Moegyo team visits nunneries in Thanlyin and Kyautan townships

At the end of December 2012, Moegyo team made assessment trips to the following nunneries in Thanlyin and Kyautan township in Yangon division to determine their needs and made donations where it's needed most.

1. Kaythara Waddy Nunnery
2. Thamaindawdara Tayzarthit Nunnery
3. Santhidar Nunnery
4. Zayar Theiddi Nunnery
5. Chanaye Tharyar Nunnery

Please see more photos from the trip.

Kaytharawaddy Nunnery Education

The nunnery is located in Thanlyin and run by the Nuns, Daw Kaytharri and Daw Kondamarlar. There are 180 children in the nunnery; 160 young nuns, 15 girls and 5 boys. Boys are accepted at the nunnery with the exception that only if they are the siblings of the girls who are already accepted. Most of the children in this nunnery are from Myanmar Borders, hill side and the orphans from nearby town and villages. Daily nutrition for these 180 children usually comes from donations and offerings of food and money from the people around Yangon and vicinity .

The aspirations of this nunnery are:
- to provide education to the ethnic girls from remote regions where education is far reach
- to teach Buddhism to the girls
- to offer free education to poverty stricken children
- to help cultivate children to have strong will to be educated
- to help fulfill those outstanding students’ goals in life to become well-educated and out of poverty

This nunnery operates a secondary school that offers free education up to 8th grade. The school also provides free text books to those students who can’t afford to buy their own. After 8th grade, the students are transferred to a local High School in Thanlyin. When they start attending high school, nun students typically leave nun-hood to attend the local schools. There are 392 students whom have been supported to continue high school education by this nunnery so far.

The living quarters of the nunnery is quite small to accommodate the increasing numbers of new students. The nuns currently have to share their living space tightly with the students. In some cases, three children have to share a twin bed. The nuns are in process of building a two story building with limited budget and seeking more donation. The new building can offer proper sleeping quarters for the students and the existing sleeping quarters can be used as larger sized classrooms for the students. However, the new school building project is going slow since there is no sizable donation for the building funds and cost for the constructions so far is rising. The nuns are struggling to support the students with all they have and all they can and donation is much needed to complete the construction for these students. Moegyo team donated 50,000 kyats towards the new building funds.

Thameindawdara Tayzarthit Nunnery

Situated in Thanlyin, it was founded in 2006 and run by a nun, Daw Kaythayi. Due to the size of the small classroom, it can accommodate about 35 children at the most. However, the student population is growing and no appropriate space to accommodate the growing population of the student bodies, this nunnery is looking forward to expand as well. Moegyo team donated 30,000 kyats.

Wirathi Tawra "Santhidar" Nunnery

Located in Kyautan, the nunnery is run by the head nun named Daw Khaymar Thi. There are 148 students in the school. The classrooms are needed to be fixed before the coming rainy season since all the thatched roofs and walls may not withstand the rain and wind. The nunnery is currently collecting donation for a new classroom building. Friends of the Moegyo volunteers offered lunch to the young nuns and students at this school. Moegyo team donated 100,000 kyats towards the new building.

Moegyo Humanitarian Foundation 2012 Highlights

2012 was yet again filled with exciting stories to share.  As we end the year, the Moegyo Team would like to take this opportunity to thank, on behalf of the orphans and vulnerable childrens in Myanmar (Burma), to all donors for their generosity and to all contributors, supporters and volunteers for their dedication and commitment.  A special note also to thank the Moegyo volunteers in Myanmar to coordinate and execute projects and programs successfully in difficult-to-reach places and that the fund provided is spent effectively.

During the summer of 2012, the Moegyo Team organized two successful fundraising activities to support five orphanages and Moegyo (1) Basic Primary School in Myanmar.

1. 5th Annual Moegyo Food Fair in New York
2. 3rd Annual Moegyo Lawn Concert in Virginia

The milestone success story for the Moegyo Team in 2012 is the completion of Water Project.  With the donations received, the Moegyo Team was able to complete the project in Panthapyay Palaung village, Northern Shan State.  After Moegyo (1) Basic Primary School was completed in 2011, we have come to realize that clean water is required at the school and for the village for sanitation and health related reasons.  The area was surveyed and located the water source from natural spring which is one and half miles away from the village.  A dedicated Moegyo volunteer coordinated the project and teamed up with the villagers/volunteers to complete the project.  Because of the running water available, the villagers, especially the children, were the least effected by the outbreak of Cholera in the summer of 2012.  Read more here.

Aftermath of the Hurricane Sandy, the Moegyo volunteers provided assistance in recovery and clean-up effort at the Midland area in Staten Island, New York, where it hit the hardest.  The foundation also sent donation to the American Red Cross for disaster relief fund for Hurricane Sandy.

During 2012, the Moegyo Team made field trips to all 5 orphanages that we have been supporting continually with your donations since the end of 2008.  The team donated school supplies, clothing, sewing machines and supplies during the visit.  The team also met with the students who we provided scholarships and discussed their future endeavors.  Read more here.

Moegyo Humanitarian Foundation also sent donation to help earthquake victims from towns and villages near Showbo, Myanmar through Myanmar Social Development Network in Yangon, Myanmar.  The magnitude of 6.8 hit near Showbo and Mandalay on 11 November 2012.  As a result of the earthquake, significant damage of buildings, bridges and some casualties were reported.  Read more here.

Again, this would not have been possible without your generosity, continued support and dedication.  Yet, many more children still need your care, love and support.  We believe we can do a lot more in coming years, with you, from helping natural disaster relief efforts to improving the life of a child.  Together, we can make a difference!

Thank you.

The Moegyo Team

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Moegyo Humanitarian Foundation (MHF) is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is registered in the State of New York in the United States of America. (TAX ID: 26-2639437)