Singapore education provider RVi Group shelters students amid Myanmar earthquake recovery
The company manages seven schools across the country
[SINGAPORE] A fortnight after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Mar 28, Singapore-based education provider RVi Group has been sheltering students and working to rebuild operations, while contributing to relief efforts in cities such as Mandalay and Yangon.
The company, which manages seven schools across Myanmar and collaborates with 20 others across South-east Asia, has been working to ensure the safety of staff and students, as well as doing what it can to help the wider community.
Argus Ang, RVi’s chief executive officer, said: “It is not uncommon for us to feel a few tremors, but (the tremors) were really big this time... but we were lucky that we had practised fire drills which made the evacuation much smoother.”
He said that he feels a responsibility to ensure the safety of his colleagues and students.
“But we have obviously suffered, and it is just lucky that we are alive,” he added.
The 53-year-old Singaporean had moved to Myanmar with his father and aunt in 1997, a year after they expanded the RVi group into countries including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
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They opened the first education centre in Myanmar’s Yangon city in 1997, and another school in Mandalay city in 2005. The family aimed to make a difference and help the local communities.
The schools offer resources from English language classes and overseas college preparation to education consultancy, serving learners from preschool age to adulthood.
Ang said the school compounds have opened their doors to affected students who fear returning to potentially unsafe homes after the quake.
“We got our generators running and water supplies back up running after the first day (after the earthquake) and also Internet up within two days. (Because) our team was secure, it allowed us to galvanise our team to volunteer to help the community,” he added.
He noted that his organisation has partnered with Singapore Association Myanmar to dispatch aid to the local community.
RVi group’s schools have not gone unscathed, with shattered windows, damaged ceilings and broken air-conditioning units.
Ang said that among their 485 staff and the more than 5,000 students across their programmes, they had suffered the loss of several students who were not at the school buildings during the earthquake.
Beyond structural damage, there are concerns about ongoing access to resources such as equipment and fuel for generators.
But the greatest worry, Ang noted, has been psychological. He added: “Because we run schools, there are bigger concerns from parents and students. We have to plan contingencies – whether that means returning to online or hybrid learning.”
The group has been working with structural engineers to assess and restore school buildings. Ang is bracing for additional costs, as they will need to support families affected by the disaster with scholarships or lower fees.
As the earthquake occurred just before the start of the summer break in April, this has given RVi some time to ensure that the buildings are safe for students and staff when they return.
Despite the challenges, Ang said he was proud of how his team has responded to the crisis.
“They remained calm in making sure the students were safe and ensuring that the team was in order.”
The death toll from Myanmar’s Mar 28 quake has risen to more than 3,600, said state media, with a further 5,000 injured and hundreds of people still missing. The earthquake has damaged over 5,200 buildings, 1,800 schools, 4,800 pagodas and temples, 167 hospitals and clinics and more.
On the day of the quake, at 12.51 pm local time (0621 GMT), Mandalay – Myanmar’s second-largest city with 1.7 million residents – suffered some of the worst destruction.
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