H.E. Mr. Ichiro MARUYAMA, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and each representative of recipient organizations from Ayeyarwady Region, Bago Region, Kachin State, and Magway Region signed grant contracts for the following four projects on 15 March 2019. The Government of Japan, under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Scheme, will provide a total of US $ 636,623 as follows:

1. The Project for Construction of Gaung Paung Hpyu Village Basic Education Middle School in Wakema Township, Ayeyarwady Region (US $ 164,655);
2. The Project for Construction of Say Yoe Khin Village Basic Education Branch High School in Kyauktaga Township, Bago Region (US $ 167,357);
3. The Project for Construction of Vocational Training Center in Myitkyina Township, Kachin State (US $ 177,142); and
4. The Project for Construction of Taung Sone Village Basic Education Branch Middle School in Myaing Township, Magway Region (US $ 127,469).

The two buildings used in Gaung Paung Hpyu Village Basic Education Middle School have a number of cracks on the wall and are severely deteriorated. The school lacks sufficient space for the students as building No.2 which has a capacity of two grades is used by students of four grades. In addition, there is a shortage of furniture such as desks and chairs. In order to provide an appropriate educational environment, the Government of Japan will provide assistance for construction of a two-story reinforced concrete building with 8 classrooms and full furniture. The project will benefit 257 students and 12 teachers in the school.

Say Yoe Khin Village Basic Education Branch High School is the only branch high school in this area and the number of students has increased approximately by 100 in the past three years. As a result, students are crammed in to two temporary buildings without sufficient space to study. These temporary huts are structured poorly and classes often stop during rainy season. In order to solve these issues, the Government of Japan will provide assistance for construction of a two-story reinforced concrete building with 10 classrooms and full furniture. The project will benefit 771 students and 25 teachers in the school.

The existing building of the Vocational Training Center in Myitkyina is weak in its structure and classes are often cancelled during rainy season. In addition, as classrooms are insufficient,s each course can only hold one or two training sessions per year. The storage room for growing seeds is also used as a library, however, the growth of the seeds is affected by dust and fungus on old books. In order to tackle this issues, the Government of Japan will provide assistance for constructing a two-story reinforced concrete building including 6 classrooms, laboratory, staff room, student support center, reception, library, storage and lavatories. The project will benefit 620 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and youths in this area.

The building of Taung Sone Village Basic Education Branch Middle School which was built in 1985 has deteriorated over the years. Some places have been repaired with bamboo. However, students are put under a harsh environment with heavy rain and wind gushes into the classrooms during rainy season. Moreover, students of six grades are placed in one big hall with just simple partitions to separate the class so the students are often interrupted by noise. In order to provide an appropriate studying environment, the Government of Japan will provide assistance for construction of a two-story reinforced concrete building with 6 classrooms and full furniture. The project will benefit 155 students and 11 teachers in the school.

The Government of Japan has assisted 904 grass-roots projects in Myanmar under the GGP scheme since 1993, including 467 education projects, 200 healthcare projects, 140 public welfare and environment projects, 61 infrastructure projects and 36 others. This assistance is expected to further strengthen the existing friendly relations between Japan and Myanmar.