As part of the Asia Raincraft: Yangon Edition program, The Water Agency organized a workshop for children from a local community in Yangon. The workshop engaged children ranging from around 6 years old to teenagers up to 17, with the goal of teaching them about the importance of drains and drainage systems. Instead of relying on traditional methods, we wanted to create a fun and interactive learning environment, transforming education into a playground.
The workshop kicked off with sharing key knowledge about drains and drainage systems, focusing on how they work, why they are important, and the role children can play in maintaining clean and functioning drains within their communities. Through the basic concept of Asia Raincraft, we used the Minecraft video game as a learning tool, which most children and youth are already familiar with. We developed a customized Minecraft module specifically designed to help the children learn about drainage systems—allowing them to experience the challenges and necessary actions to maintain a healthy drainage system within a virtual world.
As most of the children were already familiar with Minecraft, we provided basic Minecraft training to those who were new to the game, while the more experienced players helped their peers learn. This peer-to-peer learning made the session even more enjoyable. We then divided the children into mixed-age groups, to explore the Minecraft drainage module, where they learned through playing. After the children had a chance to familiarize themselves with the concept, we organized a group competition. The children’s competitive spirits made the activity both fun and educational. Teams raced against time, solving problems related to drainage in the game while applying the knowledge they had just learned.
In the end, the children left not only with new knowledge but also with smiles, feeling as though they had spent the day playing in a virtual playground. We are thrilled with the success of this workshop and look forward to organizing more of these activities across Asia in the future.
Learn more about Asia Raincraft here.
Interested in collaborating with us through this initiative? Contact us here.
