2024 YEAR END APPEAL
November 14, 2024
Dear Friend of Cetana,
I write to request your continued support for Cetana’s Dickason-Young Family Scholarship.
Lois Young, Cetana’s visionary leader and cofounder, who passed away this summer, had a knack for seeing promise in everyone she encountered. She loved Myanmar/Burma and devoted heart and mind to Cetana’s mission of providing the educational opportunities that would develop Myanmar youth’s potential.
Students in Myanmar have always faced challenges—poverty, political instability, lack of access to quality education—but those challenges are more formidable than ever. Since the political turmoil that began in February 2021 young people have become desperate for opportunities to continue their education. Applications for our Dickason-Young Family Scholarship have quadrupled since the program’s inception less than three years ago, and we expect this trend to continue.
We know from the American experience that an educated populace is a precondition for a democratic and just society. Education fosters critical thinking. It nurtures civic virtues of tolerance, empathy, and commitment to the common good. If there is hope for the future of Myanmar, young people need a chance for an education. And education requires talented, inspiring teachers.
Thanks to donors like you, the Cetana board was especially pleased to be able to award full scholarships this past year to two young women who show special promise as teachers. With your help, we want not only to continue but also to expand this program.
The thanksgiving season is time for us to acknowledge our own privileges. The impulse is to extend in turn a helping hand to the deserving and determined youth of Myanmar. If you have not yet had a chance to make a gift to Cetana, please consider one now. Every gift, no matter the size, makes a difference. Your help changes lives. Because our board’s support covers all foundation administrative costs, every dollar of your gift goes directly to this scholarship.
On behalf of the Cetana board and with deep gratitude,
Susan C. Jennings, president