Myanmar: "I'm a teacher, but I've had to close my school since March"

Stellar is a teacher working in a remote community in Myanmar. She told us about the effects of coronavirus on her rural village and how she is helping her students through the pandemic.


"My name is Stellar. I’m 35 years old. I live in the Eastern Shan State of Myanmar. I am a teacher at a UWS school. Because of covid-19 and the rules of the Myanmar education department, I've had to close my school since March. Our village was under lockdown for more than a month. No one except the authority and health staff could go outside or could come into the village.

During the time of lockdown, we had many difficulties, especially with food. All the shops were closed. Even if I had money, I couldn’t buy anything. I had to take the help of village leader, the School Support Committee and my supervisor at UWS. But now, we can go outside a bit and some shops are open.

I have been teaching the children on how to prevention coronavirus, including using stories to tell them about social distancing and handwashing. I worked with the village leader to organise regular announcements with the latest covid-19 information, including preventative methods, which were sent to me by the UWS team.

The village authority leader announced this along with the rules of Regional Administration Department. The people in the village are following these rules. 

Before covid-19, we used to always hear the sounds of motorbike and groups of youths speaking until midnight. But now, I don’t hear anything. Everyone is staying at home.

UWS supports our supply of soaps, and materials like paper and pens to make posters for our covid-19 awareness campaign. And, my supervisor has been teaching me how to create the posters, and share the information and updates about covid-19 with children and parents, and how to work closely with the village leaders. We are also getting training on regular education topics like subject knowledge, teachers’ guide, and lesson plan development."

We need your help to make sure Stellar can continue supporting her community throughout the pandemic. Your donation can fund our community teachers to deliver distance learning. 

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