On the 2nd September 2013, halfway through the second Bhamo Cruise of 2013 a visit was made to the Nursery School in the compound of the Kachin Baptist Church, Bhamo. Children are accepted between the ages of 3 and 5. There are two classrooms for children between the ages of 3 and 4 and two more for children between 4 and 5. Five teachers look after a total of 120 children and the school is open between 9.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. A donation of nutrition was made during the visit.
Nursery students being taught a poem (with 'actions') by their teacher.
The school uniforms for nursery students are white and blue.
There was also a visit to a Nunnery in Bhamo. The 84-year old head Nun founded a Monastic Primary School in her Nunnery Compound which is close to Shwe Kyee Ner Pagoda in old Bhamo. There are about 60 nuns who attending from Grade 1 to 10. Up to Grade 5 they go to the Monastic Primary School: beyond Grade 5, they take further studies outside the Nunnery at Government Secondary or High Schools. The head Nun also accepts students from a nearby refugee camp where children with their parents temporarily stay.
Nuns do not carry out any business themselves but receive donations from local people on pre-Sabbath day. The visit was on a pre-Sabbath day and so raw rice was donated to nuns as well as stationery to nun students and students from the Refugee Camp. The Nuns and teachers look after 114 students in the Nunnery Compound.
Student nuns receiving donations of raw rice.
Stationery, exercise books, pencils and rulers being distributed to students and student nuns in the Nunnery Compound.
The photographs above are from the set RTM Social Contribution.
Although I've not been to the Nursery and Nunnery described above, I have visited Bhamo in 2010 and 2012. My reports are The Second Defile, Thein Pa Taung Meditation Centre and Bhamo and Bhamo and trip to the foot of the Yunan Mountains (for 2010) and The Second Defile and Bhamo (for 2012).
