Development Work In Poor Communities

Myanmar is the largest country in Southeast Asia, with its borders stretching 2000 kms from north to south and 900 kms from east to west.

Three quarters of Myanmar is mountains and forests. Formerly Burma, the country gained its independance from Britain in January 1948. Immediately after independence, the country was almost torn apart by a bitter and violent civil war that continued for almost a decade.

Since the ruling junta in Myanmar seized power and drove out all foreigners over 40 years ago, the country has been largely isolated from the outside world. At the same time, the lot of the average Burmese has improved only marginally

Mercy Teams International - Mercy Training Centre (MTC) situated outside of Yangon currently has about 30+ villagers who are so eager to learn English from expats, that the numbers swell when more English speaking teachers are leading the class.

Once a week, students can voluntarily stay on to further their knowledge of special books like “The purpose driven life” . Of course, every student gets a personal copy.

The Sewing class has grown steadily as has the Basic Computer and Typing class.. Recently the teachers had a special invitation to have a meal with the students at the local monastery. It is said that “to be Burmese is to be buddhist” Most students come from poor rural farms and have never touched a computer prior to the classes. Being from a poor socio-economic stratum, students struggle even with the monthly tuition fee of $US3.

With MTC being our primary project in Myanmar, we need to exercise wisdom and our teams must be sensitive to limits placed on us by local authorities who constantly monitor our us .

Central government
In a strange twist, the government suddenly moved its capital 400kms north of Yangon to a remote trading town Pyinmana nestled within dense forest. Nobody knows the exact reason for such a sudden shift.

Expat Visas
Business visas now only last 10 weeks before our workers must leave the country to renew their Visa instead of the previous 6 months. This has added a big cost and fatigue factor especially to family life.

Mercy Teams International ( Myanmar )
Loyang Offshore Supply Base
Loyang Crescent
P.O. Box 5134
Singapore 508988

Contact Person for Myanmar :
Administration Manager
Tel / Fax : (+65) 6546 4797
Email Address: admin@mercyteams.net

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