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MPT “Lighting The Way Forward” Reaches Monastic Education Schools In Northern Shan State

Published 05 Apr 2016

Solar Lantern Donation Initiative to Help Underprivileged Students Also Expands to Eastern Shan, Southern Shan, Kayah, Kachin And Chin States

(Huy Lork Village, Northern Shan State, 5th April, 2016) – MPT, Myanmar’s first and leading telecommunications operator, held a donation ceremony for the distribution of solar units to Huy Lork Village’s monastic school near Lashio, recently in conjunction with its contribution of 79 solar lanterns designed to provide light and electricity to underequipped monastic schools in Northern Shan State. As part of the latest distribution phase of the national “Lighting The Way Forward” rollout of solar donations, the total of 239 solar units are also scheduled to be set up in schools in Eastern Shan, Southern Shan, Kayah, Kachin and Chin States to help improve students’ learning experience.

Speaking from scenic Huy Lork Village, vulnerable Sayardaw a shin “Sasana” send his appreciation for the donation and the positive difference it will make in students’ lives. “Many schools in the area and surrounding regions lack basic amenities such as electricity and of course lights which makes it difficult when it gets dark in the evenings or during poor weather. With the solar lanterns, we are now able to provide a brighter and more conducive educational environment to help the underprivileged students here thrive in their studies,” said Sayardaw.

This donation follows MPT’s distribution of more than 800 solar lanterns to monastic schools that do not have electricity in Mandalay, Sagaing, Magway and Yangon regions on February and earlier of March. Through “Lighting The Way Forward”, MPT is committed to bring a total of more than 2,000 solar lanterns to help about 58,000 underprivileged students in 632 schools nationwide study in brighter classrooms this year.  MPT’s ongoing rollout was made possible by the generous contributions of MPT customers who successfully made their bids at the recent MPT Vanity Numbers Auction in December 2015, which raised Ks 292.7 Million in funds for the cause.

The solar lanterns are products of Panasonic known as “Eneloop Solar Storage” units. Each of these easy-to-use units come equipped with a solar panel and storage battery which are able to collect and store solar energy during the day. The stored energy can then be used to power two light-emitting diodes (LED) lights at night or during low-light conditions such as poor weather. Each unit can function up to 24 hours depending on use on a single six-hour charge. These solar lanterns have lifetime of up to five years and the batteries for the units are replaceable, hence reducing operation costs as well as the need for maintenance. They also have the added capability to charge small mobile devices such as mobile phones via a USB port, allowing these isolated local communities to stay connected.

For more information on MPT’s CSR initiatives to improve the lives of communities around Myanmar, please visit https://www.mpt.com.mm/en/whats-new/csr-activities/ to learn more.

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