Construction of a home for young girls in Hakka, Myanmar
Funds raised so far: 0%
This project aims to build a home dedicated to accommodating boarding students, enabling young girls from poor or refugee families to continue their education in stable and dignified living conditions.
Where is the project located?
Hakka is a town inhabited mainly by members of the Chin community. It has over 30,000 inhabitants, most of whom make their living from farming on the surrounding mountain slopes. As the capital of Chin State, Hakha is home to the region’s main administrative and educational infrastructure: government offices, more than a dozen secondary schools, four high schools, and a higher education institution comprising a college and a university.
What is the situation like for the inhabitants?
Hakka, like the rest of Chin State, is experiencing a severe economic crisis linked to the civil war affecting Myanmar. The cost of living is constantly rising, further weakening families. This situation has been exacerbated by the recent earthquake: the prices of basic necessities have tripled in Hakha, as all goods have to be transported from Mandalay and Yangon, which significantly increases their cost.
What needs to be done?
Due to the civil war, most of the pupils involved in this project come from the dioceses of Hakka and Mindat. In these two areas, 99% of state schools are now closed, and many residents have been forced to flee their villages to seek refuge in Hakka, the only place in the region where government institutions continue to function.
This project is therefore both essential and urgent for poor and displaced pupils. The sisters are currently facing a critical situation: they do not have a separate building to accommodate boarding students. Their house is shared between the nursery children and the boarding students. However, if the boarders are accommodated, it is no longer possible to maintain the nursery due to lack of space. Yet this nursery is the sisters’ main source of income, which is essential for them to continue their mission.
However, refusing to accept boarding students means exposing these children to great difficulties in accessing public schools in Hakka. This situation greatly increases the risk of them dropping out of school and, in some cases, even pushes children and adolescents to join the armed forces.
Despite extremely precarious conditions, the sisters are now taking in more refugee students than last year. They share the available space (bedrooms, kitchen and living areas) in premises that are too cramped, making daily life difficult for both the sisters and the boarding students.
How can we help the inhabitants? : The proposed solution
The project involves building a home dedicated to accommodating young female boarders. It will be implemented in close collaboration with the boarding school director, the responsible community and members of the local community. Emphasis will be placed on transparency in management and sustainability of infrastructure and activities, to ensure that the building and services offered to students can benefit future generations.
What are the goals of the project?
- Building suitable and secure accommodation
- Offering young people the opportunity to continue their education in stable and dignified living conditions, which are essential to their academic success and personal development.
- Continuing to welcome children to the nursery in order to ensure the continuity of this essential service, which is also a source of income for the convent.
Who will benefit from the project?
The beneficiaries of the project are young girls from poor or refugee families who are enrolled in primary or secondary school. The boarding school will be open to all girls regardless of region, tribe or origin, in order to guarantee equal access to education for all girls who need it.
Sister Paulina Par Cung is the local manager of this project. She has been in post for ten years and has extensive experience in welcoming boarding students. She is leading this project with the community to ensure its sustainability and benefit to the students. The Saint Joseph Convent, founded in 1975, welcomes girls as boarders and children as daycare pupils, offering them a school, moral and religious education.
