Founded in 1993 by The Venerable U Nayaka and his brother, The Venerable U Zawtika, Phaung Daw Oo School has been providing free, quality education to children who otherwise would not be able to afford school. Inspired by Christian schools that provided free education to all Christians and others, The Ven. U Nayaka aspired to create a monastic school for the poor in Myanmar. From its humble beginnings in an open-air setting with 17 volunteer teachers in 1993, the school has grown to more than 8,000 pupils and 400 teachers and staff.
Since its beginning days, Phaung Daw Oo School’s mission has been generously supported by our partners and benefactors. PDO’s first benefactors were Karl Dorning, Program Coordinator of World Vision Myanmar, and his wife, Sue Dorning, and a UNICEF delegation led by Chen Ziaoyu, Project Officer of Child Welfare Services. They raised the first US$9,960 to fund our school’s operations.
