Development Continues Despite Obstacles
April 30, 2023
Education | Food | Income | MH Village* | Myanmar | Southeast Asia | Sustainable Development | Water | Wellness
The village resilience in such a difficult time has been impressive. They are united, help one another and continue to look for alternatives to sustainable livelihood development even in times of trouble. Occasionally, war occurred near the village this quarter, and the nearby villages had already left their villages and taken shelter in Internally Displaced People (IDPs) camps. Myat Hlae is one of the villages that welcomed and helped IDPs over a couple years. A big progress for the Transformational Community Development (TCD) team this quarter was having a monitoring trip to the village in the midst of challenges. We were able to complete the village annual review using our Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, Learning (MEAL) survey. After a few years, it was an exciting and encouraging trip to meet with friends and the people in the village.
Literally, the village is engaged in its developmental works regardless of the current uncertainty and obstacles in terms of politics, economic, social, etc. The number of latrines in the whole village has considerably increased, the village roads were renovated and clean, the village attitude and behavior towards its Wellness and Education has positively changed. For example, the rate of malnutrition among children under five is less than 3%, the village school has been upgraded to a high school. In addition, the community leaders’ awareness toward preserving their community forest and leadership towards sustainable agriculture development is another outstanding progress. The agricultural rehabilitation program under the community supervision has played an important role in promoting the villager’s understanding towards preserving their environment. The program is benefiting 28 households and it is important to their engagement in transforming their village.
On the other hand, the village encounters new challenges such as inadequate Water source as the number of people in the village has dramatically increased due to the acceptance of IDPs. Also, war in the area is the biggest threat to the village.
Our plan for the next quarter is to look into options for renovating the village ponds to store enough water for the villagers in summer, and look for new solutions to water problems.
Transformational Community Development (TCD) Update:
Water
One family in the village tried drilling for underground water to access a new water source. They drilled 100 feet and pumped water. However, the source only produces very little water after a long hour of pumping. And the water quality was bad. It’s very muddy and dirty. The family continues to observe the situation and hopes it may produce more water as it is pumped more often.
Food
The village initiative in agricultural improvement is impressive. Out of the 28 families under the rehabilitation program, more than five households have had their harvest and family income increase and relieved their daily struggle for food. The banana plantations are well taken care of and the owners are expecting the harvest soon as well. Ye Aung, one of the banana tree planters said, “My plants are growing well now. I work the plantation regularly and clear weeds. I am worried that my plants may not bear good fruit, but now, the stem and the leaves are growing well. I hope that each tree produces good fruits.” Due to the lack of adequate water source for plantations, the ground is dried and the plants do not get water supply regularly. Ye Aung works hard and he is setting a good example for other banana tree planters under the rehabilitation program. He also requested that GHNI provide technical support to make the banana tree stronger and produce better fruit.
Education
The village celebrated the grand opening ceremony of the new high school. After the school was upgraded, the headmaster must be replaced with a new one. The villagers felt sad about that because the former headmaster has been very resourceful for the progress of the village education during his service. The community held a farewell for him. It’s expected that the new headmaster will also improve the village school.
Income Generation
During our visit, we had a chance to visit the plantations. We visited more than five fields. Most plantations are in good condition. The biggest issue was not having enough water sources. They made water storage in various ways, however, it doesn’t provide enough water for the plants or trees. The committee leaders are engaged in this program and are expecting good results.
Thank you!
Written by: Solomon
GHNI National Field Leader
*For the purposes of safety, “MH Village” is a pseudonym for the village being helped by this project.
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