Youth Development Center.
Moegyo Humanitarian Foundation commemorates the first World Humanitarian Day by saluting fellow humanitarians who lost their lives on active duties and congratulates the Moegyo members, volunteers, and donors around the world for supporting our humanitarian work. We encourage you all for continued support in further humanitarian work in years to come.
On 8th and 9th August 2009, we had fundraising event at Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing,New York.
Objectives: - To rebuild sleeping quarter for Girls Orphanage located in Kyite Latt (Irrawady Delta Region, Myanmar (Burma)). The sleeping quarter was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. (Estimated cost to rebuild: US$10,000) At the event, MHF and its volunteers sold Burmese-style coconut rice with chicken curry, "shwe-taung-kyout-swel" noodle salad chicken coconut cream, coconut jelly, soft drinks cans and water bottles.
We had over 15 volunteers joined the effort from planning, organizing, advertising, preparing and cooking delicious dishes, setting up the tent, and transportation of food and supplies.
The success of this event is credited to the team work of all volunteers participated in the efforts towards a common i.e. to support orphans and orphanages in Myanmar (Burma). Together, we were able to raised $4838.
Many thanks to volunteers for joining the effort! Together, we can make a difference!
We are excited to share with you that we raised over $5,000 of our goal of $10,000 at the Lawn Concert fund raising event on Saturday evening in Virginia. On behalf of Moegyo Humanitarian Foundation family & the girls at Kyite Latt Orphanage, we would like to thank all the donors, sponsors, guests & volunteers for making this event a success.
The funds will go toward building a sleeping quarter for the girls at the Kyite Latt Girl Development Center located in Myanmar (Burma). There prior sleeping quarters was destroyed over a year ago by the cyclone Nargis. Since then the girls have been sharing sleeping quarters with the nuns that run the center. We appreciate everyone coming together to support the cause despite the short fall of rain. We would like to also thank you for bringing your friends, bosses, co-workers & family members etc., We were honored to have all of you at the event and hope to continue the friendship through many years to come.
We are very pleased to announced that the event was made possible by many sponsors so that 100% of the proceeds of the event including ticket sales and your donations can be used for the project.
It is heartwarming to see a community of people over 8300 miles away and unknown to the orphans have such a positive and profound impact on those in such need.
On behalf of Girls Orphanage located in Kyite Latt (Irrawady Delta Region, Myanmar (Burma)), Thank You!!
A Summer Lawn Concert raising funds to rebuild sleeping quarter for Girls Orphanage located in Kyite Latt (Irrawady Delta Region, Myanmar (Burma)). The sleeping quarter was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.
Music: Doug and Melanie: Friends without Benefits (starts at 5PM) Food: Various Burmese Cuisine Drinks: Sodas/Alcoholic Beverages Cost: $20.00/per ticket (kids under 12 free)
How we are going to use the funds raised from this event We plan to rebuild the girls’ sleeping quarter in the orphanage in Kyite Latt as it is in unlivable condition. It is a two-storey wooden structure that was damaged during the cyclone Nargis last year. Moegyo was able to bring an engineer crew on second visit to school to make assessment and to do estimate on rebuilding cost. It was estimated that rebuilding would cost around $10,000 using brick and concrete foundation to and wooden structure at the top. We are now raising money for rebuilding the girls’ sleeping quarter.
Please watch the video of Burmese Food Fair held to help the children in Myanmar (Burma), organized by Moegyo. Reported by Irfan Prawira, a Video Journalist in New York.
The Burmese Food Fair on Saturday, June 13 was a huge success. We had a good turn out and the food was great. We are proud of our chefs! We raised a total of $8,700 at the event thanks to all of you, volunteers, donors and guests.
Every dollar counts - $1 donation can feed a child for a day in an orphanage in Myanmar. This means we will be able to help even more orphans this year.
1 May 2009. It was cold and breezy May evening in New York.At 9pm, we started loading our cars for a trip to Maryland.We were all silence during the trip. Our thoughts were with the families who lost their loved ones and their sufferings in the worst natural disaster in the history of Myanmar (Burma) one year ago.When Cyclone Nargis landed on 2 May 2008, more than 100,000 people lost their lives and thousands of children became orphans. To this day, tens of thousand of people are still displaced. Their lives and livelihoods have not returned to normal if it ever could.
