Location: Shwe Pyi Aye Quarter, Mawlamyine, Myanmar
Key dates: Commenced March 2005; Completed March 2006
Local partners: Kin Ywa Orphanage and Monastic Education School
Project background: This school/orphanage is located in a very poor area of Mawlamyine and was operating on the barest of resources. None of the children had undergone any form of health check and water-borne disease was rife. Thanks to existing support from another NGO, the school had begun the process of upgrading its facilities. We decided to add our weight to this effort, by focusing on the development of those facilities which would be of greatest strategic benefit to the health of the orphans who lived on-site.
Main activities: After consultation with the management of the orphanage, we arranged the construction and stocking of a Medical Clinic and set up a fund to ensure visits by local nurses for at least two years. We then contributed to the construction of a new dorm, kitchen & dining area, as the existing facilities were dilapidated and unhygienic.
Status of project: Completed March 2006. Our Medical Clinic has been a great success — every resident orphan, plus every one of the 700+ children at the school has (for the first time) undergone proper medical examination. Diseases have been diagnosed and treated and the health of the children is on an improving trend. Our kitchen/dining block has markedly improved the hygiene and sanitation of the orphanage.
The images below show the state of the orphanage kitchen, prior to our involvement, then the new dorm & kitchen block, co-funded by The Mandalay Projects, and finally a TMP-sponsored nurse at work in our clinic in the school.


