Democratic Voice of Burma |
- Sidewalk classroom offers tuition for street children
- 18 Kachin villagers captured by Burmese army in Mansi
- Local artists on display in Mandalay
| Sidewalk classroom offers tuition for street children Posted: 01 Feb 2014 07:44 PM PST Platform Classroom runs classes for children in Mandalay who can't afford after-school tuition. But the ad hoc tuition is set up on a sidewalk next to the Mandalay Central Railway station. It has become the learning centre for almost 40 children – many of whom are homeless and shelter at the station. Sein Win, founder of the programme, says the biggest challenge is the weather. "I think it would be impossible to rent a place because apartment rental fees around here are between 500,000 and 800,000 kyat [US$500-$800) per month and we don't have that budget", he said. "Also, if it rains we need to stop the classes and take shelter. If it keeps raining, we must send the kids home and call a substitute class later." The seven teachers who work here are volunteers - the classes are dependent on donations, which subsidise tuition fees for a few older students, as well as the school entrance fees and learning materials for all the younger students. According to Sein Win, most of the children are from poor families or single parents. Related Stories"Most of their parents do menial jobs such as porters, cart drivers and janitors", he said. "Many others are single parents – usually mothers." Platform Classroom also provides etiquette training, taught by a monk. Media attention in the past few months has also attracted some donors. "I read about this class in a news journal and wanted to make a contribution", said one of them. "The classes were closed during the SEA Games, so I just offered something now." Platform Classroom was founded by Sein Win in 2009 and has since developed considerably. He hopes they will soon be able to afford to rent a flat so they can continue teaching – even when it rains. |
| 18 Kachin villagers captured by Burmese army in Mansi Posted: 01 Feb 2014 07:43 PM PST Burmese government forces launched an assault on the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the village of Nam Gau in Mansi Township on Thursday, according to a mobile team of the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), which supplies medical support in the area. Eighteen villagers were captured by the Burmese troops who also fired at fleeing villagers, the report said. "The fighting intensified on 31 January, with reinforced Burma army troops attacking not only Nam Gau but also Nam San Village, located south of the first attack site. Heavy mortar and machine gun fire hit the village as Burma Army troops from Battalion 276 attacked," FBR said. Most of the residents of these two villages had already fled once before due to an earlier attack by Burmese troops; after this latest assault all remaining families have now fled the villages, the report said. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is defending the village, said FBR, noting that one KIA soldier had been killed in the fighting. FBR also noted that one of its relief teams conducted a medical clinic in Nam Lim Pa for the few remaining IDPs there. "Rangers found three bodies with evidence of torture. All three were killed when the Burma Army attacked Nam Lim Pa in late November 2013; a total of seven people were killed in these November attacks," the group reported. Responding to DVB on Sunday about the incident, Presidential Spokesman Ye Htut said that the "Tatmadaw is conducting an operation to arrest illegal logging in that area and some KIO troops are preventing this operation because they are involved in illegal trade." He added that the government is still investigating the matter. |
| Local artists on display in Mandalay Posted: 01 Feb 2014 07:13 PM PST An art exhibition featuring work by nearly 100 artists is being held at the Mandalay Hill Art Gallery in central Burma, to celebrate the venue's 13th Anniversary. Hundreds of paintings made by artists from central Burma's Mandalay, Myingyan, Pyin Oo Lwin and Bagan, drawn in watercolour, oil and acrylic, are being exhibited at the gallery located at the foot of the Mandalay Hill. “We wanted to host an exhibition featuring creations by artists in the Mandalay region exclusively at one venue”, said Moe Myint Tun from Mandalay Hill Art Gallery. ”Many of the paintings were drawn right here by the artists.” The gallery is providing painting materials for the artists at the exhibition to draw landscape paintings to be featured at an upcoming exhibition dedicated only to this genre. Art fans who come to the exhibition can also have their caricatures drawn by the artists as souvenirs. The exhibition is held from 27 January to 4 February. |
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