MYANMAR MOBILE EDUCATION PROJECT-Reforming the country one Tea Shop child at a time

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Myanmar Mobile Education Project: Reforming the country one teashop child at a time.
myME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project
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8/13/2017 Home
MISSION: Provide education via mobile
classrooms to children in Myanmar (Burma)
who've been compelled into indentured servitude
at teashop restaurants where they're forced to
work long hours every day in order to sustain their
families. The mobile classrooms provide these
children an opportunity to learn basic literacy,
math and computer skills in a safe environment
where they can gain self-con dence and develop
critical thinking skills through innovative, interactive
instruction.
VISION: Every child in Myanmar (Burma) has the
right to access quality education no matter their
circumstance. Education is a critical step toward
alleviating poverty and the abuses associated with
child labor.
Teashops in Myanmar are often "manned" by
children who have no opportunity to go to school.
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For many families in Myanmar, sending children to work is an
undesired necessity. We started the pilot run with 60 kids in 2
teashops in early 2014. Less than three years later, myME has
already expanded to serve more than 3,000 students from
various teashops, road-side restaurants, monastic schools,
and underprivileged communities in Yangon, Mandalay,
Mawlamying, Myingyan, Kyauk-Se, Dala, East Dagon, and
Hlaing Thar Yar townships with over 60 sta and 5 mobile
classroom buses.
The myME Project is the rst mobile education solution in
Burma.
While we are not the rst to use non-formal education, we are
the rst to bring it to child laborers. In Burma, according to
2014 census data, there are 5.09 million children between
ages 5-18 out of school.
Around 10,000 working and out-of-school children bene ted
since we started the project with average 87% attendance rate.

8/13/2017 Home
myME project is generously supported by:
Zar Zar Tun migrated to Yangon from her Kyauk-Saung-
San Village, Sin-Paung-Wae Township, Magway division in 2012.
She was 12 years old, and left her parents and 5 brothers and
sisters back in the village. She was 14 years old when she
started taking myME classes, and graduated Level I, Pre-Level II,
and Level II courses and is now taking Vocational trainings
(Sewing and Fashion Design) at one of myME's partner
organizations. Zar Zar Tun wants to be working at a company
one day, also wants to become a singer or fashion designer.
Zaw Zaw Khing migrated to Mandalay from Nyaung-Don
village in Ma-Hlaing Township and start working at Moe-Kaung-
Kin Teashop in 2015 when he was 13 years old. His father
passed away a few years ago and he's the breadwinner of the
family with 3 younger brothers and a sister and mother back in
the village. His mother works at random jobs when she is able
to nd them. One of the youngest and brightest myME
students, Zaw Zaw Khing completed Level I in September, 2016
and is now attending Level II classes. He's most concerned with
not being able to attend/study with myME and likes to become
a tea master and baker in order to make more money to take
care of his mother and family.
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(http://www.telenor.com.mm/)
(http://www.samsung.com/mm/)

8/13/2017 About
http://www.mymeproject.org/about.html 1/3
PROJECT:
Launched in January of 2014, the myME project is a unique, non-formal education and outreach
program that provides school and assistance to children who have been compelled into servitude,
We were founded by a small group of
people living in NYC & in Myanmar.
We passionately believe that
true reform in Myanmar starts
with education.
Today we have a full team on the
ground operating in Myanmar--we
hire only local teachers and co-
ordinators who are uniquely sensitive
to the needs of the working children
of Myanmar.

8/13/2017 About
by bringing the classroom to them--directly where they work (and live).
While we are not the rst to use non-formal education into Myanmar, we are the rst to bring it to
child laborers.
Because these teashops are concentrated in cities and towns, the classroom stops are planned to
maximize participation of many children in one area. The project was initiated by gutting and
converting old school buses into mobile classrooms that came to the teashops. At present, due to the large
amount of participating teashops and students, several of the teashops are converted into classrooms
after working hours. The buses are still used for the most beginner levels and to bring the teachers,
teaching assistants, volunteers and supplies to each teashop for that day’s class. Each child spends a
minimum of two hours per day every other day learning.
We began with one bus and 60 students in two teashops in Yangon. Our success has been
tremendous. Today, we have over 3000 child workers enrolled in the program in Yangon, Mandalay and
Kyauk-Se, serving 53 teashops and operating 7 days per week providing 10-12 classes per day. There are
ve buses operating in Yangon and Mandalay. To date, 58 students from six tea shops have graduated level
one and more than 10,000 children in Myanmar have been touched and bene ted from the myME
program
OBJECTIVES:

8/13/2017 About
Provide a safe environment to learn
Obtain basic educational skills
Gain basic computer skills
Develop self-esteem and self-con dence
Create friendships among peers
Escape appalling working conditions
Gain knowledge of accessing the country’s educational system
Explore alternative future opportunities
Improve wellbeing and quality of life

8/13/2017 Background
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Teashops are located all over Myanmar—they are small road- or alley-side restaurants where the local people come regularly for
daily sweet tea and snacks. Many of them are “manned” by children who have been forced into servitude. Once in this situation,
the children must work for over 16 hours daily, 7 days per week. At night they sleep on the tables or on the oors of the shops.
Their meager earnings are sent back to their families and villages in the countryside. In this system the children are sometimes
abused by their employers/owners and customers, they are deprived of their childhoods, and they lack any basic educational
skills, decent healthcare and adequate, nutritious food.
Once a hopeful, prosperous country, Myanmar has
been neglected and exploited by repressive military
regimes for ve decades. As a result, infrastructures
are broken, schools and hospitals are dysfunctional,
and the vast majority of the population is uneducated
and vulnerable. In many cases, it's the children who
are the worst a ected. Sadly, many people take
advantage of the children’s trust and vulnerability.
Sometimes it's actually their parents and relatives,
who, out of total desperation, “give” their children over
to work as indentured servants.

