Marathon for School in Myanmar
Donation protected
This past Christmas break I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel with my dear friend, Niang, a former English student of mine, back to her home country of Myanmar. There, along with her husband and children, we journeyed from bustling Yangon way up to her husband’s village, Tuimui, in the hill country of impoverished Chin State.
Some of my favorite activities in Tuimui were observing and joining in daily life, visiting with folks around cooking fires, and eating meals in people’s homes. But my other favorite moments included receiving proud tours of the community’s development projects: solar panels to power street lights and a bulb for each house, a water system that delivers water from an uphill spring to public hoses around the village each morning, and the community school which has recently added kindergarten and is working towards adding a full high school.
Throughout my time in Myanmar—and certainly in Tuimui—I was absolutely humbled and moved by the generosity I was shown. Every night, someone gave up their bed for me. Every day, I was fed the choicest foods. Girls presented me with flowers and strangers presented me with bananas. The morning we left Tuimui, an elderly woman pressed a boiled egg into my hand and another woman gave me a $5 bill—not an insignificant amount—“to buy a snack on the road”. Over and over, I was told how grateful they were that I had come to visit.
All of this, naturally, led me to want to reciprocate their loving generosity in some way. I realized one thing I could do was run a marathon to help raise money for the school. I don’t have much to give materially, but I wanted to at least give my time and energy. And truly, training for and running a marathon is a sacrifice of time, sweat, and tears (to be clear: I’m not one of those crazies like my sister who runs marathons for fun).
And so here I am, training for the June 4th Steamboat Marathon. But the marathon is merely a nonverbal testament of my personal investment and my commitment to helping the Tuimui school. What WILL really make a difference is if many of you make financial contributions, no matter the size. The teachers and village leader told me the next big thing the school needs is a copy machine (and as a teacher, I get that!). They also dream of having computers, so that village graduates can compete with their urban counterparts. Clearly some patched holes and more teaching materials wouldn’t hurt either.
So in advance, thank you (lung dam lua!) for YOUR generosity. I know it will be profoundly appreciated.
Some of my favorite activities in Tuimui were observing and joining in daily life, visiting with folks around cooking fires, and eating meals in people’s homes. But my other favorite moments included receiving proud tours of the community’s development projects: solar panels to power street lights and a bulb for each house, a water system that delivers water from an uphill spring to public hoses around the village each morning, and the community school which has recently added kindergarten and is working towards adding a full high school.
Throughout my time in Myanmar—and certainly in Tuimui—I was absolutely humbled and moved by the generosity I was shown. Every night, someone gave up their bed for me. Every day, I was fed the choicest foods. Girls presented me with flowers and strangers presented me with bananas. The morning we left Tuimui, an elderly woman pressed a boiled egg into my hand and another woman gave me a $5 bill—not an insignificant amount—“to buy a snack on the road”. Over and over, I was told how grateful they were that I had come to visit.
All of this, naturally, led me to want to reciprocate their loving generosity in some way. I realized one thing I could do was run a marathon to help raise money for the school. I don’t have much to give materially, but I wanted to at least give my time and energy. And truly, training for and running a marathon is a sacrifice of time, sweat, and tears (to be clear: I’m not one of those crazies like my sister who runs marathons for fun).
And so here I am, training for the June 4th Steamboat Marathon. But the marathon is merely a nonverbal testament of my personal investment and my commitment to helping the Tuimui school. What WILL really make a difference is if many of you make financial contributions, no matter the size. The teachers and village leader told me the next big thing the school needs is a copy machine (and as a teacher, I get that!). They also dream of having computers, so that village graduates can compete with their urban counterparts. Clearly some patched holes and more teaching materials wouldn’t hurt either.
So in advance, thank you (lung dam lua!) for YOUR generosity. I know it will be profoundly appreciated.
Organizer
Nancy Bartholomew
Organizer
Aurora, CO