(For the English version scroll down)
Tere! Minu nimi on Maarja ja olen TLÜ ELU Myanmari projekti üks meeskonnaliikmetest. Olen Tallinna Ülikooli magistrant Haridusinnovatsiooni juhtimise erialal ning ühtlasi töötan Tallinna Ülikooli Haridusinnovatsiooni keskuses ja Haridusuuenduse tippkeskuses.
Viimased 1,5 nädalat on mul olnud võimalus töötada vabatahtlikuna MTÜ Mondo partnerorganisatsiooni Centre for Rural Education & Development (CRED) juures Namlanis, Shani osariigis, Myanmaris. CREDi üheks eesmärgiks on võimaldada haridus kõigile lastele siinses piirkonnas. Tahaksin teiega jagada muljeid sellest paigast ning loodan, et see inspireerib teidki CREDi eesmärkide saavutamisse panustama.
Kõigepealt on rõõm tõdeda, et ma pole kunagi kohanud organisatsiooni juhti, kes on nii isetu ja pühendunud kui seda on Sai Naw Kham, kes on CREDi juht. Ta on tõeline visionäär ning kogukonnas väga austatud mees. Nagu meil kõigil, on ka temal omad puudused, aga ta on piisavalt alandlik, et pidevalt õppida ja edasi minna! Hetkest, mil temaga esimest korda kohtusin, sain aru, et ta tõesti armastab lapsi. Mida rohkem aega olen tema ning ülejäänud CREDi meeskonnaga veetnud, seda enam ma näen, kui suur on nende armastus laste vastu. Iga last koheldakse kui armastatud perekonnaliiget.
Paar aastat tagasi ehitas CRED Namlanisse maja (õpilaskodu), kus küladest tulnud õpilased terve kooliaasta elavad, et siin kohalikus valitsuse koolis käia. Lisaks elamiskohale pakutakse lastele siinsete õpetajate poolt lisatunde nende emakeeles, sest muidu ei saaks enamus lapsi riigikoolis hakkama, kuna sealne õppekeel on birma keel. Lisaks õpivad lapsed juurde inglise keelt, arvutioskuseid ning teevad palju muid toredaid ja arendavaid tegevusi.
Minu suureks üllatuseks sain teada, et maa, kus õpilaskodu asub, osteti nende külade poolt, kust enamus õpilasi pärit on. Seega ei tulnud raha mitte mõne MTÜ poolt vaid külaelanikud ise rahastasid ja ka kollektiivselt omavad seda maad. CRED ehitas maja ja haldab seda, kuid ei oma seda. See näitab, kui suur on kogukonna osalus ja omanditunne selles ettevõtmises!
Enamus lapsi, kes õpilaskodus elavad, tulevad nendest 32 külast, kes algselt maa ostsid, kuid on ka teisi. Need lapsed, kes tulevad küladest, kes maad ja maja omavad, maksavad väiksemat “õppemaksu” kui teised. Samas kui uus küla on saatnud õpilasmajja juba mitu last ja maksnud suuremat õppemaksu, siis saavad ka nemad omanikuks ning tulevikus maksavad väiksemat tasu. Kogu õppemaks läheb lastele toidu ostmiseks ja muudeks elementaarseteks elamiskuludeks.
On ka lapsi, kes ei maksa mingit õppemaksu, kuna nende vanematel puuduvad selleks võimalused. Need on lapsed, keda Mondo toetab. Samas on Naw Khami sõnul neid lapsi veel, kes õppemaksu ei maksa. Tema põhimõte on vastu võtta kõik lapsed, kes soovivad tulla. Tasuta koha saamiseks on siiski reeglid: esiteks, laps peab tahtma õppida; teiseks, vanemad peavad lubama, et nad ei võta last koolist (ja õpilaskodust) ära enne, kui kool on edukalt lõpetatud; ja kolmandaks, selle küla pealik, kust laps on pärit, peab kirjutama soovituskirja, kus tõendatakse, et lapse vanematel pole piisavalt ressursse õppemaksu tasumiseks.
