Projektassistents Moet Moet (r.) and Pyo
Six questions posed to project assistant Moet Moet Hlaing
Together with the office manager, Wing Aung, she keeps in touch with the schools, informs the teachers about the project “glasses for children” and cooperates with the second project assistant Pyo whenever minor or major problems arise during the eye-check, in other words: without Moet Moet Hlaing, the project would only be half as successful.
Moet Moet, which task did you assume in the project?
Before we go out to one of the schools, I first clarify the working conditions. We need a small, darkened room for the screenings and daylight for the near and distance tests. For the examination, I fetch the children from the classrooms, together with Pyo, fill in the test forms and assist Sabine and Thomas by translating when necessary and by helping them with the tests.
Do you like this work?
I really enjoy working with them and the pupils. Eye tests for children are not common here at all and for me, taking part in them is a very special experience. I am very happy for the children that the HIT-Foundation Hamburg and the “Förderverein Mynamar” give them this chance. I also appreciate the positive atmosphere in the team: we help each other and laugh a lot.
How did you get in touch with the project?
U Nayaka, the principal of our Phaung Daw Oo Monastary High School (PDO), was looking for a helper who knew the place and language and could support Sabine and Thomas in their work. I had never done anything like this before, but I was very interested in the project, and everybody agreed. It was me who spoke to Phjo, and she wanted to join us. What I really like about the project is that the individual tasks are very clear, so everybody knows exactly what to do.
What else do you do at PDO and what are your plans for the future?
I have got my degree in English here and now, I coordinate the work of volunteers at PDO. Apart from that, I organize meetings for my principal and for the other monks. I am hoping to do a traineeship in psychology.
Which part of Myanmar do you originally come from?
I am from a very small village by the river Irrawaddy where people have just solar energy. There, most young people get married at the age of 16 or 17, before they have any vocational training. In 2013, I spent 3 months in Yangon where I was responsible for the physical check of the goods in a clothing factory. But the job didn’t suit me. Through my uncle, I came to Mandalay and studied economics before I got the chance to study at PDO and work for U Nayaka.
5.12.2017 Thomas Kosinski Übersetzung: Doris Shokat
Moet Moet notes names and other data in the screening sheets.
Projektassistent Moet Moet Hlaing
Whenever help is needed Moet Moet is there
The project implies high logistical expenses which we want to tackle together and which need a lot of financial support. We have set up a Paypal donation button on our project website. If you donate through Paypal, you automatically get a donation receipt because we know your address. If you send your donation to the regular bank account of our association, you have to indicate “children’s glasses” as the reason for payment and include your address, so we can issue a donation receipt.
We thank the donors who enable young people at the beginning of their school career to have the same chances, without any visual learning disability, as those who have no debility of sight, and all this completely free of charge for those whose glasses are “pescribed”.
Here, we will inform you – at least once a week – about the progress of the project
