Common Cents Store is LIVE
Help us help university students go to school in Myanmar 🇲🇲
Greetings back from Singapore and happy SG60 🇸🇬 to all my Singaporean subscribers!
Its been 3 months since my last newsletter and I’ve visited 8 countries during the same period as well- The standouts being Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in east Africa, where I also got denied boarding on my return flight to Singapore owing to an airline policy which required me to have an Indian visa even though I was just transiting 😱. All’s good anyway as I managed to book another ticket on a different airline and return home before making another trip to Myanmar.
📢 My latest ‘Common Cents’ project is to provide scholarships for university students in Myanmar. What started as a post-earthquake initiative soon expanded as I realised that the earthquake was just the tip of the iceberg. I’m happy to announce that the Common Cents Store is officially soft-launched at commoncents.work (will be sharing it publicly in a couple of week’s time when I have more clarity on the number of scholarships we intend to provide).
I’m grateful to be in a privileged position where I can see and learn about the needs and the good work of various communities and organisations and believe I’m blessed to be a blessing, and this store is an extension of that conviction. In the spirit of sustainability (since yours truly doesn’t plan on making 500km walking expeditions a regular thing), I hope that offering unique, off-the-market products and experiences for a good cause can help us pool resources to tackle real-world problems. I look forward to adding on more initiatives and offerings in the coming months and years.
Our first phase was looking at existing students from the Liberal Arts Programme (LAP) in Myanmar Institute of Theology whom the school had filtered and identified to be in financial distress (parents who lost work, fell severely ill or homes which were destroyed etc.). Together with two other partners, we awarded 13 scholarships for existing students to complete their education (out of almost 50 interviewed). This private school already has a rigorous screening process at admission where only about 15-20% of applicants are admitted, so the scholarships are given out on a needs basis.
Phase two will begin next month, post the new cohort of students having completed the LAP admissions test and the school’s screening for those with financial needs. Despite being a private school, they have managed to keep school fees pretty affordable at ~$1/day or $1400 for the 4-year programme by making the bulk of the course virtual. This also allows those living in IDP (internally displaced people) camps and far-flung regions of the country to participate in the learning.
Aside from scholarships, our pay-it-forward initiative at Crossworks has also kicked into a new gear, with Sharon (right-most in the group photo above) coming onboard to oversee mentorships and impact initiatives. On Sunday, about a dozen Crossworkers went to visit and give out essential goods, stationary and snacks to displaced children about 1.5 hours outside of Yangon. They braved the rain and bumpy roads and were greeted by excited children who have been far from home for some time already- reminded that they are not alone. Bummed to have missed this, I’ve already signed myself up for the next session and would welcome folks keen to visit Myanmar in October over Deepavali to come along as well (reach out to me for details!).
That’s about all the updates I have for now and I hope that you’ll check out the new store and pick up some home decor or souvenirs whilst helping more university students in financial need to go to school 😊.