Sittwe orphanage seeks support amid steep drop in donations

By Admin 07 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
7 August 2024, Sittwe

The ABC Orphanage in the Arakan State capital Sittwe’s Mingan Ward says it needs additional financial support to run regularly due to high commodity costs and a decline in donations.

U La Min Kyaw Thu, an official from the ABC Foundation, said that donors who had regularly provided support fled to safety due to the instability in Arakan State, resulting in a drop in donations received.

“Previously, wellwishers from not only Sittwe but also other townships donated cash and in-kind [contributions] to the orphanage. Now everyone is in trouble, so they can’t donate anymore. Sometimes people from abroad donate to the orphanage. We are running the orphanage with a small amount of donations,” he said.

Most Sittwe residents have fled to locations perceived as safer for fear of the possibility of fighting. U La Min Kyaw Thu said the ABC Orphanage used to have both long-term and daily donors, but now most of those donors are no longer there, and the orphanage is facing a financial crisis.

U Lamin Kyaw Thu said that due to the financial difficulties, it is a challenge to buy necessary equipment for the children; in terms of food, the orphans are getting merely “enough” nutrition, meeting a bare minimum standard for their needs.

“It is more difficult to buy accessories, milk powder, and supplements for the children, so I can’t feed them as well as before. We have to only arrange enough nutrition for the children,” he explained.

U La Min Kyaw Thu asked potential donors to support the foundation in whatever way they can in order to meet the needs of the children under the orphanage’s roof.

The orphanage has a total of 70 orphans from the age of one month to 15 years old, including about 50 students attending school from Grade 1 to Grade 10.

The orphanage currently takes care of the 70 children with a staff of previously 36 employees, a number that has decreased amid the financial struggles facing the organage.