THE Ratana Metta Organisation is planning to open 18 day-care centres in Yangon and Ayeyarwady divisions this month.

“We will open a centre in each of the four villages of Pyin district, Ngapudaw township, five in Maubin in Ayeyarwady Division and nine in Yangon Division,” said U Myint Swe, the president of the organisation, last week.

The centres were scheduled to open in early June in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

“Pyin district is close to Hainggyi Island, which was badly hit by cyclone Nargis. We chose these areas because we had already started working there.
“We aim to help parents who will be busy rebuilding their lives. We will take care of their children while they are at work,” he said.

He said the organisation would recruit local youths interested in teaching the children. “But they need to pass the matriculation exam so that they can study child psychology and related subjects,” he said.

At each centre there will initially be three teachers with 50 children, with room for future expansion.

“Parents of under-fives are also welcome at the centre, because we want to educate them too” he said.

The organisation opened branch offices in Mandalay, Ngapudaw and Maubin. “We also plan to extend our HIV/AIDS activities in Ayeyarwady Division,” U Myint Swe said.

Currently more than 500 people with HIV/AIDS come to the clinic every month. The organisation provided K10 million for HIV/AIDS patients affected by Nargis in Yangon Division and over K40 million worth of relief supplies in Ngapudaw and Maubin.