Number 100: On Ma Ti Elementary School

In support of children living in remote regions of Myanmar, who lack adequate access to educational opportunities, the Nippon Foundation has for five years been building new elementary schools in the country.

The 100th school - On Ma Ti Elementary School - was recently completed in Shan state, in the north of Myanmar. An opening ceremony was held for the school on the 23rd of this month, with Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, in attendance.

Well-known as a multiethnic nation, the remote regions of the nation are home to a large number of ethnic minorities. With limited arable land, these areas have low income levels and few schools. Many school-age children have no access to education. The Nippon
Foundation, which has provided support for building schools in developing countries around the world, responded to this problem in 2002, by providing financial support for school construction through Saetanar, a local nonprofit organization.

At the opening of the 100th school, Chairman Sasakawa underscored the importance of village cooperation in children's education. "This school was completed thanks to the efforts of local people--particularly the efforts of the parents, whose goal is to provide their children with an education. This project will serve as a model for school construction around the world." Children will begin to attend the school this June, at the start of the Myanmar school year.