Read more

Easier access to and from the market will facilitate trade and enhance the villagers’ economic prospects. In addition, villagers will no longer have to worry about being injured or killed by falling into the river the bridge will span.

The residents of 20 Mile Village have to cross many small and large streams to get access to the different areas of their village, as well as to take produce and livestock to the market to earn a living; the children also have to cross them to get to school. These bridges are hand made out of either bamboo or a tree that’s fallen. The footbridges are extremely narrow, at the most, five-inches wide. They usually do not have any railings and are not safe. It is impossible to walk across them with any amount of excess weight without falling into the water.

The bridge proposed by Building Hope in Burma would be made of concrete and hard wood, guaranteed to last a minimum of 30 years. It would be six-feet wide and approximately 20 feet long, with a railing on both sides for security. Building a larger, safer bridge, will allow villagers to travel to a large market with their catch, take livestock to the market and shop for supplies at a lower cost. The bridge will allow the villagers much easier, and safer access to a larger population for selling items, which will increase their ability to earn a decent daily wage.

Building Hope in Burma has already selected an engineer to build the bridge and can order the materials as soon as the project is funded. The organization will use the bridge it successfully built in a nearby village as a model.