Monks in training
Myanmar's monasteries provide schooling to those who need it most


A monk stands in for a teacher as children and monks study together at a school run by a monastery in Bago, Myanmar.
(Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)But the country is at a turning point. Democratic reforms have unshackled the economy, galvanized the workforce, and forced the government to institute an across

A novice Buddhist monk helps a younger novice wear his robe at Bahan Thone Htat monastic school in Yangon, Myanmar.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Novice Buddhist monks, nuns, children, and teachers sing Myanmar's national anthem during an assembly at the beginning of a school day at Bahan Thone Htat.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

A novice Buddhist monk at Bahan Thone Htat.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

A novice Buddhist nun is given a vaccination for Hepatitis-B at Bahan Thone Htat.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Buddhist nuns play during break time at Phaung Daw Oo monastic school in Mandalay, Myanmar. (HEIN HTET/epa/Corbis)

A novice Buddhist monk washes his robes at Bahan Thone Htat monastic school in Yangon, Myanmar.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Novice Buddhist monks and village children write in their textbooks at Bahan Thone Htat.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Novice Buddhist monks play with rubber-bands before lunch at Bahan Thone Htat.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Buddhist nuns walk up in the stairs at the beginning of a school day at Bahan Thone Htat.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Students of a Buddhist monastic school meditate before the start of class in Yangon, Myanmar.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Novice Buddhist monks play a game similar to soccer during a break at Bahan Thone Htat.
(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)