Books Beyond Borders Continues

For children who have fled Myanmar, reaching safety does not end the challenges they face. Families must find ways to meet their daily needs, while children try to continue their education in unfamiliar surroundings. Even notebooks and pencils can become difficult to afford.

With your support, the third phase of Better Burma’s Books Beyond Borders project provided education kits to 200 refugee students and essential supplies to five community-run schools in Mizoram, India. This assistance helped ease expenses for displaced families and supported the teachers working to keep children learning.

Helping Children Stay in School

Conflict and insecurity continue to push families from Myanmar into communities along the Indian border. Among those arriving are children as young as ten, some staying with relatives or within refugee communities after leaving their villages.

Community-run schools offer children a place to learn and regain a familiar routine. But as more students arrive, these schools must accommodate them with limited resources. Many depend on volunteer teachers who continue teaching despite receiving little financial or material support.

Books Beyond Borders responds to some of these immediate needs. In this phase, 20 students in Laki Refugee Camp and 180 students in Tuidang Refugee Camp received individual education kits. Each kit contained five exercise books, five pens, three pencils, two erasers, two sharpeners, and a pencil pouch.

These everyday materials help children take part in lessons and complete their schoolwork, while giving parents one fewer expense to worry about.

Supporting the Schools Around Them

Children also need schools that have the materials to teach them. Alongside the student kits, this phase provided A4 paper and marker or printer ink to schools in Zyhno, Laki, Khaikhy, Lopu, and Tuidang refugee camps.

These supplies support the preparation of learning materials, printing, and routine school documentation. Local school representatives, camp focal persons, and volunteers helped identify recipients, receive the materials, and organize their distribution.

Their involvement ensured that the assistance reached the intended students and schools according to the needs identified in each community.

The Hopes Families Hold

For parents without regular incomes, providing school supplies can be difficult alongside the cost of food and other necessities. Yet their hopes for their children remain strong.

One parent in Tuidang Camp shared:

“We may not have much to give our children today, but we still have dreams for them.”

A high school student representative described the importance of continuing to learn:

“Even when things are difficult, I want to continue studying so that one day I can support my parents and do something useful for my community.”

Their words remind us why continued educational support matters. Children are thinking about their futures, even while their families face uncertainty today.

Thank you for helping make this phase of Books Beyond Borders possible. Your generosity has placed learning materials in children’s hands and supported the community schools helping them continue their education.

Please consider supporting Better Burma’s humanitarian work so we can continue responding to the needs of displaced children and their communities.