The Formal Inauguration of Two Schools in Myanmar With DDM Support
The reconstructions of the Hlaing Tharyar SoPos State Primary School and the Thanlyin Pyin Thaung Village State Midle School were successfully completed on 16 April 2009 in Yangon, Myanmar, with financial and technological support from Dharma Drum Mountain Social Welfare and Charity Foundation (DDMSWCF).
Secretary General of DDMSWCF, Venerable Guo Qi, led the DDM delegation, including the Vice President of Dharma Upholder Society of DDM, Huang Chuqi, and the Deputy Executive Director of DDMSWCF, Lin Wuhsiung, which arrived in Myanmar on 5 May to celebrate the inauguration.
Honorable officials from the Myanmar government, Taiwan's entrepreneurs, including Tsai Fongcai, Chen Zhuanyi and Lai Taishun, were also present. Students and teachers of the two schools as well as hundreds of local villagers also participated in this joyous occasion.
Under the instruction of The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen, DDMSWCF began humanitarian relief work after Cyclone Nargis hit southern Myanmar in May 2008 and resulted in the death of thousands and the destruction of property and land.These efforts are in line with the spirit and compassion of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Guanyin).
DDMSWCF has not only dispatched relief teams to remote Cyclone-torn areas to distribute relief commodities including medications, distilled water and purified water facilities, but also assisted local villagers in the digging and sourcing of clean underground water.
So far, DDMSWCF has assisted 18 villages in digging 20 wells equipped with filter facilities, as well as 80 villages in the cleaning of approximately 200 conservation pools. As a result, roughly 150 hundred villagers have benefited from having clean drinking water.
The Hlaing Tharyar SoPos State Primary School and the Thanlyin Pyin Thaung Village State Middle School were also victims of Cyclone Nargis. The devastated classrooms were unsafe for the students attending school as they were sitting in puddles of filthy water during their lessons.
Therefore, DDMSWCF decided to financially and technologically support the reconstruction of the two schools so that close to two thousand students could return to a safe and happy learning environment.
Secretary General of DDMSWCF Venerable Guo Qi expressed his warmest blessings to the two thousand students on behalf of the Abbot President Venerable Guo Dong and the DDM Sangha Community.
He also expressed gratitude to those who had assisted in the reconstruction project including local officials, Taiwan’s entrepreneurs in Myanmar and Taiwan's financial donors. He went on to encourage every student by reminding them that they can become a seed of virtue in the future and to spread the power of goodness throughout the Myanmar society.
(translated by Jin Yang/edited by DDM Australia Editing Team)
