May 14, 2018 Update

​This week, among the typical activities we do each week, I would like to highlight an excursion the outstanding students went on as a reward for their success on their tests at the Esther Project. Monthly we reward our students who make the most progress during the month from the previous month with a trip to the shopping mall and treat them to a small meal at KFC.  To have a chance to eat at KFC is one of the biggest dreams of not only the orphans, but of most of the children in Myanmar.  None of our students have eaten at a KFC and to do so is beyond anything our students could imagine.  

The objective of the excursion is to open a door for our students to see and experience the outside world as most of their time is spent in their orphanages.  In fact, it is difficult for any of the students to have a chance to explore the city, as their orphanages struggle with just providing basic food and shelter for them. Resources to provide for an excursion to the mall or to the city zoo is a luxury they do not have.  As such, none of our students have been to a shopping mall or a western restaurant.   Part of our work in providing an education that prepares them for the future involves exposing them to life beyond the orphanages.  It is then beneficial to introduce them to the lifestyles of various people and how things work in different environments such as a shopping mall, in a controlled manner.  Furthermore, it helps the students discover new ideas and provide them with motivation to apply themselves to their studies even more. These two pictures are of our students first trip to a mall and to fulling a dream of eating at KFC.

Solomon Shwe Oke (Esther Project Myanmar)