The myME Project is innovative in its approach to child labor in that myME recognizes that for many families in this
impoverished nation, children workers provide an income that is critical for the family's survival. Even with the promising political
situation in Burma, it will take decades for true reform to happen. Until then, myME provides these working children with skills
and a future so that they can graduate our program and enter the community better educated, and with increased nancial
potential--this bene ts not only the children and their families, but their communities as a whole.
The myME Project is the rst mobile education solution in Burma. While we are not the rst to use non-formal education, we
are the rst to bring it to child laborers. In Burma, according to 2014 census data, there are 5.09 million children between age 5-
18 out of school. myME provides free literacy, numeracy, life-skills and vocational subjects along with computer classes to
working teashop children after their working day is done, while not depriving them or their families the income that the children
earn from teashop work.
We started the pilot run with 60 kids in 2 teashops in early 2014. Less than two years later, myME has already expanded to serve
more than 1200 students from 53 teashops, 8 monastic schools, and 6 underprivileged communities in Yangon, Mandalay and
Kyauk-Se.
myME's innovative approach to education provides these children with access and learning involving tablets (provided by
Samsung) on the buses, which are all wired for internet connectivity. In addition to our basic education curriculum, we
also provide enriching programs to encourage and promote creativity, such as photography and art, and an ongoing program
that brings in volunteers from around the world to speak to students about life in their countries.

8/13/2017 Video
http://www.mymeproject.org/video.html 1/3
Myanmar Mobile Education Project: Reforming the country one teashop child at a time. (https://www.facebook.com/mymeproject)Search
MYME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project
)
Watch our 4 min myME project video (above).
Watch myME on Al Jazeera (above).
myME ABCs
TimteachesbeginnersclasstheEnglishalphabetonour rstmyMEbus.
AlJezeera - Myanmar tea house child workers go to school

8/13/2017 Video
MITV - Mobile Classrooms myME Project For N…
)
myME making the news on local Yangon TV.
myME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project: Great learning starts …
Good learning starts with a sharp pencil...Teacher Margaret and myME Level 1 class.
myME rst class in teashop classroom
myME NYC team member Andrea teaches the beginner class in a Yangon teashop.

8/13/2017 Video

8/13/2017 Team
http://www.mymeproject.org/team.html 1/4
myME Leadership Team:
Tim Aye Hardy, Grace (Swe Zin Htaik), Karen Zusman, Elisa Pigeron, Matt Namer, Andrea (Hnin Win Naing), Myat Noe
Zaw and in loving memory of our team member, Stephan Poppick, a life-long educator and friend of myme.
Scroll down to read all team bios
Tim Aye-Hardy was born and raised in
Burma (Myanmar), and grew up under multiple
repressive military regimes. Tim actively
participated and spoke out during the 1988
student-led protests in Burma by giving speeches
to thousands of students on human rights,
freedom, peace and oppression while he was
attending Rangoon Art and Science University.
Later, he was expelled from the university due to
his involvements and participation during the
Grace Swe Zin Htaik
is a former Academy Award winning actress
and a graduate from Institute of Economics,
Yangon in 1977. She received Diploma in
Accountancy, Registered Law and Diploma in
French in 80s. In 2002, she became a
Media Fellowship from the University of
Southern California. She was awarded as
"Ambassador for Peace" by Universal Peace
Karen Zusman rst visited Burma
in 2004 on a meditation visa in order to
practice at one of the Buddhist
monasteries. She began documenting the
lives of ordinary citizens in Burma after
returning to the country in the immediate
aftermath of the Sa ron Revolution in
2007. In 2009 she wrote and produced the
multimedia documentary,
Elisa Koniski (Pigeron) grew
up in a small town lost in the middle of
deep mountains in the heart of Southern
France. After getting a B.A. in English in
Lyon, France, she was determined to
become a language instructor, and came
to the United States to complete an M.A.
in English Instruction in Austin, TX and an
M.A. in Communication in San Diego, CA.
Later, she earned her Ph.D. in Applied
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(/uploads/2/1/1/2/21128280/1147647_orig.jpg)
Please Don’t Say
My Name: The Plight of Burmese Refugees
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8/13/2017 Team
protests and narrowly escaped multiple arrests
and crackdowns by the Burma’s military regime.
Tim left Burma to the U.S. in 1989 after another
brutal military coup took control of the country.
He attended California Polytechnic University,
Pomona and San Diego State Universities, and
earned B.S. and M.S degrees in Computer Science
in 1998 and 2007 respectively. Tim is an Inaugural
Carl Wilkens Fellow with Genocide Intervention
Network (www.genocideintervention.net
(http://www.genocideintervention.net/)),
Chairperson of the International Forum Planning
Committee with the UNESCO Chair & Institute of
Comparative Human Rights
(www.unescochair.uconn.edu
(http://www.unescochair.uconn.edu/)), Member
or the Central Working Committee and New York
Coordinator for Citizen of Burma
(www.CitizenOfBurma.org
(http://www.citizenofburma.org/)), work with
refugee resettlement agencies in San Diego since
2004 to assist refugees and closely working with
Burmese community in NYC on various
humanitarian and social justice issues and related
activities.
Federation, New York in 2007 and obtained
Supreme Diploma in Abhidhamma from Int'l
Institute of Abbhidhamma, Yangon in
2009. Since 2000, Grace was one of the
pioneer to conduct mass media campaign
for various social issues like HIV, TB, Hygiene,
Human Tra cking & Women Empowerment
by performing as a liaison between the local
government, departments, corporations and
the management team of
international organizations to pursue,
formulate and explore various entries. Grace
performed as "Chairperson Jury" for
"Hyderabad Short, Doc &
Animation competition" in 2010 and member
jury for "Freedom of Democracy, Short, Doc
& Animation Festival", organized by Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi in 2013.

