University Scholarships for Students from Burma

Dear friends of Thabyay Education Foundation,

Thabyay’s programs are designed to support students and key community and civil society workers. We help them to acquire the skills, knowledge, networks and assistance to foster self-directed, sustainable development in their communities and the wider society.

Thabyay’s university scholarships and student counseling contribute to this mission by enabling future leaders from marginalized communities to pursue high quality, relevant university education, and to access the networks and expertise required to participate effectively in the development of their communities upon graduation.

Partner Rewards Bonus Day:  July 16^th (US Eastern Time)

On July 16^th 2014 Global Giving will match any donations made to our project by 40% until matching funds run out. This is a great opportunity for your donation to go even further! Donate to University Scholarships for Students from Burma between 9:00am and 11:59pm (EDT) for your donation to be matched! This email marks the beginning of the Bonus Day - to see the event times in your location, please click here.

Where does your donation go?

Below is the story of Saw Nay Thura, who will begin university studies in Bangkok, Thailand in 2014 through our scholarship program.

After losing his mother to typhoid at the age of 9, Saw Nay Thura’s father sent him to live with another family where he could be better taken care of and continue to receive education. After a few years there, he attended boarding school with the financial support of both his father and his guardian family, and for the first time began to greatly succeed in his studies, achieving three distinctions in his final exams. Based on his grades, Saw Nay was accepted to medical school; however he could not attend as his father and guardians would not support him. Instead, he began volunteering with the YMCA in Mandalay and studying English via distance education.

In 2013, Saw Nay was selected for a scholarship to attend a university preparation program in Yangon. During the one year intensive program, Saw Nay also learned of the passing of his father. Despite his pain, Saw Nay continued to strive to reach his goals, and hopes his parents would be proud of him.

“I am trying to sustain my father’s gratitude on me by some ways instead of hopelessly mobbing or missing him every time, for instance, trying to become a graduated and sophisticated person who can symbolize and contribute to my community and my ethnicity.”

Saw Nay will study a Bachelor of International Relations and Development at Rangsit University in Bangkok on a fully funded scholarship. His career goal is to become an ambassador and develop Myanmar’s foreign affairs policies and practices as the country moves toward a democratic and internationally engaged state.

Please help us to continue to support students like Saw Nay to achieve their educational goals! Please donate online via GlobalGiving: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/university-scholarships-for-students-from-burma/

Best regards,

Katie Hodges

Program Manager, Scholarships and Student Support

• Project Update July 2014 (PDF)
  

Overview

We at Thabyay Education Network’s Arohana Scholarship Fund would like to extend our gratitude to all of you who have donated to our ‘University Scholarships for Students from Burma’ project on GlobalGiving. So far, we have raised a total of US$ 65,326 since the 1st September 2010 so we are well on our way to our target of US$ 99,000!

After the deduction of GlobalGiving administrative fees, we have now received a total of approximately US$ 62,455 in disbursements from GlobalGiving for the University Scholarships for Students from Burma project (funds are received over time in Thai Baht at different exchange rates, so USD figures can only be approximately calculated).

By the 6^th January 2014, we had disbursed approximately US$ 60,959 to scholarship awards.

Selection and awards 

Since the last report on 6^th January, the Arohana Scholarship Fund Committee has made two further awards totalling approximately US$ 1,485.

The total funds now raised by the ‘University Scholarships for Students from Burma’ project have therefore supported 51 awards enabling 40 students from marginalised communities across Burma to start or continue their Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD studies at universities across Asia.

The recipients of these awards comprise 20 women and 20 men, ranging in age from 19 to 51 (average age of approximately 24, representing nine ethnic groups, studying 30 different majors at 17 different universities in 5 countries across Asia).

The award recipients were as follows:

Recipient 1:

Name: Naing Lin

Age: 23

Sex: Male

Ethnicity: Shan

Subject Studied: Social Science

University: Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Award Amount: US$ 750

Award Type: Partial scholarship

Recipient 2:

Name: Yamin

Age: 23

Sex: Female

Ethnicity: Burman

Subject Studied: Social Science

University: Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Award Amount: US$ 735

Award Type: Partial scholarship

N.B. Names of award recipients have been changed to protect their identities.

Future Plans

The Arohana Scohlarship Fund remains committed to helping key community actors gain access to appropriate higher education to optimize their positive impact in Burma in key sectors including health care, education, community development, rights and media. The Arohana Scholarship Fund is currently waiting for further funds to be received from GlobalGiving before the Selection Committee meets to decide on further scholarship awards.

Closing Statement

We hope that this report shows clearly the potential of these scholarship recipients to become catalysts for incremental social change in Burma, and that you can appreciate the direct link between quality higher education and grassroots development in communities in Burma. We also hope that it demonstrates that even the smallest contribution of US$ 10 can make a difference in terms of keeping a Burmese scholarship student in university education.

We would like to reiterate our gratitude to all of you who have helped raise funds for this project by making donations and spreading the word. We hope that this report will inspire you to continue to support us in the future. The beneficiaries of these awards, the students, have individually expressed their gratitude to us for the support they have received. We would like to pass on their thanks to you.

If you have any questions about this report, or about our work, please do get in touch.

With our best wishes,

Katie Hodges

Program Manager, Scholarships and Student Support

Thabyay Education Network

Email: katieh@thabyay.org

Websites: www.thabyay.org

                 www.arohanascholarships.org

• GG report April 2014 (PDF)