Telenor Myanmar Limited (Telenor) together with its partner Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME) recently celebrated the first graduation ceremony for the children who completed myME’s non-formal education (NFE) program, at its first level.
Telenor has supported the myME project since November 2014, by implementing myME’s non-formal education (NFE) program in Telenor branded teashops in Yangon and Mandalay. Telenor provides salaries for all myME staff, one bus that is used as a mobile classroom, and other school supplies including computers. In total, Telenor has contributed over USD 300,000 as part of this partnership.
“Together with myME, we are proud to support the non-formal education programme (NFE) for the children working at our branded teashops. We believe that this will in some way contribute towards their getting a meaningful step up in life, as they equip themselves with the basic language and living skills that will help them secure gainful employment in their coming years,” said Min Thu, Head of Corporate Responsibility in Telenor Myanmar.
Tim Aye-Hardy, the founder of myME said “In Myanmar, five million children between age 5 and 18 are out of school and most of them are working at the places like restau-rants, factories, hotels and homes. myME provides practical non-formal education for these children, under a safe environment and with supervision of trained personnel. We teach them about basic computer skills, life skills, and others, in order to provide them with the basic skills and self-confidence to secure better employment in the coming years.
“We are grateful for the support from Telenor, and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with them,” Aye-Hardy added. myME’s mobile classroom ensures that teachers, quality education, and study materials are easily accessible to the children who join the program. Each child is offered six hours of lessons per week. In addition to the opportunity to learn basic literacy, math and computer skills, the young students will also be taught life skills such as developing analytical thinking skills through interactive instruction and basic knowledge of personal hygiene and understanding of preventable diseases.
The myME project was founded by a small group of people in New York City and in Myanmar who passionately believe that true reform for Myanmar starts with education. We are a collective of human rights activists, educators, business people, academics, writers and artists.