(www.pleasedontsaymyname.org)
(http://www.pleasedontsaymyname.org/).
Since then, she has continued to cover
these stories as a grantee from the Pulitzer
Center on Crisis Reporting and her work
has been broadcast on PBS and NPR
stations, and featured in
and others. As an
independent journalist, she has lectured on
the subject of human tra cking of refugees
and bonded labor at the UN, and at various
universities and high schools around the
world. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts
degree from Columbia University’s
Graduate Writing Program and also works
as a freelance Associate Creative Director
at global advertising and branding
agencies.
Linguistics from UCLA in Los Angeles, CA,
as well as her Teaching English as a
Second Language certi cate. Throughout
her studies and beyond, she has acquired
diverse pedagogical experiences, teaching
a variety of subjects at the college level,
including various levels of ESL, French,
Linguistics, Speech, and Spanish classes.
Professor Koniski is now a tenured
Assistant Professor in the Department of
Academic Literacy and Linguistics at
BMCC, CUNY in New York, NY. She has
been involved in the myME project since
its inception and is honored to help with
curriculum design. She is eager to
contribute to the creation of interesting
courses for Burmese teashop children to
get the most stimulating and thought-
provoking educational experience.
Through her help, she hopes to show
myME project students not only the
importance of what is learned in class but
also to provoke eagerness and curiosity in
them toward acquiring knowledge.
Living in Malaysia
The Christian
Science Monitor, Witness, The Democratic
Voice of Burma, USAtoday,
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8/13/2017 Team
Ms. Wint Wint Htet Hlaing is
a native Myanmar and was educated in the
United States. Wint holds a Bachelor of Arts in
Economics from the University of California,
Los Angeles and is a U.S. licensed CPA. Wint
spent over 10 years in the U.S. working in
nancial audits of private and U.S.-listed
companies, M&A and Pre-IPO due diligence
processes, and nancial reporting, planning
and risk management. Wint’s industry
experience includes insurance, banking, real
estate, manufacturing, and U.S. government
contracting. In 2013, Wint returned to
Myanmar and subsequently joined a Myanmar
business conglomerate, Serge Pun &
Associates Group of Companies. Wint’s rst
role with the Group was the head of risk
management at Yoma Bank. In July 2014, Wint
joined the Group’s Myanmar holding
company, First Myanmar Investment Co., Ltd.
as a Finance Director to prepare the initial
public o ering on the Myanmar’s very rst
Yangon Stock Exchange. In her philanthropic
activities, Wint presently serves as a Board
Advisor of Myanmar Mobile Education Project
and the Yangon Heritage Trust. Wint is also a
central executive committee member of
Myanmar Women and Children Development
Foundation.
U Aung Kyaw Min holds B.Sc
(Botany) from University of Yangon (1991),
and spent many years working on
Telecommunication, Digital Microwave
Systems and Digital Electronic Exchanges,
and Optical Transmission Systems projects
in Myanmar since 1995. He worked as the
Field Manager for Emergency Community
Addressing System Project at Ayeyarwady
Delta Area with BHN from 2010 to 2013 and
as a Senior Project Sta (Assistant Project
Manager) at Yangon CDMA Overlay Project
with Fujitsu CDMA Mobile System. He is
currently work as Chief Representative and
Project Manager at BHN Association (Yangon
O ce), The Community Life Environment
Project focuses Utilization Community
Addressing System in Ayeyarwady Delta and
Representative ( Myanmar O ce) Japan
Telecommunications Engineering and
Consulting Service ICT Development Project.
Myat Noe Zaw wasbornin
Burmatoparentswhowere
educatorsandformerprisonersof
conscience.Shehasalwaysbeen
interestedineducation,human
rightsandactivism.Sheledand
participatedinvariouscommunity
eventsandprotestsinWashington
DCandMarylandareasduringher
collegeyearsattheUniversityof
Maryland,wheresheearnedB.S.in
OperationsManagement.She
previouslyworkedatUnileverinthe
logisticsandsupplychain
management.Sheiscurrently
completingherMSWatthe
ColumbiaUniversitySchoolofSocial
Workandisthebusinessmanager
atParkAvenueDoctors.Myatbrings
passion,analytical,and
organizationalskillstothemyME’s
leadershipteam.
Matthew Namer istheacting
VicePresidentofAlfaDevelopment,
acompanythathasproduced
$350MMworthofprojectsoverthe
spanofitsthirtyyearhistoryand
willbeproducinganother$300
milliondollarsworthofeco-friendly
buildingsinManhattanoverthe
nextseveralyears.Matthewhasa
keeninterestinsupportinghuman
rights,educational,andarts
charitiesinternationally.In2010
Matthewtookasix-month
sabbaticaltoSoutheastAsia,which
includedteachingEnglishinasmall
farmingvillageinLaosforamonth
andtravellingaroundMyanmar
(Burma)foramonth.Matthewwas
particularlydrawntoMyanmar,
andwasabletovisitandpersonally
donatemoneyandbookstoeight
di erentmonasticschoolsthere.
Matthew’sinterestineducationin
Myanmarhasnotchangedsince
thattripandheisextremelyexcited
tobehelpinglaunchanddevelop
theMyMEProgramplatform.

8/13/2017 News & Events
http://www.mymeproject.org/news--events.html 1/9
A GENEROUS THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CAME OUT TO OUR ANNUAL BENEFIT PARTY,
APRIL 2017!
THANKS TO YOU WE RAISED $50,000 FOR MYME PROJECT'S CURRENT OPERATIONAL COSTS AND FUTURE PLANS
WE THANK YOU!!!

In addition to serving more than 3000 working children in teashops throughout Yangon
Mandalay, and Kyauk-Se, we also provide basic hygiene and life skills to street kids in Yangon.
Pictured above: myME hosts a group of street children for a lesson on one of our 3 buses in Yangon.
my (http://tinyurl.com/mtusdbf)ME making the news (http://tinyurl.com/mtusdbf):
Watch: Al Jazeera TV, Tea Shop Child Goes to School (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx_9Ys2oSIY), February 2014
8 friends like this
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AlJezeera - Myanmar tea house child workers go to school

Read:
Myanmar Times (http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/yangon/9358-the-school-bus-bringing-education-for-
all.html), The School Bus Bringing Education for All, January 27, 2014
Irrawaddy Magazine, School Hits the Road for Myanmar Teashop Boys, (http://www.irrawaddy.org/feature/school-hits-road-
burmese-teashop-boys.html)Jan 23, 2014
Myanmar Times, (http://tinyurl.com/mtusdbf) Teachers Come to Teashop Kids, Nov 12, 2013
Watch: video of myME NYC Launch Event (http://tinyurl.com/k62df5n)
Thank you to all who attended our myME Launch Event in Yangon at the Royal Garden Restaurant on Kandawgyi Lake!
It's been 2 years since nearly 60 child laborer students attended our very rst class. Today we're proud to let you know that we
are serving more than 3000 working children with free education in teashops throughout Yangon, Mandalay and Kyauk-Se.
We're also hosting life skills classes to one community of street children on one of our buses in Yangon, and providing free
education at 8 monastics schools, as well.
Thank you to all our wonderful supporters and friends, it wouldn't have been possible without your generosity.
warmest regards,
team myME
NEW NEWS! (http://www.facebook.com/mymeproject) For up to the minute updates, please visit our Facebook page. (http://www.facebook.com/mymeproject)
To view older news, including the story of our start, please scroll down.

