It’s no secret that I’m a fan of startups that put solving problems ahead of acquiring buckets of money, and KT Care jumped out at me right away. The Myanmar-based NGO is fighting to improve education in Myanmar through increasing computer and internet literacy in the region. KT Care is currently running a crowdfunding campaign (you can donate here) that, if successful, will allow it to open a print shop in Thet Kel Thaung. All profits generated by that shop will then be funneled directly into computer and IT training classes that will be provided at minimal cost to students.
That’s necessary because although Myanmar has a high literacy rate, it is still a poor county and most young rural people don’t have access to computers, the internet and the other kinds of technology they’ll need to be competitive in the job market. Being poor, they also can’t afford the high fees charged by many computer training courses and private schools. KT Care aims to make that irrelevant by offering low-cost computer training that anyone can afford.
To learn more about the project, I spoke to Aung Htike Min, a consultant with KT Care, who told me how the idea for the computer program first came about:
The idea came from our computer trainers who have been training kids on computer skills. They realized that training youths who otherwise have no or very limited access to such opportunities can bring long lasting impact in alleviating poverty. That idea was then polished by KT Care team.
I was also curious what it’s like running an NGO like this in Myanmar, and apparently it’s a bit of a mixed bag:
Running an NGO in Myanmar is getting easier in terms of government regulations and restrictions. But NGOs here face challenges in sustaining projects and organizations themselves because of limited funding opportunities and changing trends at donor agencies. Most NGOs here reply almost entirely on international organizations/agencies for funding rather than local or self-raised funds from social businesses [like we hope to do].
Of course, whether or not KT Care’s self-sustaining project can get off the ground will depend on how its fundraising campaign goes. As Aung put it, “This campaign will enable international supporters to directly help rural youth in a cost-effective way and bridge the digital divide.” Sounds like a good cause to me!
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