More Than A Tourist

Books For Kids....

I was in Myanmar last year and had a great opportunity which I definitely think you all should make use of.

There is a local NGO that has developed a whole bunch of lovely childrens books that UNICEF has actually considered to be model books for kids. These books are for kids from maybe 4-7year old or so. The books help to teach the children to read, but more importantly they also teach the child's caregiver how to best take care of the child. For example one of the books is all about a wonderful father taking great care of his kid. This gives dad's the idea of how they should be taking care of their kid as well, instead of just leaving it to the mother. Also in the books are hygeine, nutrition and other aspects of child-raising. They are also done by Burmese so the stories are culturally aware and promote traditional foods for kids.

Anyway, what happened was I was given a bunch of these books before my trip to Mrauk-U (which is perhaps one of the poorest most unreached areas of Myanmar, and up past there into Chin state as well). I was able to give these books out to kids who were hanging around hoping for a donation of a pen or candy or something. The great thing about these books is that they last, they can be read over and over again, and they can be shared. They can be shared with one or 40 kids, no problem. And they teach the parents too.

Also buying the books from the local shop in Yangon that sells them-Shwe Yone Kalay Shop (translating as "little golden rabbit") helps this local-grassroots NGO as well.

To me this is a great way to be more than just a tourist.

If you are interested in directions to Shwe Yone Kalay please have a look at Books For kids

The shop is in Yangon

Have fun in Myanmar! I love Myanmar so much, the people are so wonderful. For anyone going to Myanmar I wouldn't bother going to Ngapali anymore. The prices are out of control and mostly controlled by people you don't want your money going to. If you really need a beach just go back to Thailand.

Go to Mrauk-U-it is worth the effort to get there. Go to Kalaw. Avoid going to those places that are mostly just for tourists. Yangon is actually a great city to just walk around. So much going on there and such great markets!!!

Hella D

Thats a nice post....I heard about this too..

Ngapali is getting NUTS, but the old and sleepy Nagapli Resort is a value and a great option, as you do not need a pool, the ocean is a pure delight in Dec-Jan.

It also is a refreshing reprieve from the often polluted and noisy larger cities, and the food is a real gem, skewers of BBQ Squid with spicy pepper sauces, and cheap beer, make it a treat.

You can scrounge up local flavor and cunlture, by heading to the south end of town, a nice fishing village, and cool wooden bunglelows are the homes, with Badmitton a village sport. Just take a bike ride in the morning, and enjoy...

It is rather over the top ina country with such poverty, and spending that the money here is out of touch so to speak, on that point I agree...

I loved Myanmar as well. The country made me cry, for the hearts of the people.

those sound like great books to share... thanks for the info!

but i was sad to hear that you had given them out to kids looking for a "one pen" donation. i know people feel differently about this, but i think that giving anything to a child who asks for "one pen" or "bon-bon" is a bad thing. i'm sure that the floodgates are about to open in regards to this in myanmar, and encouraging kids to beg is just not a good way for tourism to impact a country. it's hard to argue that a book can be a bad thing to give a needy child --- but it's along the same lines of vastly overpaying a rickshaw driver or giving a begger the equivilant of three months earnings. it just throws things out of balance and reinforces an unequal relationship. in my opinion, better to give the books or pens directly to a local school, charitable organization, village elder, the parents, etc...