Inside the bus...

post date: 12/20/2013
Scroll down page to read wonderful press about myME in The Myanmar Times, and also watch our NYC launch video and other updates.
Hello dear friends of myME!! We've got some wonderful updates to share! First we are so happy to announce our
partnership with our 501(3)c nonpro t scal sponsor, Burma Humanitarian Mission
(BHM) www.burmamission.org! (http://www.burmamission.org%21/) We couldn't be happier to have such an
ideal sponsor/partner. Check out all the wonderful and compassionate work they're doing for the people of Myanmar
(Burma) and have been since the late 90s. Now, all donations to myME will receive a U.S. tax deduction from BHM.
Just make sure you write "myME" in the memo line of any donation check or indicate "myME" on any other donation
you make on our behalf. Please let your friends and network know that donations to myME are fully tax deductible
now. We still have about 1/3 more to go in order to make our Indiegogo campaign
(http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/myme-myanmar-mobile-education-project/x/4973252) goal of $20,000. If we
don't make it, we will have to pay 9% of all monies raised to Indiegogo vs only 4% if we make our goal! So please
forward are Indiegogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/myme-myanmar-mobile-education-
project/x/4973252) link widely!
Now, for our inside Myanmar update!!
Tim and Myanmar team have been working round the clock (literally, we often get emails from Tim at 3 and 4 am
Burma time...;-) ) to get our bus and team ready for the rst class. Our school bell is set to ring in mid
January!! Stay tuned for that...
In the meantime, please meet our coordinator, Ko Myo Min Swe, and our teacher, Margaret Kim! See pics of
both below.
And look at our rst mobile classroom (bus)--nearly ready to serve up free education to the most vulnerable children
of Myanmar!
And if you haven't already seen it, check out this great press we got from The Myanmar Times
(http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/8801-classroom-comes-to-teashop-kids.html).
Thanks to your generosity, we are making it happen! It is so exciting to see this important project come to life and
we can't thank you enough for being a part of it. Next week Karen and Andrea will join Tim, Grace and the rest of the

we can't thank you enough for being a part of it. Next week Karen and Andrea will join Tim, Grace and the rest of the
team in Yangon to help launch and document the rst class in January and we will de nitely be sending more pics and
updates at that time.
Until then, we wish everyone a most glorious and healthy holiday and new year!
with love and gratitude,
the myME team,
Tim Aye-Hardy, Grace Swe Zin Htaik, Karen Zusman, Elisa Pigeron, Matt Namer, Myat Noe Zaw, Hnin Wint Naing
post date: 11/37/2013
Hi friends of myME! Our Myanmar Mobile Education Project is moving ahead full-steam--thanks to your generosity! Check out
the slideshow below to view our progress!
Tim has been inside the country for the last month working tirelessly to get things moving! and they are!
Our bus renovation is nearly nished!! (See slideshow below). All desks will be in place and the nal polish will be given next
week. Thanks to the team inside Myanmar for making this happen!!
Equally as exciting is that we've just made our nal selection for our rst teacher and project co-ordinator! This is the
result of an extensive search process conducted by our team here in NYC via skype interviews and then face-to-face interviews
were conducted last week by Tim and Grace. Acceptance o ers have been sent out this week!
Please forward our Indiegogo link (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/myme-myanmar-mobile-education-
project/x/4973252)to anyone you know who may have an interest. As much as we need donations, we also need
engagement points. The more people that click on "like" and "follow" on our campaign, and the more views, helps our
May all beings be happy.

"engagement rating." This is what Indiegogo uses to decide who they feature on their homepage. If we can make it to their
homepage, we will get a huge boost in donations!
Again, we'd like to thank you for your generosity and support of our innovative project, which helps children compelled into
indentured servitude receive FREE EDUCATION in Myanmar.
Together we're going to reform Myanmar one teashop child at a time!
with love and gratitude,
The myME team: Tim Aye-Hardy, Grace Swe Zin Htaik, Karen Zusman, Elisa Pigeron, Matt Namer, Myat Noe Zaw, Hnin Wint Naing

8/13/2017 Gratitude
http://www.mymeproject.org/gratitude.html 1/2
A GENEROUS THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CAME OUT TO OUR ANNUAL BENEFIT
PARTY, APRIL 2017!
THANKS TO YOU WE RAISED $50,000 FOR MYME PROJECT'S CURRENT OPERATIONAL COSTS AND FUTURE
PLANS
WE THANK YOU!!!
The making of the rst myME class group photo as a special thank you to our wonderful myME supporters
listed below.
Please click the icon next to "HD" to view video in full screen mode.

8/13/2017 Gratitude
http://www.mymeproject.org/gratitude.html 2/2
group photo (http://vimeo.com/87889858) from karen zusman (http://vimeo.com/user10106569) on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com).
Baydin.com I Paul T. Brensilber I Tim Aye Hardy I Rachel Kaufman
I Philip LaJaunieI Benjamin Nahum I Dr. Christine L. Namer I Debra & Lee OdellI
Pierre Paquot I Memet Celikatsoy I Anja Birkelbach I Coralie Pomeret I
Veronique Mestre Gibaud I Mathieu Rosseau I Frank Beckmann I Jen Louie
We are also deeply grateful to our corporate donors: Telenor, Ooredoo, Baydin and Samsung.
group photo
from karen zusman
03:02
With deep gratitude from the rst myME class to:

8/13/2017 Donate
http://www.mymeproject.org/donate.html 1/3

8/13/2017 Donate
All donations are tax deductible through our scal sponsor,
Burma Humanitarian Mission, www.burmamission.org.
You can donate by check or using paypal button on right.
Check donations are payable to Burma Humanitarian
Mission (our scal sponsor).
All checks MUST have "myME" in the memo line.
Please mail checks to:
myME: Myanmar Education Project
15 W. 18th Street, Suite 200
New York, NY 10011
The development of the mobile education project will
ultimately contribute to a higher standard of living for
these children. This is a low budget project with
potentially enormous impact, and one that could go far
with the help of compassionate sponsors!
Won't you join us? We'd love to have you onboard!

