Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the evolving civil war, children have not been able to go to school in the past two years. Loikaw is now a ghost town as a result of reprisals by government forcers against local ethnic militias; meanwhile, thousands of refugees are pouring into Shan State each week. The local Catholic Church is opening educational facilities thanks to the support of the Emergenza (Emergency) Myanmar Fund set up by the Fondazione PIME (Foundation).

 

Yangon (AsiaNews) – Children aged 6 to 18 displaced by the conflict in Kayah State can now attend a recently inaugurated primary school in Taunggyi, the capital of neighbouring Shan State.

As a result of reprisals by Myanmar’s military against local ethnic militias, civilians have been displaced over the past few months, including tens of thousands of residents of the state capital of Loikaw.

The new school is one of the initiatives supported by the Emergenza (Emergency) Myanmar Fund set up last week by the Fondazione PIME (Foundation) in order not to forget the victims of the tragedy that has struck the country over the past year.

Internally displaced people, adults and children, wanted the school in Taunggyi, since the latter have not been able to attend classes for the past two years, due to the pandemic and the civil war.

A total of 179 pupils will be welcomed at the new facility, which has two structures, divided into 10 classes based on age, from grades 1 to 10. The curriculum includes Burmese language, English, and mathematics.

Pupils will also be able to take part in weekly workshops run by a psychologist, including a one-hour creative workshop, a one-hour fiction workshop, and shared reading.

Ten trained teachers, mostly displaced women, will be in charge of the courses.

Myanmar’s political crisis is now into its second year. In addition to creating a climate of insecurity, it is exacerbating poverty among the country’s population.

The protests that followed the coup d'état of 1 February 2021 have morphed into full civil war.

In every state and region of the country, ethnic militias are fighting the ruling military junta that overthrew the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Last December, the military bombed Loikaw for a week, forcing about 60,000 of its 70,000 residents to flee the city for the nearby cities of Taunggyi and Taungoo, where the Catholic Church is present.

Refugees are an emergency in other parts of Myanmar as well. According to UNHCR, the total number of people displaced in the last year has risen to over 400,000, with about 10,000 to 15,000 more added each week.

According to some sources, Loikaw is now a ghost town.

In view of the situation, the Fondazione PIME opened the S145 Emergenza Myanmar Fund (in Italian) to support initiatives by local parishes, many of which were founded by PIME missionaries before the expulsion of foreign missionaries in 1966.

The campaign’s goal is to provide immediate help to thousands of people by supporting the relief operations set up by the dioceses of Taungoo and Taunggyi.

Many local church groups have responded to the emergency and are showing Myanmar’s most beautiful face, that of a people who, despite the many sufferings that have marked its history, chooses the path of solidarity.

It is to them that we will send the aid, to meet first people’s basic needs, like shelter, food, and education for children no longer able to go to school.

Donations can be made out to S145–Emergenza Myanmar:

- directly online at this link (in Italian) choosing S145–Emergenza Myanmar among the projects (progetti);

- by bank transfer payable to Fondazione Pime Onlus IBAN: IT 11 W 05216 01630 000000005733 (it is recommended that a copy of the transfer be sent by email to uam@pimemilano.com indicating name, address, place and date of birth, plus fiscal code if in Italy or equivalent social insurance number in other countries)

- to the postal current account n. 39208202 made out to Fondazione Pime Onlus via Monte Rosa, 81 20149 Milan

- in cash or check by going in person to the Centro PIME in Milan, via Monte Rosa 81 – business hours Monday to Friday: from 9 am to 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm 5.30 pm)

• myanmar
• civil war
• displaced people
• pime
• campaign
• donations