Hetkel on õpilaskodus üle 80 lapse ning järgmisel aastal arvatavasti juba üle 100. Naw Khami sõnul toob see uusi väljakutseid, kuna praegune õpilaskodu on juba täis, mistõttu vaja oleks lisaruume. Lahenduste leidiseks pakub ta küsimuse küladele: “Mida peaksime tegema, et olukord lahendada?” Võib-olla on vaja ühte uut õpilaskodu… aga veel suurem unistus on tal luua oma enda kool, kus lapsed saaksid õppida oma emakeeles.
Minu roll siin olles on aidata Naw Khamil ja CREDi meeskonnal nende unistuste poole pürgida. Peale selle, et õpetan aeg-ajalt inglise keelt, aitan luua ka strateegilisi dokumente ja visiooni Shani osariigi hariduse kohta.
Loe lisaks minu ja teiste vabatahtlike kogemusest Myanmaris blogist:
English version:
The Road to Education
Hello! My name is Maarja and I am one of the members of this ELU project. As for introduction, I am a Master’s student in Educational Innovation and Leadership and also work as a member of staff at the Centre for Innovation in Education and the Centre of Excellence in Educational Innovation at Tallinn University.
For the past 1,5 weeks I have had the privilege to volunteer with NGO Mondo’s parter organization Centre for Rural Education & Development (CRED) in Namlan, Shan state, Myanmar. I would like to share some impressions I have of this place and I hope it inspires you to join in the great efforts of CRED to give educational opportunities to all children.
First off, I have never met an organization’s leader who is as selfless and committed as Sai Naw Kham. He is a true visionary and a very respected man in the community. He might have his shortcomings as everyone else does, but he is humble enough to learn constantly and keep going! From the moment I first met him, I understood that he really loves children and the more time I spend with him and the rest of CRED team, I realize just how big this love is. Every child is treated like a beloved family member.
A couple of years ago, CRED built a boarding house in Namlan, so that students could come from rural areas and have a place to stay while they study in the government school. In addition, the boarding house offers the students much needed additional instruction in their mother tongue, without which most children cannot succeed in the government school. Furthermore, the children learn extra English, computer skills and do a lot of fun activities.
To my great surprise, to buy the land of the boarding house, the money did not come from an NGO, but from 32 villages, which means that it is the villages that own the boarding house, and CRED only manages it. It goes to show how much community ownership is in this endeavour!
The children who come to the boarding house come namely from these 32 villages, but also some others. The children from the villages that paid for the building of the boarding house have a reduced rate for boarding house fees, whereas others pay a bit higher rates. Once a new village has sent a couple of children and paid higher fees, they will also become owners of the boarding house and start paying the reduced fees. All the money collected from fees goes for food and other essential costs.
However, there are several children who do not pay fees at all because their parents cannot afford it. These are the children that Mondo supports. Yet, according Naw Kham there are more children who do not pay fees. His policy is to accept everyone who wants to come. Yet, to get a free spot at the boarding house a couple of criteria apply: first, the child must be eager to learn, second, the parents cannot take the child out of the boarding school until and cut his/her education short – the child must graduate, and thirdly, the head of the village where the child comes from must provide a letter of recommendation, proving that the family cannot offer financial support for their child.
Right now there are a little over 80 children at the boarding house, for next year the projection is over a 100. Naw Kham says that this brings new challenges because the house is full already. The solution could be to pose the question to the villagers: “What should we do to solve the situation?” Perhaps another boarding house is needed…and perhaps, one day, their own Shan school where the children can study in their mother tongues.
While I am here, my role is to help Naw Kham and the CRED team to reach these dreams. In addition to teaching some English, I am helping to write some strategic documents and vision about the Shan state education.
To read more about my time volunteering with CRED and impressions on Myanmar, visit my blog and read also about the experiences of previous volunteers here:
Maarja