Research on sustainable EqualEdu in Myanmar

The project was started in the summer of 2016 as a response to the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, where the nation, coming out from the rule of a totalitarian military dictatorship, experienced critical issues with their education and healthcare infrastructure, particularly in poorer areas of the country. Though it started with two weeks every summer of teaching for 12 hours a day, the project has now expanded to add a research component, initiated by Brandon Li, to investigate the problems within the Myanmar educational non-profit sector, in an attempt to bolster the relationship between NGO's and the government and to increase the effectiveness of aid going into the country.

The research paper attached is Brandon's work in Myanmar, and represents his attempt to raise awareness for the horribly lacking education system and suggest improvements for aid going into the country on behalf of non-governmental organisations. The most challenging piece of the process wasn't the writing, or the language barrier, or even traveling around a foreign nation with no inkling of an idea regarding the destination, but rather connecting and networking with these local/international organisations who had better things to do than entertain a high school-aged researcher.

All in all, Brandon sent hundreds of emails to organisations across the nation asking for an interview or to share their thoughts on the matter; to receive a measly fifteen emails back, five of which would be polite rejections, was quite simply unimaginable at the time. Rather than giving up, he persisted and networked for days on end in an attempt to get invitations to community coordination events that were rare to come by and surprisingly exclusive given their title.

He took buses for hours across the city from location to location, often skipping meals to make room for appointments. Countless times he arrived at an office, only for an assistant to tell him that the boss wasn't in, or that suddenly something "came up" as workers whispered about his age and shook their heads. He learned that being passionate about something doesn't mean that others will want to help you, even if that passion is for a good cause. Only a true dedication and some tough skin will allow you to accomplish the things you truly care about.

Emails from Students

I was just an immature girl who was too shy to communicate with others, too afraid to speak in front of the people and didn't have any confidence in speaking English especially with foreigners. But everything has changed since I attended the Mudita where I met with my admirable and respectful teachers, Alan, Michael, Curtis, Peter, Joey, Rachel, Brandon, Tiffany, and Ailsa. They came to Myanmar to help us in improving our English. Of course! It wasn't an easy thing to do , but they always put up with us and patiently corrected every single mistake that we made. In spite of being teachers , they neither showed their anger nor boasted about their lives. They were very friendly and had respects to others. I like the ways they taught us because since we were young, we had to learn our lessons without any activities, but only lectures in Myanmar. However, they taught us with class activities which were so much fun,interesting and interactive. The things they taught us were very useful for me . They let us create our own stories based on the picture scenarios they showed. They always helped us in pronunciation which is a big problem for us. As they shared their experiences of studying abroad, I was inspired a lot. Although we are not very different in age, they are more experienced than us. There is no doubt that I definitely appreciate what they are doing. As I mentioned in the beginning, I was a girl who was lack of confidence in everything. However, I've become a more active, energetic and motivated girl because of them. They inspired me so much that I wanted to be like them. Moreover, I become a sociable girl who participates in most of the the youth organizations. The way they made me speak in front of the class now helps me a lot in doing presentation at my university. The girl who used to be afraid to speak with foreigners can even do some projects with them. This is all because of them. Sometimes I imagine that if I haven't met with these admirable people, my life would be totally different from now. They opened my eyes, showed the means to destroy my fears and guided me how to lead my own life, in a way that I've never thought possible. They have changed my whole aspect on my learning, I wouldn't be where I'm today without them. Although the time they spent with us was too short, their efforts really helped me improve my English. If there is a word which has a deeper meaning than "Thank You", I would like to say it more than 100 times. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for helping us. Thank you for explaining things until we understand. Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for being my great teachers.

Myat Theingi(Myat)

Firstly,thank you so much for coming and teaching to us. I felt a little bit afraid when I saw all of you. I was a little bit ashamed of myself because our age isn't so much different and at that age all of you come to Myanmar to teach us English and Korean and share your knowledge. I also got some motivations from you in learning English, and I wish I speak English fluently like you one day. I'm now trying hard to fulfill my wish with all of your learning English ways. During that days,you taught useful lessons assuredly for us. We created our own story base on the pictures that you gave. And then you pointed our mistakes in the story patiently. All of you corrected the mistakes one by one. I think that was a good idea. You practiced by showing videos to improve our listening skill. They knew our weakness and he pointed out our mistakes and gave advice to improve our learning English. They are all my beloved teachers. Although some of them are younger than I am, I am able to learn so much. My favorite part is learning Korean and the Korean culture as well. I admire them a lot. We felt we got precious time during that days. We got more experience, knowledge and other things. Thank you so much for spending your precious holidays by teaching us. I wish you guys can visit Mudita more often.

Ya Min Oo(choco)

Supermen, my beloved instructors. My reason for using the word "Supermen" is because they are my heroes. Everybody admire, respect and love heroes because of their bravery, firmness, and helpfulness. I also admire them a lot. They spend their free time to come to Myanmar for training us in learning English, Korean, and oral training. Comparing with us, their matureness is way too big though we are not very different in age. They are also very friendly and have respect for everyone. The way they taught is very exciting and joyful. The things they taught were very useful and helpful for us to use in future jobs. They popped up our creative thinking by making us create our own story based on pictures and words they gave. This is my favorite one too. At the end of the game they pointed our mistakes in the story, and fixed them altogether. They also asked other people in the class to talk about their thoughts about the speech. While we were creating the story, they didn't take any rest, but checked every single person and help in creating the story. They also helped us with pronunciation, the biggest problem for every non-native speaker, by using couple of words, sentences, and video clips. The film they showed 'Friends' became my favorite and I watch 5 episodes a day. The saying "Don't tell me, show me” is my favorite line from our instructors. The different speeds our instructors spoke in was good practice for us. I find it very helpful to listen to foreigners. They all shared their experiences living and studying in different countries. They tried their best to help us every time. I feel it. We got a lot of experiences , knowledges, and precious times. I really appreciate what they are doing. And I want to say thanks for everything they do for us.

Aung Chan Moe

Everyone was absolutely amazing. They did what you would expect from instructors, with so much more. Nobody got bored, it was funny and interesting, and we learned so much. They made every effort to keep us engaged. The plans they made for our classes were great, super prepared, so we always were learning. I enjoyed the debates that we did in class, because it was very hard but still very fun and everybody was learning and participating. Everybody enjoyed it and participated happily and actively. Please continue to help us improve.

Steven Htet

Memories from the teaching trips

Arriving at the classroom in the village during the monsoon season, after a one-hour bus ride

A typical classroom packed with 40-50 students: hot, humid, and dark

Despite classroom environment, students were highly devoted

Help students prepare for debates using MUN techniques we learned at school and Harvard Debate Camp.

A combination of textbook and hands-on learning with debates and story-telling.

We brought our own projector so that we can use video clips and slides to improve our teaching effectiveness.

Teaching reading skills

Towards the end of a twelve-hour teaching day, hair all ruined, haha!

Students brought food from home to treat all 6 teachers for lunch. The food may not look much, it meant a lot for those kids from extremely poor families. It meant a lot to us too.

At the end of the class, we all went to the nearby pagoda to enjoy the day.

Class photo. More girls than boys because boys from poor families started working young.