8/13/2017 Donate

8/13/2017 Contact
http://www.mymeproject.org/contact.html 1/2
First Last
We'd love to hear from you!
Name *
Email *
Thank you
for your interest in myME.
Myanmar:
7 U Ba Kyaw Street, Tarmwe Lay
Tarmwe Township, Yangon 112011
phone: +95 (9) 795784380
(tel:%2B95%20%289%29%20795784380)
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8/13/2017 (48) myME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project - About
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STORY
The myME project was started by Burmese human rights
activist Tim Aye-Hardy along with a small group of people in
NYC and in Myanmar (Burma) who passionately believe that
true reform for Myanmar starts with education. We're a
collective of human rights activists, educators, business
people, academics, writers and artists.
We believe that every child in Myanmar has the right to
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The myME project provides 2 hours of free education to children
who have been sold into indentured servitude in Myanmar
(Burma). myMEproject.YGN@gmail.com
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myME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project posted a job.
August 11 at 11:04am ·
Project Manager
We would like to announce our Vacancy Announcement for "Project Manager"
position and if you are interested in this position, send your Resume now! VACANCY
ANNOUNCEMENT Reference No. VA2017/006 Job Title Project Manager…
YANGON · FULL-TIME JOB
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myME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project added 14
new photos.
We like say "Thank you" for volunteering at #myMEproject! These 23 days,
you guys did great support to myME. Our students were happy to learn from
you and our facilitators as delighted to work with you. So much sharing and
learning took place for both sides during the past month that we're truly
delighted for this engaging partnership for the past 4 years. Thank you City
University (Hong Kong). Hope to see you all next year!
August 9 at 2:38pm · Yangon, Myanmar ·
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myME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project added 4 new
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Please join us for a new myME Bus launch event on Thursday (August 10th)
at 2:30pm at the Heldan Center in Kamayut Township, Yangon. This new
bus is donated by Samsung Myanmar and this is their 3rd bus for
#myMEproject. This new myME Bus contains a classroom where about 20
students can study and small kitchen area where we’ll be providing culinary
skills, food safety and hygiene classes for women and girls at
underprivileged communities around Yangon, where we’re partnering w...
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August 9 at 10:50am ·
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Jay Shwezin Htet ဆရာတို႔ခင္ဗ် ာ စာသင္ဖို႔အတြက္ ဆရာလိုအပ္လွ် င္ လုပ္ခ် င္ပါတ ယ္ အ
ရင္က သင္တန္းနည္ းျပ လုပ္ခဲ့ဖူးပါတယ္ က် ေနာ္ မွာ ေရာင္စဥ္မွ ဆရာအတတ္ သင္ သင္တန္း
ဆင္းလက္ မွတ္ နဲ႔ Non Formal Education နဲ႔ပတ္ သက္ ပီ သင္တန္းေပးခဲ့ဖူးပါတယ္ က် ေနာ္
နဲ႔သင့္ေတာ္ မည့္ အလုပ္ေလးရိွရင္ ကူညီေပးဖို႔ေမတၱာရပ္ခံပါရေစခင္ဗ် ာ ေက် းဇူးအမ် ားႀကိးတ
င္ပါတယ္ ဆရာတို႔လုပ္ငန္းကို စိတ္ ဝင္စားပါတယ္
· Reply · August 9 at 11:27amLike
myME: Myanmar Mobile Education Project Thank you for your
interest and encouraging words. We'd be happy to have you on board,
please fill out this online volunteer form for us to determine the most
suitable assignments for you - http://goo.gl/forms/nBnvp4UPjaGRJ6qq1
· Reply · August 9 at 5:25pm
MyME Volunteer/Intern Application
Form
Fill out this form and submit to apply for a…
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ပန္းေဟဝန္ လၻက္ ရည္ ဆိုင္မွ ေက် ာင္းသားမ်ားကို Pre Level-2 Computing သင္ခန္းစာ
မ်ားအျဖစ္ Input/Output devicesမ်ားႏွင့္ စတင္မိတ္ ဆက္ သင္ၾကားေပးေနျခင္းျဖစ္ပါတ
ယ္ ။
Students from Pan Hay Won tea-shop are learning Pre-Level 2 Computing
(Input/Output devices).
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#myMEproject သို႔ လုပ္အားေပးေရာက္ ႐ွိေနေသာ City University (Hong Kong)မွ ေ
က် ာင္းသား/သူမ်ားက myMEမွ ဆရာ/ဆရာမမ်ားႏွင့္အတူ myMEတန္းခြဲမ်ားတြင္ တက္ ႂ
ကြစြာ စာသင္ၾကားေပးခဲ့ၾကၿပီး myMEမွ ေက် ာင္းသားမ်ားကလည္ း ႏိုင္ငံျခားသားဆရာ
မ်ားႏွင့္ သင္ၾကားခြင့္ရ႐ွိ၍ ဝမ္းသာေပ်ာ္ ရႊင္ေနၾကပါသည္
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Level 3, Hospitality trainingမ်ားၿပီးဆံုးခဲ့ေသာ ေက် ာင္းသား/သူ ၁၀၀ဦးအတြက္ e.co
companyမွ ေပးအပ္ေသာ လက္ ေဆာင္မ်ားကို e.co companyကိုယ္ စား
#myMEproject မွ coordinatorႏွင့္ ဆရာ/ဆရာမမ်ားမွ ေပးအပ္ခဲ့ပါသည္ ။
- ရတနာ
- Morning Star
- စိတ္ တိုင္းက် ... See More
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#myMEproject သို႔ လုပ္အားေပးအျဖစ္ ေရာက္ ႐ွိေနၾကေသာ City University(Hong
Kong)မွ ေက် ာင္းသား/သူမ်ားက ဇူလိုင္လ၃၀ရက္ ေန႔က ဆည္ းဆာရိပ္ဘိုးဘြားရိပ္သာသို႔
အဖိုးအဖြားမ်ားေပ်ာ္ ရႊင္ေစရန္ သြားေရာက္ ၍ သီခ်င္းမ်ားျဖင့္ သီဆိုကျပေဖ်ာ္ ေျဖခဲ့ၾကပါတ
ယ္
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8/13/2017 The school bus bringing education for all
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/yangon/9358-the-school-bus-bringing-education-for-all.html 2/6
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The school bus bringing education
for all
By Fiona Macgregor | Sunday, 26 January 2014
With a rev and a jolt the small green bus – unremarkable except for
the pictures of smiling children on its sides – sets off into Yangon’s
rush-hour traffic.
A child sits in the first myMe classroom bus on January 18. (Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar
Times)
The vehicle belongs to the Myanmar Mobile Education Project, or myME, and
as it makes its way through the busy streets towards a large teashop in the city
centre, 60 or so excited boys and young men are already gathering at the
tables. They have been waiting on all day, preparing themselves for its arrival.
Among them is 13-year-old Ko Thet Myo Thet. Earlier this month he was sent
by his parents from his home village in the Ayeyarwady delta to work in a
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by his parents from his home village in the Ayeyarwady delta to work in a
Yangon teashop because they could no longer afford to send him to school.
He is a solidly built boy but his round-face, streaked with thanaka, cannot hide
his nervousness at being in such new surroundings. His words are halting and
even when he laughs he looks as if he could start crying at any moment.
“I’d finished fifth grade when I had to leave school to come here,” he eventually
says.
“I was so sad when I had to leave school. I wanted to become a nurse when I
grew up.”
Ko Thet Myo Thet is waiting for the bus to arrive so he can continue his
interrupted education. The vehicle is a mobile classroom, part of a new
initiative aimed at bringing the school to young teashop workers who miss out
on education because poverty has forced them into the workforce at a young
age.
“I don’t know the words to describe the feeling inside me when I found out I
was going to be able to start studying again,” he says, explaining how his eyes
filled with tears when he was asked if he wanted to continue his education with
myME.
Sitting aboard the bus, at the specially constructed wooden tables and benches
where the students attend classes, are project founder and director Tim Aye
Hardy, its full-time teacher, Daw Margaret Kim, and a volunteer assistant
teacher, Ma Win Kyu Kyu.
Mr Aye Hardy, a former 88 Generation student and human rights activist who
left Myanmar in 1989, was living in New York last year when he came up with
the idea of offering teashop children in his homeland the chance to study by
bringing the school to them with specially converted buses. Together with a
group of friends in the US, he started fundraising and returned to Myanmar in
November to conduct a pilot project and get the first myME classroom bus on
the road.
If the vehicle is the epitome of innovative design – the door to the driver’s
compartment also serves as a white-board, the tables and benches can be easily
folded away for less formal sessions and cutely patterned curtains, tinted glass
and an insulated roof prevent the vehicle from overheating – but the sentiment
the project best embodies is hope.
All parties invited to transition workshop
Over 200,000 people displaced by floods
Thousands remain on the ‘no entry’ blacklist

