Announcing a New Project in Myanmar

Global Playground is excited to announce the funding of the 13th school project! In February 2020, construction began at Kaw Moo Rah High School in the Nya Li Ah Hta village in Karen State, Myanmar. Global Playground’s $20,000 contribution will expand the school to include three new classrooms.

The Nya Li Ah Hta village is located in an area historically targeted by the Burmese army during the more than 70 years that the Karen people have continued to fight and organize against the Burmese military. Many of the students’ families are subsistence farmers, and some students even come all the way from the border of Thailand to attend classes. 

When Kaw Moo Rah High School was first established, the school was comprised of small houses that could only accommodate a few children. Today, the high school serves 149 students from third to twelfth grade. Fourteen teachers instruct in eight subjects: Karen, Burmese, English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, and Social Studies. The three new classrooms funded by Global Playground will replace an old wooden house to allow another 90 students to attend Kaw Moo Rah High School. 

At over 90%, Myanmar’s youth literacy rate stands out. However, lack of funding for education has left the public schooling system vulnerable to high drop-out rates and low enrollment after the primary school level. In a UNESCO study on the amount of funding countries put towards education, Myanmar ranked 164th out of 168 countries. 

For more information, check out the Global Playground Myanmar project page here.