Before and After: Studer Trust Helps Improve One of Our Oldest Schools

Towards the end of the summer, COVID-19 cases in Myanmar had slowed, and many parts of the country began to open back up. Larger gatherings and domestic travel were once again allowed, and schools were beginning to reopen. One Studer Trust school found itself in serious need of updates in order to properly serve its students for this school year, and we enthusiastically came in to support.

Sin Yaw Gyi monastic primary school is located 40 minutes by car from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. Founded in 1996, the school’s mission is to serve area children from families with financial difficulties. These families are often not able to afford school fees and other school-related costs such as supplies and uniforms and preventing them from enrolling in the local government run schools. In 2005, Studer Trust supported the school to build a 60’x30’ concrete structure and furniture to better accommodate students.

15 years later, Sin Yaw Gyi school was impressively educating 65 five primary students with its three teachers and principle. However, it was facing structural and interior issues that were compromising learning quality. Namely, leakages in the roof caused classrooms to get wet during heavy rains, and lack of dividers between classrooms made it difficult for students to hear and focus. The school’s leadership and community were able to use nearby religious buildings and construct a temporary site. But they needed long term solutions.

As one of Studer Trust’s most active schools, we thought it was the responsible move to lend a hand in these improvements. Our operations team supported the school to build an improved closed wall, three separate classrooms, one supply room and new zinc roofing. You can see the major difference in the before and after photos below. Teachers and students alike are excited for their upgraded building, and the whole community is grateful to Studer Trust for their contribution. As for us, we are honoured to have helped out one of our oldest schools and glad to have a nice story to tell during a trying year for our operations.

See below for before and after photos of the building and classroom: