For a message from our Director

I remember when Tricia and I were raising funds for our first school in Myanmar, even before we started Shanta Foundation. We had decided to contribute $3,000 to get the process going. A couple of months later, in the midst of our fundraising effort, we had a financial hardship and I suggested to Tricia that maybe we could cut back our commitment to $1000. “No one would really know and it would save us some valuable money,” I said. She looked me in the eye with that wise-woman gaze of hers and responded, “Do you really want your fears to make this decision or your generosity and trust?”

Introduction

intro image Shanta Foundation is currently working in the mountains of Myamar in collaboration with small villages to enhance their basic quality of life. The people are extremely poor, living under a severely repressive regime and have almost no opportunity to make things better for themselves. Our focus is on partnering with them to improve the education, health, and financial sustainability of their entire village.

Our beginning was in a small village, in the Shan State, where the children are excited and proud of their new school, are enjoying nutritious lunches, their attendance has more than doubled through middle school, and the teachers are motivated and being paid adequately for the first time. The village water supply is now clean and secure and health care is becoming affordable and accessible.

We are very proud of how much has been accomplished through these partnerships. Though they are poor and uneducated the villagers are also inventive and industrious. With a small amount of assistance we are helping them achieve lasting results at very low cost.

These accomplishments are made possible by the generous contributions of so many who care and want to make a difference.