Mingalar Parahita School & Orphanage - Twante

The town of Twante, despite lying only a few kilometers from Myanmar's major port city of Yangon, is not on most tourist maps. The local people rarely see foreigners, and this is perhaps particularly true of the children living in the two orphanages in the town, of which the Mingalar Parahita School & Orphanage is the larger.

Led by Abbot U Sandimar and Headmistress Daw San San Soe, the staff of this orphanage feed, clothe and educate the children using the most meagre resources imaginable. There are now 114 girls and 66 boys here, with ages ranging from 18 months to 16 years, all living in abject poverty, in dirty old clothes and with barely enough rice to feed them. The number of resident orphans has risen by 20% in the past year alone.

Their dormitory is a stone-floored room, with broken wooden benches for beds. Their bathroom comprises another stone-floored room, with just one large tank of cold water for washing and bathing.

When we paid the orphanage a surprise initial visit in March 2006, their pantry (to sustain - at that time - 130 children) contained just five bags of rice and a few baskets of green leaf vegetables.

There are a few tattered old school books from the 1950s, but no proper educational materials to speak of, and certainly no toys or games. The outdoor play area is a dusty patch of ground between the school buildings.

None of the children has undergone even the most basic of health checks. The children were excited to meet us, and even sang to us, and we resolved to do something to improve their living environment.

We made an immediate cash donation of just $100, which was sufficient to buy one month's supply of rice for the kitchen, and subsequently made a further donation towards the stocking of the pantry for the rest of the year.

On our return to Twante in March 2007, we undertook a more strategic assessment of the needs of the orphans. Following this, our project priorities for the current year are to establish a Food Fund (to ensure a sustainable supply of food for the children), to build a new dormitory block, and to upgrade the security at the orphanage. Beyond this, we plan to focus on upgrading the water supply system, introducing a medical clinic and improving the recreational facilities at the school. There is clearly a great deal of work to be done here, and we are grateful for the continued support of all our donors and helpers.