I'd been invited to join the team from Pencils for Kids, Inc. distributing backpacks with uniforms/robes and items of stationery at two Nunneries in the Yangon area.
Pencils for Kids, Inc. was founded by Retta Jitner, the current President, in 2007. It operates in Myanmar, Bali and Thailand.
The Doctor, Emily and I met Retta, accompanied by four American ladies from her group, at their hotel the Belmond Governor's Residence. Since they were generally wearing blue polo shirts with the 'Pencils for Kids' logo and white baseball caps also with the 'Pencils for Kids' logo, they looked quite impressive. Doctor Hla Tun was similarly attired but Emily and I were in plain T-shirts with longyi. We travelled in an air conditioned coach with driver, assistant and two local guides. A small pick-up truck with seats followed with the actual items to be distributed.
'Pencils for Kids' team at the Belmond Governor's Residence, Yangon (Retta was taking her own photograph of the group).
Retta at Syriam Nunnery.
In the morning about 200 sets of backpacks (with 'Pencils for Kids' logo), uniforms/robes and items of stationery were distributed at the Syriam Nunnery.
The 'Group Shot'.
After lunch in a private dining room at a nearby restaurant, we drove a little further out of the city to a smaller Nunnery. The approach road was too narrow for the coach so we travelled the last few hundred yards in the pick-up truck.
The young nuns sang for their visitors.
After the presentations, the 'Group Shot'.
The 'Pencils for Kids' team.
The coach drove us all back to Yangon and we said 'good bye' to our friends from 'Pencils for Kids'.
Go to next post on this trip.
All my posts describing this trip to Myanmar can be found here.
My pictures
The following albums (on Flickr) hold pictures relevant to this post:-
'Pencils for Kids' at the Syriam Nunnery, Yangon.
'Pencils for Kids' at a Yangon nunnery.
Around Yangon, 2015.
All my albums for this trip (except purely 'technical' ones) can be found here.
[Text amended and pictures added 31-May-2015]
