Kwan Lhar is a village in Mon State, Myanmar. Home for about 1,100 families, the economy of this village is primarily reliant on the rubber industry – a commodity that, unfortunately, has seen depressed prices for the past several years.
We work with two closely interconnected groups there: A very inspiring youth group, and a dedicated village school committee.
The youth group is hungry for learning. We’ve done a number of daylong workshops for them on practical leadership topics such as economic development for their village. And, they keep asking for more. Here are three of photos of them at work. We’ve also helped fund the community center, library, and computer room where those photos were taken.
Back in 2017 we were made aware of their need for a preschool to prepare their kids for entering into the government school system. The village had already dedicated the land for that school and actually begun construction. Then the price of rubber plummeted. Construction stopped. Weeds grew tall. There was no hope of ever completing that school. Working with the youth group and the village leadership committee, we were impressed with the commitment of these people and were able to fund the completion of the preschool. Here are some photos of the school as it is today. We also provided a small bus for transporting the kids to and from school every day.
By mid 2019, with the preschool successfully operating, the difficulties of funding the annual operating budget continued to be a challenge for the village. So, after three meetings to discuss alternatives, including the principles of social enterprise, the village committee and the youth group presented a business plan to meet a local need. Their plan called for the purchase of a tractor and a trailer so they could initiate a business offering field preparation, transport, and road maintenance services in the local area. Their plan made sense. The leadership was persuasive. Looked like the market was there. We funded their plan in late 2019. They are scheduled to take delivery of their new tractor in January 2020.
Income from that social enterprise will go a long way towards funding their preschool. Beyond that, there are also important needs to be met at the local primary school.
Should you care to help these dedicated villagers help themselves, you may do so here. Just note that your support is for Kwan Lhar Village and we’ll get it to them promptly.
