How did URBK Start? and Continue?

U R Building Knowledge (URBK) is a not-for-profit that raises money to help build schools in Myanmar.  We support 100schools who are the “team on the ground”, Burmese and Canadian who live in Myanmar and Thailand.

In 2005, on her first trip to Myanmar, Gilly Thomas met John Stevens. He is the man responsible for building the schools, clinics, and finding scholarship recipients.  At the time John was building the first school and described it to Gilly at a chance meeting over breakfast in Mandalay.  Gilly was inspired by his work.  Another influence on that trip was a bright young girl in Yangon  who highlighted  the desire for education of the Burmese people. Her family couldn’t afford to send her to school, so she worked for 25 hours/week at pennies/day to raise the $3 she needed to fund herself.

In May 2008 Cyclone Nargis hit the south coast of Myanmar.   Sandra had been involved in international disaster relief work in Thailand and Haiti.  The Canadian organization Sandra was working for was looking for contacts within the country and so Sandra contacted John.

Sandra and Gilly collaborated in finding a way to help and through this discussion, made the discovery that they both wanted to help out, in the world, in a long term, sustainable way. They decided to raise funds to build a school with John. Their contribution would be financial and John was already making good the vision.

The local community support in Canada was immediate and gratifying.  They raised enough to fund building a school, the 12th for John’s team!  It was fun, challenging, and gratifying.  They decided to continue and registered U R Building Knowledge as a non-profit organization in Canada.

Both Sandra and Gilly are deeply committed to their own professions and agreed that they would continue to run U R Building Knowledge in a manner that was possible for each of them.  There not-for- profit does not provide financially to them or any volunteers.  It is run 100% for the benefit of donors – who want to know their $ contributions are landing where expected:  school buildings, clinics, scholarships and educational materials for the children in Myanmar.

Why Myanmar?

The people of Myanmar are so eager for education, that it is easy to support an initiative like this. The schools that have been built are used for children during the day and adults in the evening. Myanmar is known as one of the poorest countries in the world.  If you teach someone how to fish then they can feed themselves.  When people are educated, they can find solutions that work for them. 

U R Building Knowledge has the connection with a wonderful Myanmar team who find the villages that want schools.  The villages provide what they can in terms of labor and materials and 100Schools provides the rest.  The villages help to build the schools and then maintain them.  The government of Myanmar supplies teachers to the schools once they are built.  The children must wear uniform and have school supplies, and 100 schools now funds these items for elementary school children in the schools they have built.

Notes from Gilly’s last visit  in 2013.  “John, Maung Maung Gyi and I were visiting schools that were built, and to some up and coming locations.  We arrived at one village…  (they had not known we were coming) and everyone was  so excited about the new school that every man, women and child was out preparing the foundation. The men with pickaxes and shovels piled earth into buckets that the women and children took to the school field.  It was inspiring to see everyone at work and making progress.”