Ceremony held in appreciation of those who contributed to successful campaign to donate over 2,000 solar lanterns to 632 underequipped monastic education schools

(Yangon, 27 July, 2016) – MPT, Myanmar’s first and leading telecommunications operator, today held an appreciation ceremony in honor of the country’s Monastic School Education organizations, including the Phaung Daw Oo Monastic School, and its generous customers who together, ensured the success of its “Lighting the Way Forward” solar donation initiative at the Parkroyal Hotel, Yangon. Through this innovative corporate social responsibility (CSR) education campaign by MPT, more than 2,000 solar lanterns were donated over 600 under-equipped monastic schools across Myanmar, providing much needed solar-powered light and electricity to assist students in their education.

In attendance at the ceremony were the Venerable Sayardaw Bhaddanta Nayaka, the Head Monk representing Phaung Daw Oo Monastery and Monastic Education organizations as well as Mr. Yoshiaki Benino, Chief Operation Officer of MPT–KSGM Joint Operation and other company representatives.

The Venerable Sayardaw Bhaddanta Nayaka, who is also the Secretary for the country’s Monastic Education Organizations, was appreciative of the efforts and contributions from MPT and its customers. “The kind support from MPT and its customers is being keenly felt by our students who are now able to better concentrate on their studies. Many of them who previously had to rely on candlelight to even read in darker classroom conditions, can now focus on their studies with reliable access to sources of lighting and electricity provided by the solar lanterns. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks for the charitable contributions to help improve our students’ learning experience.”

Starting in February 2016, MPT brought 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 initiative 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.

At the ceremony, Mr. Yoshiaki Benino underlined MPT’s commitment to supporting Myanmar’s communities through its innovative CSR activities that make a meaningful difference to the lives of the people here. “As a responsible corporate citizen of Myanmar, we understand the importance of giving back to the people here. MPT is aims to improve the lives of the communities it touches through innovative initiatives such as this, which brought light and electricity nationwide to those who would otherwise not have access. The success of Lighting The Way Forward is a culmination of the goodwill of our customers who generously contributed to this charitable outreach and the inspirational work by Monastic Education organizations here, in tirelessly educating these fine young students. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to making this solar donation initiative a reality.”

The solar lanterns are products of Panasonic known as “Eneloop Solar Storage” units. Made of solar panels, storage batteries, and light-emitting diodes (LED), they store energy generated during the day, which can then be used to power the LED lights for 6 to 8 hours during the night or in low-light conditions when it is cloudy or raining. Each unit can function up to 24 hours on a single five-hour charge and has a unit lifetime of up to five years. Batteries for the units are replaceable, hence reducing operations cost as well as the need for maintenance. The solar storage units 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 Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) “Lighting The Way Forward” Fact sheet, please click here to view.

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.