Photos: Sr Kathleen Coyle
Einstein village can hardly be called a village. It is a large, depressed slum area on the outskirts of the city of Yangon in Myanmar (formerly Burma). People live in abject poverty in hundreds of shanties, with neither water nor electricity. These shanties run along a muddy path that leads to the back wall of an ancient Buddhist monastery.
In 1964, when the military junta took over Myanmar, embassies, industries and factories were closed, jobs were lost, and families moved to villages like Einstein, where they set up temporary shelters made of four bamboo rods and a sack covering. These shacks soon became their homes. In these places, the men live in the hope of casual construction work, the women shift through garbage, collect discarded plastics, or sell food in the marketplace to provide for their children.
The nearest government school to Einstein is a 50-minute walk from the village. Pupils must provide their own uniforms and textbooks and pay a small annual fee.
The children of Einstein, who could not afford this meagre expense, did not go to school at all until Mary Man came along.
MARYS MAN'S COMMITMENT TO EINSTEIN
In 2003, Mary Man was in her senior year in college in Yangon when she saw a woman rummaging through a garbage bin. After an initial conversation, she accompanied her on the bus to Einstein, where she witnessed the devastating poverty of the area. When Mary graduated from college, she committed herself to educating these poverty-stricken children.
With a generous donation from Combined Services Third World Fund, Dublin, a more durable building was constructed from native materials. A brick foundation was added, and the gravel floor was cemented. A picture of the Buddha in the classroom assured the local leaders that we Christians were not building a church.
EINSTEIN EDUCATION CENTRE 2023
When Mary Man became director of the programme, she discovered that most of the children survived on only one meal a day. They needed nourishing food as well as education. With a generous donation from the Oblate Fathers, we began our Einstein Education Centre. Our goal was a nourishing snack for every child before class and a substantial meal at 3 pm before they went home.
A library with benches, books, and colourful charts was added, as well as a much-needed outdoor kitchen. Soon, the numbers increased, and over 300 children between the ages of three and nine years came every day for class and for food.
A BOWL FOR EVERY GRAN
Zaw, a six-year-old child, held on to his bowl but refused to eat. His grandmother had eaten nothing that day, and he wanted to share his dinner with her. To his delight, Mary Man gave him another bowl for his grandmother. By the end of the week, every Gran in Einstein was receiving a nourishing meal. That meant more chickens, more eggs, more rice, and more charcoal for the fire, so we went back with our begging bowls to our benefactors, who supported us generously for the next number of years.
As the school progressed, the children’s health improved from the nourishment they received. They spent most of the day in the library with its colourful charts and books or outside playing ball by the side of the school.
As the number of children in the school increased, so did the needs of the youth who had graduated. When Indra, a 16-year-old girl, needed work, Mary Man bought her a sewing machine and found a seamstress to teach her to sew. Indra, in turn, taught other teenagers, so another machine was bought for them.
It was noted that Tera, a 15-year-old girl, was missing from class. After many inquiries and a home visitation, Mary Man learned that Tera had been promised well-paid employment. Suspicious, she followed the trail of this story until Tera was found in a safe house being groomed for prostitution with other girls. Mary Man secretly rescued Tera and one other girl, but a young officer at the door would not allow them to leave. Mary talked to him briefly, and when she placed 100 kyats ($15.00) under his collar, he released the latch.
THE 2021 MILITARY COUP IN MYANMAR
In the 2021 military coup, leader Ang San Suu Kyi was sentenced to 33 years in jail. The military carried out a brutal, nationwide crackdown on the millions of people opposed to its rule. The junta security forces carried out mass killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence and other abuses that amount to crimes against humanity.
When the military took control, the youth took to the streets. Many were killed or ended up in prison. Unfortunately, the situation today continues to worsen, and many have left for Thailand or India. The destruction of churches and schools where people hide or seek shelter from the military continues today.
THE SAD DEMISE OF EINSTEIN SCHOOL
The fear and cruelty of the military was severely felt in Einstein. A few months ago, while Mary Man was preparing for class, several strong men came in, took her wallet and phone and ransacked the school, taking with them many of the school’s belongings, including the kitchen pots and pans. The writing was on the wall. Under the present military regime, classes and meals had to be cancelled; it was too dangerous to come to school or use its building. The first-ever Einstein primary school had to close. It was with great sadness that the parents received the news. How were they now going to educate and feed their children?
There was nothing left now for Mary to do but pack her few belongings. It was with a heavy heart that she walked down the muddy path along the local shanties to get a rickshaw to bring her to Yangon City. Her 20-year-old educational programme had come to an abrupt end.
Mary can take comfort in the fact that two generations of children in Einstein can read and write and find employment. Hopefully, they, in turn, will encourage their children to study.
Sr Kathleen Coyle and the Columban Sisters continue to work with Mary Man as she discerns her future.
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - June 2025
