Mynri Umsning Upper Primary School

From the Headmistress’ Desk:

The 2^nd June 2017

Every Morning, I travel at least one and a half hours by taxi and then another 45 minutes on foot to reach my school in Mynri Umsning. The reason I have to spend so much time commuting about 4-5 hours everyday is because apart from being the Headmistress in the village school, I also have to take care of my aged, bedridden mother and my old father. So, I have to be home every evening and leave early the next morning again.

During my walks to and from school till I get a cab, I meet small children aged as young as 3, walking to go to a nearby village/town to get a better school or rather, an English Medium school. These children walked in the rain, storm and sun. This hurt me to no end and it kept me thinking,
“Why can’t we have an English Medium school right in the village itself?” There is a Khasi medium lower primary government school where many of the parents are not interested in sending their children because they all want their children to be somebody.

The four teachers of the Upper Primary Section, where I am heading, got together and put our heads together and decided to start an English Medium School. There was no money for the salary. These four teachers and I sacrificed by sharing our salary with the two newly appointed teachers of the English Medium School. The Village Managing Committee gave their full support.

Hence, on the 27th of March 2013, with God’s blessings, we started the Mynri Umsning Upper Primary School- English Section. On the very first day, we had 27 enrolments. Now, four years down the line, we have 70 children from Classes Nursery to Class- IV. We have two teachers and we are hoping to hire a third teacher as well.

It gives me great joy to see the village children, speaking in English and not walking hours in the sun, rain and storm to attend an English medium school.

However, another hurdle is that many of the parents of our children in the village are so poor that they are not capable to even pay the minimal school fee of Rs 150/- per month. This brought great strain to even pay the minimal salary of the teachers. We have the orphans, and then the down-trodden who are just struggling to put food in the mouth. For them, education is the last thing on their mind.

With such a background, hearing about Eleazer Trust is sweet soothing music to the ears. We welcome Eleazer Trust and we, as the School, will try our very best to give the children a life, a future and hopefully a generation of educated youth. Thank you Eleazer Trust. May God richly bless your endeavor.

Ms Sumarlin Phangcho
Headmistress
Mynri Umsning UPS – English Section

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