Friends and volunteers of Moegyo from New York and Virginia organized a commemoration of one year anniversary of the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar at Aung Yadana Monastery (Maryland, USA) on 3 May 2009.We offered traditional Burmese food, Mont-Hin-Gar (rice noodle with fish soup), Burmese Sweet Tea, Grass Jelly with lime drinks and Banana Cake to the monks and to the guests at the monastery.Many donors brought various dishes including dan-pauk (Chicken Bariani) and pan friend noodles to share with others.
The event was held outside underneath the tents in the monastery compound. It rained all day and we were all wet, cold and muddy but we told ourselves that this was nothing compared to what had happened in 2 May 2008.We were well prepared for the rain: we had our rain coats, a tent already set, and hot tea and hot food being served.It was a solemn reminder of what it would be like living under the rain, in the worst living condition, without a roof or a cover and no food. As we made sure our children were properly dressed for the rain, we thought of those parents who had experienced a parent’s worst nightmare of not being able to help their own children and the children who were left alone to survive with no one to care for them. It reminded us that we have to work harder to make a difference for the victims.
It has been a year since Cyclone Nargis but many are still in desperate need and many homes, schools, and orphanages were still waiting to be fixed.We realized we need to be strong and united. Everyone will need to step up and do what it can to contribute. Moegyo is now focusing its work on helping the orphans. With the support of our donors, friends and families, we have committed $1,100 a month donation to 4 orphanage programs in Myanar:
We were inspired by many friends and volunteers for their continued support and commitment.We received a total of $3,000 US dollars to support the orphanages in Myanmar from the guests at the commemorating event in Maryland.
Thank you for the generosity! Together, we can make a difference.
We have heard about the girls’ orphanage in Kyite Latt run by nuns. We were saddened to learn about the poor conditions of the children in the orphanage/school and a few months ago, our volunteer KK was able to visit the school during her trip to Ka-Ni village orphanage to donate MHF monthly contribution. Thank you, KK and the team for making this possible! Below is our volunteer KK’s report from the field.
1. Another trip to Kani Orphanage for monthly contributions
Our five people team set off from Yangon to Phyar-Pon at 7:00 pm by boat. We brought along loads of things to donate to the children just like our previous trips. We arrived in Phyar-Pon at 7:00 am. We all loaded our things in “Sampan”, a small boat powered by single outboard motor, to go to Kani village. Our “Sampan” set off at 8:00 am and arrived at Kani village at 10:00 am. We donated the monthly donation from MHF satisfying the total cost of the 10th grade students’ education for the rest of this school year. We also gathered some donations among ourselves and provided 10th grade old exam books to the orphanage. After that we surveyed the school buildings for reconstruction cost estimate. Then we had lunch at the orphanage.
Please see our previous report for details on Ka-ni Orphanage. Please click here for Ka-ni Orphanage photos
2. First trip to Kyite Latt (Women Developing School)
We then set off to Kyite Latt to visit the girls’ orphanage, which we heard, was in desperate need. We ride on the back of Honda Super Cab motorbikes as the road condition didn’t permit us to go by car. We left Kani village at 12:00 pm. After two hours of back breaking motorbike ride on rough roads, we arrived at the “Pyin-Nyar-Wadi Amyo Tha Mee Bawa Myint Tin Yay Kyaung”.
The school was established in 1973. Eighty two years old head nun who suffered from stroke twice is currently managing the orphanage. There’s also a house guardian who teaches at a primary school and brings all the children to school everyday.
There are 27 girls of various ages who came to this nunnery for many reasons. Some lost their parents, some came here after their parents divorced or remarried and some came as their families or relatives could no longer support them.
Children go to Middle School of Kyite-Latt for their primary and secondary education and a total of 20 girls are in school age:
There are also 4 orphans who are now nuns, 2 grown-up orphans who teach sewing to children and 1 university student at PaThein University who teaches the children at primary school. Altogether, there are 27 orphan girls in that school. I had the pleasure of meeting all of them.
