A two-story charity school in a Bago Region village burned down on Tuesday afternoon, leaving several orphaned students who lived there in need of clothing and school supplies.
The school, located in Thin Kha Yaing village, Gyo Bin Gauk Township, had 125 students from kindergarten to grade four. Fifty students lived on the second floor of the wooden building.
On the roof of the building were solar panels and batteries, which the local Fire Services Department has identified as the cause of the fire.
“The fire started after the solar plates fully charged the batteries the previous evening and then overheated,” Sayadaw Thu Mana, a monk who worked at the school, told Eleven.
There have been no reports of injuries, but the students who lived in the building lost their clothing, textbooks, exercise books, and other belongings.
“We won’t postpone lessons, but we need clothes, blankets, and nets for [the students],” the monk said.
The school was built five years ago at a cost of K18 million (US$13,200).