myMe was officially launched in Yangon on January 18, four weeks after
classes began. So many young people had already signed up for the thrice-
weekly sessions in maths, Myanmar and English that the main classes are now
taking place in the teashops themselves after they close at 5.30pm. The bus
classroom, parked outside, is used for teaching those still learning the most
basic aspects of literacy and numeracy.
“We’d aimed for a total of about 60 pupils for this pilot stage, but that’s already
doubled to around 120,” says Mr Aye Hardy.
While most of the students are teenagers, this is not always the case. Ko Aye
Ko, a 22-year-old bus driver who left school when he was 10, is enrolled in the
English classes. Ko Aung Ko Oo, 24, is in the Myanmar class and appreciating
the chance to make up for some of the education he missed out on having been
sent to work as child. A heavy set man with large, broad features, he appears
out of scale to the small desks and benches in the bus as he practises writing
numbers in Myanmar. But he is grateful to be there – and glad his younger
colleagues will not have to reach adulthood unable to read or write, as he did.
“I left school when I was about seven or eight years old and was 14 when I
came to Yangon to work. I’ve run into challenges, of course, because I couldn’t
read and write. I worried that I wouldn’t know when people were taking
advantage of me. I never even dreamed that I’d be able to come back to
school,” he said.
Over in the teashop, Daw Margaret Kim and another volunteer teaching
assistant are giving lessons in geometry and rounding up numbers. The
concentration of the students is palpable. Despite there being more than 50 in
the class, and two different grades taking place simultaneously, everyone pays
attention to their own work or helps fellow students.
“I have been so impressed by how enthusiastic and keen to learn they all are,”
Margaret says.
The thousands of youngsters, mainly boys, who work from early morning to
late at night in the country’s popular teashops for as little as US$10 or $20 a
month, which is generally sent back to their families, are perhaps the most
visible illustration of Myanmar’s child-labour problems. Unlike Ko Aung Ko
Oo, most never get the chance to make up for what they missed out on in their
childhood.
The children reach the teashops in different ways. Some are already out of
school because of poverty and are keen to seek a life in the city and be able to