Basic Needs
The school receives about 45,750 kyats (~US $45) for food and 150,000 kyats (10 rice bags) a year from the Ministry of Human Affair for 27 children in the orphanage. The finance of the school is maintained by a 16 people committee (including members of local authority) and the money is granted upon request. The school faces difficulties with daily expenses. The children live in poor living conditions and the school desperately needs help.
Most of the girls dressed in worn out and mended clothes. When we acquired if they have enough clothes, we were asked to bring even the torn clothes as they learned to fix them to wear. My heart sank when they said that to us.
Their daily food consists of mostly vegetables and beans. Like any orphanage, their food depends on the donated money. They used to get regular donations before cyclone Nargis. Now the school faces problem providing even their most basic need, food. They said that it is getting very difficult to get 100,000 kyats (~ US $100) donation a month to feed the children. Now the children nutrition relies on the vegetables grown in their yard.
The orphanage consists of four structures, a one storey brick building (main building) where the nuns live, a collapsing 1 story wooden building, and a collapsing two storey wooden building with attached small kitchen and dining/study room downstairs. The children used to live upstairs of that two storey building but now they live in a small room in main brick building along with the nuns as the two storey building was damaged by the cyclone and now collapsing and in unlivable condition. I felt very sorry to see all of
them living in a small room. I promised myself that I would find potential donors to help reconstruct their building.
3. Second Trip to Kyite Latt
This is my fifth trip to Delta Area. Before the trip, I managed to gather as many things as I could for 27 girls at the school. I also encouraged my students to donate for them. Surprisingly, I got many more things than I except before my trip. I collected 12 dozens exercise books, 5 dozens pencils, 50 pens, 20 rulers, sharpeners, erasers, 32 dozens shampoo packs, 18 bars soap, sweets, snacks, 3 sets of 10th grade question books, 2 bags of clothes, and 495,000 kyats from MHF altogether.
I reached the nunnery at 10am. As I phoned them before hand, all the children were expecting us since early morning. They all came out from the school and welcomed us when we got there.
Donation
First of all, I gave the donated money from Moegyo (MHF) to the school. The school guardian accepted the money and gave us receipt signed on behalf of the school. She said that this donated money would be used not only for the children’s food but also for the candles for them to study at nights.
After that, I went to their dinning room to distribute the presents
to the children. The children were anxious to see the gifts as this was the very first time receiving gifts. We gave old question books to 10th graders and distributed the gifts to all. The girls were very happy to receive the shampoo and bathing soap as well. They usually washed their hair with traditional shampoo since the school couldn’t afford to buy shampoo for them. The children were so excited that they said they wouldn’t be able to sleep that night.
And then, I took photographs of the children having lunch while they had their very best clothes for the photo. The monastery next door to the nunnery had lunch donors that day and the children could eat with fish since monks share meal with children whenever there is a donor. Otherwise, their meal merely consists of vegetable grown in their own little plantation. The monastery is the main supporter of the school. The monks share the things like rice, onion, oil, potato and etc. with the children.
After our lunch, we went around the compound and took more photographs. Then, we said goodbye and went back home. On my way back, I couldn’t stop thinking of the happy faces of the children while they were receiving the presents. Whenever I came back from my good deed trip, I thank to MHF for inspiration and my family for helping me pack and prepare for my trip.
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Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to help the children in Myanmar who are in great need. Together, we can make a difference in many young lives.
Please click here to see the photos of the school.
The temple buildings are used as classrooms both for the children at the monastery and the children from nearby village. Some of the middle and high school children go to the schools in nearby towns. There are only 2 temple buildings being used as classrooms. There is a library in the monastery donated by some donors from Yangon. Sadly, out of over 200 books, there are only a few books that are suitable for the children. Most of the books are about religion, witchcraft, curses and ghost stories. When I asked the children, they said that they only read some story books. They have never read religion and witchcraft books. Sometimes they rent books and they can read for on weekends.
