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What we do

Prospect Burma works with marginalised young people in Myanmar who are determined to build a peaceful, alternative future for their damaged country.

We open pathways to higher education for young people whose education and potential is being blocked and destroyed by armed conflict and injustice.

We empower them to become skilled, compassionate community leaders who can create change in medicine, technology, law and other key fields.

Why it matters

Young people in Myanmar are caught up in one of the worst - but often forgotten - crises on the planet. A third of the country is in humanitarian need.

A decades-long civil war is worse than ever following a coup in 2021. Millions are displaced. Denial of education is used as a weapon to weaken nationwide resistance. Students and teachers are routinely killed.

Without higher education, the country cannot gain the skills capacity it needs to tackle the manmade and natural disasters it faces. Its plight will only worsen while the potential of its next generation will be lost to trafficking and abuse.

Our impact

At post-high school / pre-university level

^3,000

young people have attended our programmes

^90%

pass rate at Grade 12 and post-high school qualifications level

^300

have benefitted from career guidance sessions

At higher education level:

^1500

higher education scholarships abroad awarded since 2000

95%

of international students returned to Myanmar pre-coup

47

Ethnicities represented among our beneficiaries

Our beneficiaries’ onward impact after graduation

‘oo,ooos

of people protected from malaria and coastal flooding by just some of our Medicine and Environmental Engineering alumni

‘o,ooos

of young people educated by Community Based Organisations founded by just some of our Education Studies alumni

‘ooos

of women in rural areas running small businesses on mobile phones, due to just some of our Technology alumni

Find out more about our alumni’s impact in multiple fields

“What I will gain from my Education Studies degree will create changes so that the voice of students studying in classrooms will be heard more than the cries of war happening in our country.”

-Prospect Burma scholarship applicant

Our history

Prospect Burma was founded in 1989, following the 8888 student-led democracy protests and closure of Burma’s universities.

The intention was to assist the people of Burma. It was clear that positive change could not happen without educated, confident experts to drive that change.

We believed change should be led, not by ourselves, but by people from all across Burma, regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation.

So we created a university scholarship programme to help committed young people from marginalised communities to study abroad. In the 2010s, we expanded into pre-university learning to give them a better chance of successfully applying.

Together with our beneficiaries and longstanding friends, we have helped to create a trusted network of individuals, Community Based Organisations and supporters who share the same non-political goal of a better future for this beautiful country.

Watch a video introduction to Prospect Burma’s work

Our contribution to global targets

Prospect Burma’s work supports Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - “that higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit, and shall be directed towards strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”. We work to protect this right, as urged by the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2669, The Situation In Myanmar.

Our work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, Quality Education. It specifically addresses SDG 4’s targets to (abridged):

(4.3): Ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality tertiary education;
(4.4): Increase the number of youth and adults with relevant skills;
(4.5) Ensure equal access to all levels of education for indigenous peoples;
(4.7) Ensure all learners acquire skills to promote sustainable development, including human rights, gender equality and non-violence.
(4.b): Increase the total scholarships available in developing countries;
(4.c) Increase the supply of qualified teachers, especially in least developed countries.

Additionally, our work indirectly contributes to all 17 SDGs due to the impact our amazing graduates make in multiple fields, using the skills and knowledge they have gained.