Children develop their abilities to write, think, learn and imagine by reading books. Books are vital for children’s development. However, some children have little access to a book.
Only around 5% of Myanmar’s children have more than three books in their home. The number of libraries and books is far lower than that of children. Even if there are books, they were made about 50 to 60 years ago, so people could barely read them. Books haven’t been produced under the military dictatorship since the coup, and what’s worse is that Myanmar people couldn’t cultivate the habit of reading.
[ Children’s book corner at a local library in Mandalay ]
This is why HUMAN IN LOVE and teachers (from Korea Teachers’ Credit Union) decided to provide books for Myanmar’s children! We delivered 4,500 volumes of four storybooks that are translated in Myanmar language to 375 primary schools in Mandalay and nearby areas. As a result, around 100,000 children could finally read a book!
[ We delivered storybooks to Myanmar’s children (2019.11.13) ]
We delivered “Honeybee rescue team (written by Man-soo Kang)” which is about the importance of the environment and nature; “Wimpy wolf Khan (written by Jeong-jin Lim)” which is about living harmoniously between those with disabilities and those not; ““Is a caterpillar growing well on its own? (written by Susana Ko)” which is a science book that explains the life of insects with pictures; “Elephant bathtub (written by Hae-wang Jeong)” which is based on a folktale of Myanmar.
”HUMAN IN LOVE donated storybooks to 330 elementary schools in Yangon last year and 375 primary schools in Mandalay this year. Thank you very much.”
– U Aung Zaw Win, assistant manager of the primary education department in Mandalay Education Office –
HUMAN IN LOVE Global Contents Volunteering Group’s specialists and local storytellers visited four primary schools and sang children’s songs, read children poems, played music and performed storytelling for children. Since storytelling is especially effective to promote kids’ interest in reading, teachers were very interested in storytelling.
Children really liked a dance to the song “Three bears” and handbell performance “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”. We prepared hand bells because we thought it would help teach music to them when we visited Myanmar last time and saw them delightfully singing musical notes.
Since 2013, HUMAN IN LOVE has been working on a project to translate and donate good storybooks to schools and libraries in developing countries. A total number of 19,638 books were delivered at 757 places in five countries like Burundi, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.