school because of poverty and are keen to seek a life in the city and be able to
earn money to send home to their families. Others are forced against their will
by relatives, or tricked by “brokers” into working in cities far from their homes.
Once they start in the teashop business, many never find their way back home.
“A lot of the employers lock the children in at night. In other cases brokers
move the young people from place to place, making a profit each time. Many of
the children I spoke to had no idea how to get back to their families, even if
they had the freedom to do so,” says Mr Aye Hardy.
The government is slowly moving to address the issue. On December 18, it
finally ratified the international Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention,
which commits it to preventing children being forced into slave-like conditions
and dangerous or damaging work.
But with many families struggling to get by and the practice of child labour so
widespread, Mr Aye Hardy believes the immediate priority should be to ensure
that those who do end up working in teashops and similar environments are
treated well and given the opportunity to access education.
He says he was lucky to have found for the pilot project a teashop owner who
already believed it was important for his young workers to receive an education
and has been striving to give them the best working conditions he can. But he
knows as the initiative expands others will take more convincing.
“It is not possible to end child labour overnight. There needs to be a cultural
shift and change in attitude,” says Mr Aye Hardy.
“Most people think it’s okay for the children to work and they are praised for
what they are doing for their parents. A lot of employers do treat the children
badly, beating them and shouting at them and paying them very little to work
16-hour days, but many people who use child workers think they are doing
something good by providing young people from very poor backgrounds with
food and shelter.
“That’s why it’s so important in this project that we bring the teashop owners
and parents on board so they can see that it is a positive thing for the children
and actually for their businesses too if the young people receive an education.”
Ultimately, he hopes myME can help those who want to return to school get
back into the formal system.

“If they don’t want to, we will help them with life skills,” he said. “This is a
long-term commitment.”
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8/13/2017 Driving education to Myanmar’s teashops | Red Bull Amaphiko - Connect, Enable & Engage
https://amaphiko.redbull.com/en/magazine/driving-education-to-myanmar-s-teashops 2/12
By Oliver Slow on November 16th, 2016
Photography: Lauren De Cicca
Shortly after closing time at a bustling Yangon restaurant, the tables are pushed
aside to make way for a white-board, around which a semi-circle of chairs is made
for students to sit in.
The students – most of them restaurant employees – are being taught about civil
rights.
In an upstairs room, some younger students are learning about personal hygiene.
The “classroom” is boisterous, as one might expect of a room full of teenage boys,
but the teacher has the students under control and engaged in the topic.
The classes are being led by the Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME), which
provides free education to some of the country’s most under-privileged children.
Most of the students are employees at the country’s thousands of tea shops.
Driving education to Myanmar’s
teashops
Menu

Burmese children circle up for a lesson after a long day working at the teashop.
Su Han Mo Aung started teaching with myME three months ago, having previously
worked at a privately-run school.
“In the village I come from, many people could not afford an education. I always
wanted to teach, but I especially wanted to teach people who have less
opportunities,” she said.
Menu

Even though public education is free in Myanmar, there are costs incurred including
uniforms, books and stationery. Many children work instead of going to school
despite their country being the fastest-growing economy in the world.
You have to meet students where they are. myMe's students are too busy working to go to school, so class is held in
the teashops that employ them.
One myME student is Myo Zin, 17. Originally from a village in central Myanmar, he
moved to Yangon to ﬁnd work so that he could send money home to his family.
Menu

“I like the classes because they teach me new skills. I hope the skills I learn can
help me in the future to earn more money that I can send home to my family,” he
said.
myME was established by Tim Aye-Hardy in 2014. At the time it had one teacher, a
few dozen children and a handful of classrooms. Today there are more than 3,000
students nationwide and 100 staff.
Aye-Hardy left Myanmar for the United States in 1989. When he returned in 2013, he
was planning to establish his own consultancy company but instead decided to do
something about the volume of young children with no access to education.
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Hands-on learning activities are a must for kids who don't have access to education..
“We saw that these kids couldn’t go to school, so we thought why not bring the
school to them?” said Aye-Hardy. Through crowdfunding, myME bought some buses,
which they renovated into small classrooms and drove around the city, teaching
classes on the side of the street. Today, some classes are held on the buses, while
others take place at the tea shops that have more space.
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“The main thing we are focussing on is these kids’ self-esteem,” said Aye-Hardy.
“Many of them come from poor communities where abuses happen, or they work in
an environment where they get shouted at a lot. So in our classes we really try to
build up their conﬁdence.”
Tim Aye-Hardy started myME in 2014 with one employee. Now, myME has 100. .
As well as plans to expand its programs geographically – it is currently present in ﬁve
cities – myME is planning to introduce a phone application called “myME Box.” The
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app will have the programs’ curriculums, as well as access to textbooks and online
news, so the children can learn in their own time.
“After that, the next step is to train people in local communities about our teaching
methodologies and providing materials. In the future, we hope people can start
their own myME classes in their own communities,” said Aye-Hardy.
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8/13/2017 Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME) Annual Benefit Tickets, Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/myanmar-mobile-education-project-myme-annual-benefit-tickets-32709205113# 1/7
by myME Team
Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME) Annual Beneﬁt
APR
13
$60 – $120
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 DATE AND TIME
Thu, April 13, 2017
7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
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 LOCATION
HGU Hotel in New York
34 East 32nd Street
Hotel Lounge
New York, NY 10016
United States
View Map
 FRIENDS WHO ARE GOING
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 DESCRIPTION
JOIN US TO CELEBRATE HOW FAR WE’VE COME, AND HELP SUPPORT HOW
FAR WE HOPE TO GO!
myME Co-Founder and Executive Director Tim Aye-Hardy (Tin Maung Maung Aye) will be visiting from
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 
Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME) Annual Be…
Thu, April 13, 2017, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
DETAILS

Myanmar (Burma) to share with us what myME has been doing for working and out-of-school children in
Myanmar, providing them with free education, community and hope.
The myME Project is the first mobile education solution in Myanmar. While we are not the first to use non-
formal education, we are the first to bring it to child laborers.
ABOUT THIS EVENT
We will screen the short documentary film (15 min), Steep Education, which follows one child laborer in
Myanmar back to his village for a surprise visit with family. The film offers an intimate look at what life looks
like for a 13-year old boy who is the sole means of financial support for his parents and 6 siblings.
We will also have a photo exhibit showing our myME students in class, in community, and at work--providing
a stark contrast to the protagonist of the film, who is not enrolled in the myME program. While it is easy to
understand the educational benefits of free non-formal education to child workers, the additional benefits
of providing a safe and caring community for them is an essential part of myme's unique program.
Light finger food will be provided and there will be a cash bar. This event will be held in a beautiful and
intimate setting—in the lounge of the HGU Hotel in Nomad.
There will be an auction of special, one-of-a-kind items from Myanmar as well as the sale of the exhibition
photos—all proceeds for both will go directly to myME.
TICKETS
All ticket proceeds go directly to sustain and educate myME student workers in the following ways:
$60 provides class and community to one student for 6 months
$120 provides class and community to one student for one year
We hope you will join us, but if unable to attend, you can still help support the student workers of myME by
donating on our website (www.mymeproject.org)--or by sharing this invite with your friends. All donations
above $75 are tax deductible. There will be an opportunity to donate any amount you wish at the event.
If you would like to be part of our myME event host commitee, or have an item you wish to donate, please
contact Matt Namer: matt@alfadm.com

