Projects
Education program
Educational grants to primary school students. Grants have been given to about 300 Wachet primary school students annually since 1997. Many families in the village cannot afford to let their children take time off from working to attend school, much less afford school supplies and uniforms. MettaDana grants give these children the opportunity to learn reading and writing. Since the grants began, the number of primary school children has doubled. Honoraria are also given to teachers, who are not paid a living wage.
New Wachet primary school. The previous school flooded during the rainy season and sometimes could not be used for months. The new school, completed in 2003, has two solid classroom buildings on high ground. It also has a new reservoir to serve the students and neighbourhood, as well as a basic athletic field and gardens.
Living supplements for nun-students. MettaDana has provided modest living supplements for about 100 nuns annually since 1997 in support of their Pali studies. These nuns live in three nunneries near Kyaswa Monastery and Wachet Village.
New nunnery-primary school building. MettaDana provided funds toward the construction of a nunnery-primary school building at Sasana Gon-Yee Nunnery in a northern suburb of Yangon. The area is poor and has very few primary school opportunities for local children.
Medical program
Staff support and training. Staff support and training at the Wachet Jivitadana Sangha Hospital is a priority of MettaDana. The hospital is a charitable institution: care for monks and nuns is provided freely by volunteer doctors, but staff support, medicines and supplies depend on donations. We provide living supplements to more than 40 staff members at the hospital. We also supported the education of a number of nurse-assistants and now fund the further training of several of them to become registered nurses. MettaDana also has supported technical staff training in radiology and laboratory skills, and clerical staff training in computer, English-language, and accounting skills. We recently arranged for an extensive public health training program dealing with HIV-AIDS, conducted by the Burnet Institute of Australia.
Surgery. A Japanese general surgical team, Japan Heart International, and an Australian opthalmology team volunteer their services at the hospital several times each year. MettaDana initiated a blood donation program for surgical patients. MettaDana's medical director, an anaesthesiologist, participates in these operations, and MettaDana also provides the anaesthetic agents and gases.
Anti-TB program. MettaDana arranged for medicines from the Mandalay Anti-TB zone and, as of 2005, from Population Services International. In the past, we conducted training seminars in TB-related public health procedures for hospital staff and initiated more rigorous TB-related treatment and record-keeping.
Acupuncture program. MettaDana volunteers have provided acupuncture training to a group of Myanmar traditional medicine practitioners annually since 1998. Each Wednesday and Saturday, the team gives acupuncture treatment in Wachet. MettaDana funds are used for transportation and miscellaneous supplies, as well as translation of technical literature to compile a Burmese acupuncture handbook.
Miscellaneous equipment and supplies. In the past, we provided a dental x-ray machine and related supplies, as well as frequent donations for medicines.
Basic medical care for nuns. MettaDana donations have supported basic medicines and medical supplies for 100 nuns in the Sagaing Hills.
Outreach program. MettaDana helps to support the visits of volunteer physicians to outlying monasteries and poor villages that rarely receive medical attention.
Other activities
Support for traditional culture. MettaDana organized the restoration of the tomb and shrine of Mekin, a 19th century nun who had a teaching centre in the valley adjacent to Kyaswa Monastery and was widely known for her teaching ability and meditation mastery. We also recently restored two magnificent chinthe near the hospital, the mythical lion-like animals that traditionally guard the entrance to pagodas.
Infrastructure. In our early years, MettaDana made extensive contributions to repair the road between Sagaing town and the remote part of the Hills where we operate. Previously, the road was frequently impassable in the rainy season and the monastery accessible only by boat. A new pumping system was installed to distribute river water to monastery and hospital reservoirs, and these antiquated reservoirs were themselves overhauled.
Tsunami relief. MettaDana is engaged in helping Burmese migrant workers who are living in tsunami-affected areas of southern Thailand. In particular, we have contributed to educational centers for children of migrant workers set up in the coastal area of Takua Pa District, Pang Nga Province.
