Help Fund Zoey's Graduation Fee

I'm creating this GoFundMe on behalf of a charming, kind-hearted, intelligent, hard-working young woman who needs our help. Zoey Myo is a good friend of mine from Myanmar. I met her in 2018. She worked at the vegetarian café in Kalaw where I taught yoga.

As you may know, things have not been easy in recent years for the people of Myanmar. First, the violent 2021 coup that overthrew the nation’s democratic government, and the recent earthquake that caused tremendous damage and loss of life.

In spite of these challenges, Zoey has continued with her education. In 2022, she received a full scholarship for the Bachelor of Education program at a Myanmar University. (The name of the university has been withheld here to avoid any potential negative consequences that could result from making the following circumstances public.)

Several months ago, Zoey completed her 3 years of study. The University’s finance department is now requiring her to pay 1523 euros in graduation fees to receive her internationally recognized Bachelor of Education degree.

This news came as a complete surprise to Zoey. She assumed, as I believe most of us would, that “full scholarship” covered everything, including the official degree itself.

She met with the rector and chairman of the university to discuss the issue. They insist that she must pay this fee to receive her degree. They offered her one solution: she can work for the school to pay off the fees, for a salary of $100 a month. $30 of that would cover her food expenses. They would take the remaining $70. At that rate, Zoey would need to work for the school for 21 months just to pay for her degree.

Without the degree, she cannot pursue her dream to continue her studies abroad.

Her plan has been that once she receives her Bachelor of Education degree, she’ll apply for three different scholarships that fully fund master’s degree study programs overseas, including the Chevening scholarship for study in the UK and the Australia Awards scholarship for a master’s degree program in Australia. Her long-term goal is to become a curriculum developer for schools in her home country. She is particularly interested in studying abroad so she can experience how educational systems and curricula are structured and implemented in other countries. By gaining firsthand knowledge of their approaches to teaching, learning, and curriculum design, she hopes to bring valuable insights back home.

She aspires to use this knowledge to contribute to the development of a more effective, inclusive education system in her country—one that meets international standards and provides equal opportunities for all students. This passion for improving education is what motivated her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Education, and it continues to drive her desire to further expand her understanding through overseas study.

Please help contribute to the payment of Zoey’s degree if you can, and help this young woman continue her education and the pursuit of her dreams!

Thank you so much for anything you can do.