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September 23, 2015
by raoul rodriguez

Last day with the children and my heart is very heavy. Today’s excursion involved visiting two caves. They were really impressive and off the beaten track as no one really knows about them. Even the head monk hadn’t seen them before so it was an extraordinary discovery for everyone. We returned to the orphanage very early today so that we could spend the rest of the afternoon with all the children. We played endless games, all of us dreading the end of the day.

It was a very emotional moment having to say our goodbyes but at least we know that they are living a very healthy lifestyle with a solid education system put into place. We continue to insist on more English hours, especially for some of the children who are getting really good at it, as it would really make a huge difference to their job opportunities later on. And finally, the latest achievement of the Sayadaw is the opening of a new school in a very rural village in the Delta region. It is not an orphanage but open to all and attended by 50 children who without this school could never learn to read and write. The Sayadaw has proposed that we get involved in this project also. So my parents will be including a visit there on next year's trip. And to end this years blog I would like to once again extend a very big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this project! It has made a huge change in the lives of these little children and it is truly an admirable thing when one is willing to help someone less fortunate.