 TAGS
Things To Do In New York, NY Other Charity & Causes

contact Matt Namer: matt@alfadm.com
MORE ON MYME
myME provides functional literacy and vocational skills in a fun and safe environment where children can
regain their self-esteem and self-confidence and be a part of a caring community, while learning new
vocational skills for better future for themselves and their families.
We started the pilot program with 60 kids in 2 teashops in early 2014. Less than three years later, myME
currently has 3,000 students enrolled from teashops, monastic schools, and underprivileged communities
in Yangon, Mandalay, and several other townships in Myanmar. We currently employ a staff of 60, including
all local Burmese teachers and coordinators and 5 mobile classroom buses.
Approximately 10,000 working and out-of-school children have benefitted from myME project (with an 87%
attendance rate) since its inception in early 2014.
In Myanmar, according to 2014 census data, there are 5.09 million children between ages 5-18 who are not
enrolled in school. myME provides free literacy, numeracy, life-skills and vocational subjects along with
computer classes to working teashop children after their working day is done, while not depriving them or
their families of the income that the children earn from teashop work (and that their families so desperately
need).
Visit us or make a donation at myme: myanmar mobile education project
SHARE WITH FRIENDS


DATE AND TIME
Thu, April 13, 2017
7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
Add to Calendar
LOCATION
34 East 32nd Street
Hotel Lounge
New York, NY 10016
United States
View Map
FRIENDS WHO ARE GOING
Connect to Facebook

myME Team
Organizer of Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME) Annual Beneﬁt
mymeproject
PROFILE CONTACT

Map data ©2017 GoogleReport a map error
Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME) Annual Beneﬁt
at
34 East 32nd Street Hotel Lounge, New York, NY 10016, United States
   

8/13/2017 Myanmar Mobile Project Helps Lift Young Workers Out of Poverty
https://www.voanews.com/a/myanmar-classroom-mobile-education/3920948.html 1/4
ASIA
Myanmar Mobile Project Helps Lift Young
Workers Out of Poverty
June 29, 2017 8:51 AM Dave Grunebaum
YANGON — It’s six o’clock in the evening, Saw Ku Do reviews his English lessons
shortly after ﬁnishing an 11-hour shift serving food and sweeping the ﬂoor at the tea
shop where he works.
“Dog, cat, pig,” he said while looking at his notebook.
Saw Ku Do, age 15, only has a second grade education. He dropped out of school to go
to work to help support his family. He says his parents are day laborers and struggle
to take care of their six children.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to stay in school but I felt sorry for my parents,” Saw Ku
Do said. “When we are broke we have to borrow money and have to repay with
interest so it’s very di cult.”
Saw Ku Do says he gets one day o every other week and makes the equivalent of
about 60 U.S. dollars per month. He sends most of that money home to his parents
who live in a village about eight hours away from Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial
capital.
Myanmar Mobile Project Helps Lift Young Workers Out of Poverty

His story is a common one across Myanmar, also known as Burma, where more than
a quarter of the population is impoverished. One out of five children ages 10 to 17
goes to work instead of school to help support their families. Many of them move
away from small villages to work in tea shops in Myanmar’s cities. At night they
often sleep on top of tables in their tea shops or on a piece of cardboard that’s spread
out on the floor.
Child labor laws
Myanmar has laws prohibiting children under the age of 14 from working and until
16, they’re not allowed to work more than four-hours per day. However, enforcement
is lax.
But while these kids often left the classroom years ago, there’s a program that’s
bringing class to some of them.
It’s the Myanmar Mobile Education Project also known as myME. The program
teaches subjects including math and English plus vocational training in fields such as
hospitality and tailoring. Three nights a week, Saw Ku Do’s tea shop is converted into
a makeshift classroom. “I hope to improve my education so I can have a better job,”
he said.
The goal of myME is to help these tea shop workers get an education and skills so
they’re not stuck in these low paying jobs for the rest of their lives. MyME trained
Naw Aye Aye Naing, 20, to be a tailor. She now works at a boutique clothing store
earning double what some tea shop workers make.

“MyME improved my life a lot,” she said.
The program’s executive director, Tim Aye-Hardy, is a Myanmar native who moved
to the United States in 1989.
“When I came back to this country in 2012 and ‘13, I started to notice a bunch of
young people who are on the streets at these tea shops, restaurants instead of in
school. That’s what really triggered me,” Aye-Hardy said. “I started asking
questions: Why are they not in school? Why are so many kids out there?”
Myanmar’s economy and education system were crippled during nearly 50 years of
military rule. The country has been undergoing political and economic changes
during the past several years.
Climbing out of poverty
MyME’s annual $200,000 budget comes from private donations. The program
teaches about 500 workers at 35 tea shops across Myanmar. But that’s just a small
fraction of the more than one-million child workers in this country.
“If we don’t help them they’ll never be able to climb out of this trap and then they
might be so poor that their kids will also have to quit school to work just like they
did,” Aye-Hardy said.
In Saw Ku Do’s English class, his teacher asks him what his favorite animal is. “It is a
cat,” he replies.

Saw Ku Do dreams of owning his own business when he’s older. He says he and his
coworkers feel lucky to be part of myME.
“If there’s no myME we will be stuck this way,” he said. “If we know more through
myME we can get a new job.”

MYANMAR MOBILE EDUCATION PROJECT-Reforming the country one Tea Shop child at a time

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