Mowbi School for the poor and future orphanage

The wall that we have donated money towards. It was only half finished because of spiraling cost I gave the sisters on your behalf another $1500 towards the completion of the wall.














The younger children sing and dance for me. One of them said to her friend isn't he very white.

The Children and the sisters

After lunch Sr Marie the Provincial, Sr Ann took me to see Mowbi where the sisters are trying to build a new school for the very poor villagers' children who cannot afford to send the children to pre-school. Last year we collected money for the wall that eventually will surround it and give the sister who is on her own at the present time some peace of mind. The village itself is very poor and life is a struggle for the majority of its inhabitants. The pictures always seem to nulify the poverty that these poor people have to put up with. The clothes they wear are very shabby indeed, especially the young boys. There is no running water in the village, all water comes from the village pump. Most of the families live in woven bamboo huts, usually just one large room. The whole thing does not look stable at all. Yet despite this the Children were very happy and lively. They were all there to meet me with their parents. I was very flattered and somewhat embarrassed when they started to clap and cheer when I got out of the car-van. I knew however it was not me they were clapping and cheering but the effort that the parishioners of Crowthorne and Sandhurst had put in to raise money and presents for them.

The sisters would eventually like to start an orphanage in Mowbi as there is a great need as the mortality rate among young parents is very high, and also many cannot afford to feed another mouth. Very few westerners venture into the out of the way villages, so do not see the poverty that is prelevant in most of Burma's countryside. Many villages that I travelled through were very very poor. The sisters like myself know that for a lot of these children the only way out of this poverty trap is through education. This is why the sisters have started a school here, and in our small way we are helping them in their mission of bringing the gospel of love to those who need it most. The sisters are very grateful for our contributions to their cause. I also think we should be thankful to them for giving us the oportunity to help them. They are working in a hostile climate and we should do everything we can to help them in their mission which is our mission also as we all belong to the one Body of Christ.

We left Mowbi after having a drink with a local Catholic who was preparing to move from that district as it was too unsafe. The long bumpy journey back tired out the sisters and we had our evening meal and I prepared for the early flight to Mandalay.