Freedom to Education for Young People in Myanmar

Dear supporter, 

Thank you for your ongoing support of our Freedom to Education programme. The situation in Myanmar continues to be very fragile since the military coup took place on the 1^st February 2021. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, and thousands arrested. Daily life continues to be very challenging, with increasing costs of food and supplies, difficulty accessing health care and an overall suppression of human rights and freedoms.

The current situation, compounded by the impact of Covid-19 restrictions, has massively impacted the younger generation. Many have been encouraged to join local armed groups to fight against the military, and there have been many anti-coup protests, often ending violently. 

Thankfully, Health & Hope’s staff are safe, but in hiding, with many having fled the country. As a result of all that has taken place, the operational environment for our work has changed significantly, and so we have had to make the difficult decision to put some of our previous work on hold.

However, there is a massive need to support students in Myanmar whose education has been so badly disrupted over the last two years. We are delighted to say despite the challenges of both Covid and coup that our Freedom to Education Project has been able to continue. We have managed to secure places for 20 new students in India who have commenced their studies in October 2021.  This is in addition to seven students who are already studying in India and China. The grants from our generous supporters enables our students to be provided with accommodation, tuition fees, living expenses and pastoral support. 

I am also delighted to report that we have a further seven students graduating in 2021, in subjects ranging from engineering, English, accounting and medical imaging. I am sure you will join me in congratulating them after all their hard work. 

We are so grateful for your continued partnership which is enabling us to provide this much-needed support. Due to the security risk to our staff and those we work with, we are unable to publicly share details or photos at present about the students, but we will ensure we keep you updated as and when we are able to. If you would like to find out more then please get in touch via our website. We'd love to hear from you!

Thank you again for your generous support.