Ma Tin Htwe reading to her grandmother Ma Tin Htwe, a vibrant 12-year-old girl from Htee Kan Laung Village, is currently a fifth-grade student. At a young age, Ma Tin Htwe moved in with her grandparents when her mother remarried. Reflecting on this change, she said, “When my mother remarried, I felt she didn’t love [...]
Learning in the Field U Pwint, a 40-year-old married man living in Kaung Hote Village, Taunggyi Township, participated in a soybean cultivation initiative by Shanta Foundation in 2024. This initiative changed his traditional farming practices, which previously consisted of growing crops like corn, rice, garlic, peanuts, and sunflowers. As part of the project, U Pwint [...]
Women's Group Discussion Meeting We have an exciting update from our Zambian partner villages! This spring, we are launching a new women’s empowerment program: Women’s Group Discussions (WGD). In our 4 Zambian partner villages, women will be trained to lead small group discussions in their villages. The discussion topics will range from reproductive health to [...]
Shanta Foundation is thrilled to announce Erika Van Bibb as our new Director of Development! Erika brings years of experience in fundraising, vision casting, organizational development, and equitable leadership to our team. She has a passion for empowering individuals and communities as proven through her professional experience. Erika's prowess in fundraising, curriculum development, and brand [...]
The above images are from villages slated for major infrastructure projects this year. 2025 marks a significant year for Shanta Foundation as we embark on a crucial set of infrastructure projects in 8 (out of 17) of our partner villages in Myanmar. These projects, encompassing school construction, road renovations, water systems, and bridge building, are [...]
A key component of the multi-sectoral development project undertaken by Shanta Foundation and Htee Kan Laung Village is our women's empowerment program. This program facilitates small group discussions among women on critical topics such as child nutrition, immunization, hygiene, and safe motherhood. 91% of women (171 out of 188) actively participated in these discussions. This [...]
Walking through rural villages in Zambia, you’ll likely be greeted by countless smiling faces, waving children, and people eagerly saying “Mwabuka buti” in greeting. In Myanmar villages, the experience is remarkably similar. Of course, the languages are different, so you’ll hear “Mingalabar” instead. Despite being 5,000 miles apart, Zambia and Myanmar share striking cultural parallels [...]
Khun Maung Mya, a 38-year-old resident of Nam Yin Village, shares his home with his wife and two daughters. With a third-grade education, Khun Maung Mya works diligently to provide for his family, farming 10 acres of corn and rice and operating a tractor and tiller. Together, these efforts bring in an annual income of [...]
A chance meeting between a Burmese tour guide and two Americans backpacking through Southeast Asia forever changed the destiny of so many villagers in rural Myanmar. When founders Tricia & Mike Karpfen and their guide, Thar Nge, first visited the remote, mountainous villages of the Pa-O ethnic tribes in 2004, they found gracious communities of [...]
Hey everyone! My name is Stella Potemkin, and I just wanted to take a second to introduce myself as the newest member of the Shanta Team. I was born and raised in Durango and then went off to get a double major in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science and Social Policy Analysis at Rice University. [...]
Ma Tin Htwe reading to her grandmother Ma Tin Htwe, a vibrant 12-year-old girl from Htee Kan Laung Village, is currently a fifth-grade student. At a young age, Ma Tin Htwe moved in with her grandparents when her mother remarried. Reflecting on this change, she said, “When my mother remarried, I felt she didn’t love [...] 
Learning in the Field U Pwint, a 40-year-old married man living in Kaung Hote Village, Taunggyi Township, participated in a soybean cultivation initiative by Shanta Foundation in 2024. This initiative changed his traditional farming practices, which previously consisted of growing crops like corn, rice, garlic, peanuts, and sunflowers. As part of the project, U Pwint [...] 
Women's Group Discussion Meeting We have an exciting update from our Zambian partner villages! This spring, we are launching a new women’s empowerment program: Women’s Group Discussions (WGD). In our 4 Zambian partner villages, women will be trained to lead small group discussions in their villages. The discussion topics will range from reproductive health to [...] 
Shanta Foundation is thrilled to announce Erika Van Bibb as our new Director of Development! Erika brings years of experience in fundraising, vision casting, organizational development, and equitable leadership to our team. She has a passion for empowering individuals and communities as proven through her professional experience. Erika's prowess in fundraising, curriculum development, and brand [...] 
The above images are from villages slated for major infrastructure projects this year. 2025 marks a significant year for Shanta Foundation as we embark on a crucial set of infrastructure projects in 8 (out of 17) of our partner villages in Myanmar. These projects, encompassing school construction, road renovations, water systems, and bridge building, are [...] 
A key component of the multi-sectoral development project undertaken by Shanta Foundation and Htee Kan Laung Village is our women's empowerment program. This program facilitates small group discussions among women on critical topics such as child nutrition, immunization, hygiene, and safe motherhood. 91% of women (171 out of 188) actively participated in these discussions. This [...] 
Walking through rural villages in Zambia, you’ll likely be greeted by countless smiling faces, waving children, and people eagerly saying “Mwabuka buti” in greeting. In Myanmar villages, the experience is remarkably similar. Of course, the languages are different, so you’ll hear “Mingalabar” instead. Despite being 5,000 miles apart, Zambia and Myanmar share striking cultural parallels [...] 
Khun Maung Mya, a 38-year-old resident of Nam Yin Village, shares his home with his wife and two daughters. With a third-grade education, Khun Maung Mya works diligently to provide for his family, farming 10 acres of corn and rice and operating a tractor and tiller. Together, these efforts bring in an annual income of [...] 
A chance meeting between a Burmese tour guide and two Americans backpacking through Southeast Asia forever changed the destiny of so many villagers in rural Myanmar. When founders Tricia & Mike Karpfen and their guide, Thar Nge, first visited the remote, mountainous villages of the Pa-O ethnic tribes in 2004, they found gracious communities of [...] 
Hey everyone! My name is Stella Potemkin, and I just wanted to take a second to introduce myself as the newest member of the Shanta Team. I was born and raised in Durango and then went off to get a double major in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science and Social Policy Analysis at Rice University. [...]