"A ceremony was held in eastern Myanmar to mark the completion of 2,900 homes built under a reconstruction support project by the Nippon Foundation, a Japanese charity group, for refugees and other victims of ethnic conflicts in the Southeast Asian country. The ceremony took place in the village of Lay Kay Kaw in the state of Kayin on Wednesday to celebrate the completion of the second stage of the reconstruction project in Kayin and the neighboring state of Mon. The support project has been carried out at the request of the government of Myanmar and ethnic armed groups, including the Karen National Union, which have agreed on a ceasefire with the government. Besides the homes, 34 schools, 11 medical facilities and 33 wells were built using ¥3.6 billion in funds provided by the Japanese Foreign Ministry in the first stage of the project that started in March 2016 and the second stage from November 2017. In the third stage launched in October this year, ¥2.5 billion will be used to build homes and a job training facility aimed at helping local residents become financially independent. “Myanmar can exert its potential for development if it overcomes the challenges it faces,” Ambassador to Myanmar Ichiro Maruyama said at the ceremony..."