Felicity Goodall, of Wallingford Road, Kingsbridge, writes:

I refer to the letter from Thiri Myat-Howard in last week's Gazette about my forthcoming visit to Burma to teach English to novice monks and street children.

First of all I would like to thank her for her supportive opening remarks. I have been contacted by many kind and generous people offering help.

As I'm about to visit Burma, readers will understand why I don't want to get involved in a discussion on the human rights record of that country.

I'm sure people can reach their own conclusions based on what they will have read from reputable news sources. Google the subject and see. I did not intend to cast a slur on the Burmese people.

Sanctions haven't helped the people of Burma. As is often the case, though sanctions are aimed at the leaders of a country, it's ordinary people who pay the price. I have the utmost respect for the Burmese people, their open-hearted kindness in the face of poverty and adversity is something we can all learn from.

It wasn't my intention to be rude about the English I heard spoken by the children I met who were mending roads.

My point was that these friendly and adventurous children don't have the best circumstances in which to learn.

The problem of mispronunciation was explained to me by those involved in teaching English there for many years.

Monastery schools currently educate nearly quarter of a million children in Burma, and while Sky TV may be available to some, these children are not among them.