**Project description**

Instead of a traditional wedding registry, we're directing our wedding gifts to a project through Children of the Mekong, an organization we've long supported and deeply trust.

**Why education**

For us, education is the foundation of everything. It opens doors in every direction. The chance to learn, from books and from life. The capacity to think for yourself. And eventually, the power to make your own choices, instead of having them made for you.

It's a layered effect. Every bit of it counts, and none of it goes to waste. It compounds quietly over time, and it stays with a person for life. And for girls in particular, the ripple effects go even further: research has long shown that educating a girl shapes not just her own life, but the trajectory of her family and community for generations. That's why this is where we want to begin.

**The project**

After much thought, we've chosen to support the construction of a shelter for girls at St. Joseph's Convent in Hakka, Myanmar.

Some context first, Myanmar has been in civil war since the military coup of 2021, and Chin State, a remote, mountainous region in the country's west, home to a Christian ethnic minority, has been among the hardest hit. Whole villages have been destroyed, families displaced, and 99% of public schools in the area have closed. Despite the scale of need, Myanmar receives far less international donor attention than other crises. It's a country quietly slipping out of view, even as the suffering deepens.

In this context, St. Joseph's Convent, run by Catholic sisters and active in the community since 1975, has become one of the only safe places where displaced girls can continue their education. As fighting has intensified across nearby regions, more and more families have sought refuge in Hakka, and the number of girls coming to the convent has kept growing. The sisters are now housing more refugee students than ever before, in spaces far too cramped to be sustainable. A new dormitory would give 40 girls, many from families who have fled conflict, a safe place to live so they can keep going to school.

We were drawn to this project because the need is so immediate and the alternatives for these girls are so few. In conflict zones, girls are the first to be pulled out of school, for safety, for money, for marriage. Without a place like this, many would lose far more than their education. They would lose a safe haven, in every sense of the word. The funds raised here will help give girls whose lives have been disrupted by war some measure of stability and a real chance at education.

The total budget for this project is over $50,000, which is more than our wedding can raise on its own. But every dollar contributed brings it closer to reality, and these projects often take many months to be fully funded. Children of the Mekong has been working to fund it since February. Our hope is to help build momentum and move it forward.

Every dollar raised through this fundraiser will go directly to this project.

**About Children of the Mekong**

We chose Children of the Mekong because, in our experience donating to them, they simply do what they say they do. They're easy to reach. We’ve felt confident that donations are directed toward meaningful work on the ground, rather than getting lost in marketing or overhead. For every project they take on, they publish detailed documents (budgets, timelines, photos, etc.) so you can see exactly what your gift is funding.

They also work in parts of Southeast Asia that don't get the donor attention other regions do (for example: Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, and more). These places are closer to home for us in ways that matter, and supporting communities there feels right for marking our wedding.

84% of their funds go directly to programs, and they've held the IDEAS label for governance and transparency since 2011. US donations are tax-deductible through their fiscal sponsor, Myriad USA.

Learn more at childrenofthemekong.org.

**A note from us**

Thank you for being part of our wedding, and for considering this. We'll share updates from the project once it's underway, and we'd love for you to see where your gift went. It means a great deal to us to begin this chapter of our lives by giving back to a part of the world that feels close to home.

With love and gratitude,

Sherry & Jake

S&J's Wedding Fund - Shelter and School for Girls in Myanmar

Since 1958, Children of the Mekong supports children’s education in Southeast Asia. 

In Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, we help children grow through [child sponsorship](https://www.childrenofthemekong.org/sponsor-a-child/) and [education projects](https://www.childrenofthemekong.org/get-involved/support-a-project/).

Our priorities of action are early childhood, girls' education, slums, rural populations, refugees, children with disability, and ethnic minorities.

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