While the published numbers of confirmed cases of Covid 19 in Myanmar are low, it is to be expected that the disease will spread in Myanmar as it has elsewhere.  The government is taking precautions such as cancelling public festivals, spacing queueing places at official buildings, and building temporary hospitals.  A programme of support for poor families has been announced too, though implementation is, as yet, not consistent.

 The families of our students are typically, illiterate, landless, with precarious health, and work for daily payment as labourers.  They are among the poorest in Myanmar and, with child earnings contributing significantly to family income, we are acutely aware of their vulnerability both to economic disruption, and the impact of the Corona virus.  There is no welfare state and so if a parent falls ill or dies it becomes all the harder for the family keep their children in education.

 As to our response, PALM (formerly H4SS):

• prepared health education materials and using parent education sessions to emphasise the importance of social distancing and washing,
• trained children to wash their hands in the WHO-approved way (see the video to the right->),
• arranged for the social work we do to continue safely,
• provided food and hygiene hampers which include soap, tissues, protective equipment (as available), and staple foods, in some cases delivered to children's homes. 

 We have a social work bursary to cover health problems, house repair etc, and S4SK will be boosting this to cover additional medical bills and help impoverished families survive.

 The Learning Centre is key to ensuring that our students can achieve long enough in education to make a real difference to their careers.  It provides them with somewhere to live and study without the pressure of earning at the same time.  To keep students as safe as possible we have used the last weeks of the school year to raise awareness of the pandemic, and promote good habits of personal hygiene among students. 

 If you have not done so already, please take the time to view the two short films on our homepage at: www.s4sk.org.uk, which show the stories of the some of our students and their families and also give an insight into our classes and the wonderful relationships the teachers have with the children and their families.