In order to protect our Burmese people, faces and names have been changed. The stories are however all true.
In Burma/Myanmar we have six homes. Below is a description of three of the homes; Northwestern Boys’ & Girls’ Homes and the Yangon based Ray of Light Boys’ Home.
Additionally on their own web pages (see the adjacent right hand vertical column) we have three other homes located in Burma. You can click onto them here; Wa Boys Home , Shan Girls’ Home and Women With Vision Girls’ Home
NORTHWESTERN BURMA BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ HOMES
Back in 2009 we started two new homes in northwestern Burma. At present there are ten kids in each home. One home is for girls and the other for boys. Gradually we will increase the number of young people in each home to about fifteen to twenty.
Burmese child soldier
A Brief Case Study: “Jim” is 15 years old and studies in grade 9. He has seven siblings none of whom can go to school because Jim’s parents are too poor to be able to afford the uniforms, books and government school fees. Now through Empower Asia’s support of Jim, some of his family will have a shot at getting out of poverty in this generation.
The children in these homes are those whose parents have either been, or are at risk to being tricked by the government. Recently government officers have told these impoverished parents that if they allow their kids to go with government authorities then their kids would be well cared for receiving food, shelter, education and health care. However it is widely reported that these kids are instead sent off to live in remote monasteries where they have been mistreated and made to feel very unhappy. Naturally many of these kids want to run away. If they are caught escaping then they are very at-risk to being press ganged into enlistment into the Burmese army as child soldiers.
At least five of our kids have already been to these monasteries and managed to get away. Others were awaiting their turn to be sent. Obviously we cannot show you any photos.
Thet has both a Mum and Dad. Unfortunately his Dad is in a military prison whilst Mum works on the roads smashing rocks with a hammer so that they are small enough to be used as aggregate to place into the tar that is laid on the surface of newly formed roads. Very hot and very, very hard work for almost no reward.
Happy and secure at last
Mai is 13 years old. Her dad is dead. He was a drunkard. Mum cannot support her family. She labours for US$15/month. To buy rice alone for the three of them costs more than her wage. How can they survive? If there is a pre-existing culture of sending daughters into prostitution, then it would be no surprise if Mai had ended up this way if we had not got her first.
REPORT Burma’s Economic Situation:
It is very hard to budget for our work there. This is because the government tinkers with the exchange rate between the USD and the Burmese currency, the Kyat. A year ago it was about 33% cheaper to operate the work there than what it is now because the government has purposely downgraded the Kyat against the USD so that now we get much less Kyat for our USD. As we understand it the government has borrowed a huge amount of money from the Chinese. On returning it back to them (in USD) it will be valued at about 650Kyat to the USD. Just a year or two ago there was about 1000Kyat to a USD. This has huge repercussions on the majority poor of the country.
Because of the mineral wealth within the nation and the high ability to produce food, Burma should be one of the wealthiest countries in Asia. But decade after decade of mismanagement combined with the greed of the generals has put paid to this. Inflation cripples the country. Also, while the west continue to boycot investment in Burma the Chinese have invested billions in Burma. The people seem to be poorer now than they were even say two or three years ago. With the weakness of the USD at present few would invest within the country especially if you use USD.
Have a look here to give you an insight into the life of the army generals and the opulence in which they exist while others around them suffer. If you cannot access this 3-4 minute video from the address above then go to www.youtube.com and then type in “Opulent state wedding draws gasps in poor Myanmar”
Photo below: Basic it may be, but it’s our home. Yaung Chee Oo, Yangon
We at Empower Asia have six homes in Burma that mentor and develop our young people into future leadership; Ray Of Light Boys’ home, Women with Vision Girls’ Home, Shan Girls’ Home, Northwestern Boys’ & Girls’ Homes and Wa Boys’ Home.
RAY OF LIGHT BOYS’ HOME
In 1998 Yaung Chee Oo (Ray of Light) home was established. Originally we accepted just five boys into the home. The oldest was 13 years old.
We specifically target boys from the majority Burman ethnic background because they are from the dominant and most influential ethnic group both in terms of population and government/army control.
A decade on we now have 18 boys aged from around 9 – 22 years. In addition there are a several other guys who have left the home and are either working, studying or serving their communities. They all squash into a 2 storey apartment in central Yangon.
There are three kids in high school, three in middle school, five in primary school, three volunteering/working at the home (and similtaneously working outside the house) and four studying at Bachelors level. There are several others who have already graduated. Their average age is about 16 years.
Around half of all of our boys are orphaned. We would have increased the number of kids in the home well past these levels were these homes not in such a repressive military state.
Maung is the second of four children. His Father died when he was 9 years old. As a result Maung went to work in a car battery shop in a city in central Burma. When we discovered him he was receiving only food and a place to sleep, no wages. Four years later … he graduated from Yaung Chee Oo and has graduated with a Bachelors degree and has been working and serving those within his community.
Our boys are becoming Yaung Chee Oo. It has been hard work requiring determination from our house parents. Now we are not only seeing young men with changed lives, but they are venturing forth and being influencers in the lives of others.
