Off to help kids in Burma

Bon voyage: Katie Andersen and Angela Colson left for Burma yesterday to begin improving the quality of early childhood education. Picture: Helen Nezdropa.

http://stgeorge.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/off-to-help-kids-in-burma/1457833.aspx

BY ALICIA WOOD
12/03/2009 5:08:00 PM
REBUILDING a community after a natural disaster is no easy task. Gymea businesswoman Angela Colson said Burmese residents are still reeling from Cyclone Nargis that devastated the region in May last year.
Ms Colson has worked with the Burmese community for five years, and co-ordinated an emergency relief collection after the cyclone struck.

She travelled on March 4 back to the cyclone-ravaged region with her friend, Katie Andersen, to help improve the quality of early childhood education.



Ms Andersen, an early childhood educator, and Ms Colson will meet with staff from orphanages and day-care centres to assess their level of training. "We want it to be a collaborative effort,'' Ms Colson said.

"We are hoping to create a program that empowers them to use their existing knowledge in an educational way,'' Ms Andersen said.

After the 10-day trip, the pair plan to return to Australia to create a training program for staff in orphanages and day- care centres. They will then travel back to Burma to work with staff to develop it, with their goal being an overall improvement in the quality of education for young children.

"The context is very complicated politically, and we are hearing there is an ongoing need, and ongoing health concerns, but we are just working in small areas and doing what we can,'' Ms Colson said.