By Kantarawaddy Times
In Karenni State’s Shandaw Township (Somo Pray Soe Leh), IDP Camp No. 1, the school faces ongoing challenges due to a lack of essential supplies and funding, according to a female teacher responsible for school administration.
The school urgently requires items such as whiteboards, marker pens, ink, and writing tools for students.
“The main issue is the lack of financial support for teachers. We also struggle to provide essentials like ink, markers, whiteboards, and blank notebooks for the school. Additionally, we are lacking donors to support our school,” the teacher stated.
The school currently serves 138 students from kindergarten to Grade 5, taught by 12 teachers. Subjects include Mathematics, English, Myanmar, Science, Ethics, Life Skills, Arts, Social Studies, Geography, Karenni Literature, and Shan Literature.
For funding, the school relies on fees collected from students’ families. Teachers’ allowances, provided every three months, amount to 100,000 MMK per teacher, supported by IEC and the Seh Theh Foundation.
“Currently, the salaries we receive are funded by fees from parents, fundraising by the school committee, and periodic contributions from IEC and Seh Theh Foundation. However, administrative and operational costs of the school are still borne entirely by parents. If additional support from other donor organizations were to come, it would greatly ease the burden on teachers and families living in this IDP school,” the teacher added.
The camp, home to over 500 people, primarily shelters residents displaced from Shandaw town. The town and surrounding villages became IDP areas after local resistance forces fully recaptured military council bases in the township on February 12, 2024. Despite the liberation, landmines left in the area have made it unsafe for residents to return, forcing them to remain in the camp.
Due to the ongoing conflict in Karenni State, traveling to Shandaw Township remains unsafe, and poor infrastructure limits access to some IDP camps, further hindering the arrival of donors.
