Most of Myanmar has a tropical climate, and the monsoon season is the busiest time of year for farmers. Yet, while young farmers spend the entire day working in the fields, their children are often left unattended; and if the children are taken along, it’s not possible to keep a close eye on them, leaving them vulnerable to all sorts of dangers.
A study conducted in early 2006 by the Global Family of Love and Peace (GFLP), UNICEF, and a local NGO found that 75 percent of the rural population in Myanmar lives below the poverty line, and that one in four children below the age of five suffers from malnutrition. Another UNICEF study revealed that every rainy season the mortality rate for children under five increases seven-fold.
In light of this situation, in June, 2006 the GFLP and UNICEF jointly established the Dayu Nursery in Kawhmu, in the Delta Region of southern Myanmar. The Nursery employees professional preschool teachers and provides meals, education, and medical care free of charge for the young children of farming families while their parents are busy during the rainy season. The Nursery remains open seven days per week, eight months per year, and a visiting medical team provides medical services on weekends.
The Dayu Nursery operates according to the principle of cooperation. Local volunteers built the classroom using locally sourced materials on land provided by the village temple, with the GFLP providing training and operating expenses. The teaching materials were chosen to express local traditional culture and the toys are inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and blend well with local customs. The local residents contribute their skills, knowledge, and labor, and the village health clinic pitches in by providing regular health check-ups.
The measure of success is the extent to which a project satisfies the needs of the community. The Dayu Nursery has received the widespread approval of local residents and has also received much positive feedback from the representatives of local and foreign organizations who have visited. The project demonstrates that creating a quality preschool program requires vision and cooperation, rather than a large budget. We plan to introduce this model to other villages in Myanmar, as well to other tropical countries in the region, including Laos and Cambodia.
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