Imagining a new future for the youth in communities is what got us dreaming of what is now Myanmar Adventure Outfitters. After living on the border of Thailand and Shan State for 3 years and seeing a mass exodus of Myanmar's youth, we envisioned creating new opportunities. In rural communities two common threads resound: lack of jobs, and lack of education to qualify one for good jobs. What this results in is looking to neighboring countries like Thailand and China as a places with greater earning potential, and so the illegal risky move to neighboring countries entices, places where they have no rights, no legal status, and are more often than not exploited in a variety of ways; sometimes low wages, sometimes unpaid wages, sometimes forced labour, sometimes slavey, and sometimes sexual slavery and prostitution.

One of the villages that we spend a lot of time in, and our favorite village to take clients to, in this village we've gotten to know a 14 year old spunky adventure girl who can climb any tree, jump off waterfalls, and is a sparkplug of energy and joy. Not too long ago we went to the village and she wasn't around anymore. So we asked what happened to her, and because of lack of employment opportunities and the fact that she could not finish primary school in the village, she was sent to the China border to work in a karaoke bar. Fearful of the worst, we began to pray for her safety, and soon after, because of conflict in the town she was in, she was sent home for her safety.

Our 14 year old friend who now gets to do Grade 7.

So we began the dialogue with the community about the source of challenges like this, and what it comes down to for them is lack of education opportunities. Their village has primary and middle school, but don't have the last year of middle school (7th year) because of a lack of space at school. The teacher is willing, but the space does not allow, so they cannot finish in their village what is required for them to go to high school in Lashio, and so some families send their kids away for work. Discovering a possible solution together with the village and their teacher, we decided to partner our MAO profits, donations from people who helped invest in startup of MAO, and their finances as a community. We began to work towards a basic addition to their school to enable education to continue in their home environment, however the Ministry of Education offered to add to their school from government funding if they could prove the need. So, our shift changed to how to upfit the existing small and unavailable space to become another classroom and prove this need. So, we shifted the funds towards setting up with desks, chairs, and a whiteboard.

Now we are a few weeks into the school year, and 9 students are in 7th grade. A huge victory for us in that it prevents the move of people that inspired business in the first place. It is a huge value to the community, and we are glad to collaborate with them for positive impact.

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