Education (lack thereof) in Myanmar

Myanmar (Burma) is among one of the poorest countries in the World. There is an absence of clean water, electricity, and internet. Commuting between villages are impassable and unsafe during all seasons, while most travel by foot. Health care is limited and not easily accessible, while averaging 8240 deaths per year. The government has an annual budget allocated to education of 1.2% per year. Because many villages lack school, children often have limited or no access to education, condemning them to the uncertain fate of survival though subsistence farming or, more alarming, to human trafficking.

About the Speaker

Paw K’ Boh is 23 years old and the youngest of six siblings. She was born and raised in a refugee camp on the border of Myanmar and Thailand. In 2007, at the age of 10, she and her family were sponsored by the Canadian government to move to BC. Today, she is a student at theUniversity of the Fraser Valley, and in her last year of pursuing a Bachelor of Child and Youth Care. Her interests: being out in the outdoors, watching sports games, and spending time with family and friends.