A visit by a Goducate team to our Children’s Home west of Yangon 5 months ago was the first time we met its ten residential children face to face. The children were shy and just about to get used to the place and with each other. They came from families that could not care for them. A recent visit in November showed a different picture. The children were laughing happily with confidence showing on their faces. And they have grown taller and bigger, thanks to the nourishing food. Except for the very young, the children attend public schools and have a proper home environment. The Home is now on the way to becoming one happy big family!
We dropped by Village 1, north of Yangon. Our two Goducate workers have been going there to teach children whose parents labor all day long carrying rocks and washing used liquor bottles for reuse, and have no time to take care of them. The children do not go to school and thus look forward to such “school” visits. And they are not disappointed. Even some mothers turn up on their rest days to observe how their children are getting on. “Classes” continue to be held in the front yard of a very supportive farmer. To provide shade for the children he has recently constructed a wooden frame on which he grows creeping plants.
The more fortunate children at Village 2 attend school. Before and after school, they look forward to gathering at a bamboo structure that serves as a “community center”. Their parents too enjoy the facility. Here, fun and games go hand in hand with learning.
We visited other villages. Like the first two villages, we were very much welcomed as children flocked to gather for their learning sessions. It takes many hours for our workers to get to these villages by public transport, so the villagers do not know exactly when they will arrive. The children, knowing of a visit, will eagerly be on the lookout, and will gather within 15 minutes of spotting our workers. These gatherings are not only for the children. They also serve as glue for strengthening community bonding. And it is often the practice that the host family in the villages visited prepares something for the children to eat.
Our whirlwind trip was tiring, but it was time well spent, seeing how Goducate work brings happiness to the villages. Each child has a potential. Goducate’s aim is to direct this potential to delightful, useful and productive outcomes for the child, the family, and the community.
