Children participate in a classroom activity at Phaung Daw Oo Monastic School in Mandalay, Myanmar. (Hnin Theingi/Saya Foundation/CPI)
Spiraling conflict and turmoil in Myanmar (Burma) are having a profound impact on children’s education. With support from Community Partners International, the Saya Foundation provides online training to teachers in Myanmar to support children’s access to quality education. We talk to a trainer and teacher about their work and the value of this support.
May (left), a widow in Rakhine State, Myanmar, has learned sandal-making skills that help her to earn income and support her daughter (right). (Lwin Phyu Phyu Kyaw/CPI)
In Rakhine State on Myanmar (Burma)’s western coast, Ngapali Beach is one of the country’s foremost tourist destinations. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the turmoil following the February 2021 coup have crippled Myanmar’s tourism industry. With visitor numbers plummeting, many of Ngapali’s businesses have closed, cut hours and laid off staff. Women, who are employed widely in the tourism industry, have been severely affected. Community Partners International (CPI) is helping local organization Precious Lady train women in artisan skills and develop new sources of income.
New Life client Cho Mar*. (Lwin Phyu Phyu Kyaw/CPI)
Community organization New Life helps people living with HIV (PLHIV) in rural villages in Myanmar (Burma)’s Mandalay Region. We talk to an HIV-positive client, a peer educator and New Life’s co-founder about their experiences during Myanmar’s crisis.
A counseling session underway at a clinic in Kachin State, Myanmar, operated by Medical Action Myanmar with support from USAID’s HIV/TB Agency, Information and Services Activity. (MAM/USAID/CPI)
On World Mental Health Day, we speak to community members in Kachin State, Myanmar, about the critical role of mental health and psychosocial support in harm reduction and HIV prevention and treatment among people who inject drugs.
 Ko Moe at his hair salon in Insein Township, Yangon, Myanmar. (Lwin Phyu Phyu Kyaw/CPI) As a small business owner with a disability, Ko Moe has faced many challenges in keeping his business afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic and Myanmar's political and economic crises. But he's not giving up. With support from Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner the Myanmar Deaf Community Development Association (MDCDA), he is determined to return his business to profit.
 Kyi San Lwin, General Secretary of Precious Lady, helps women in Rakhine State, Myanmar, develop livelihoods and increase their financial independence. (Precious Lady/CPI) “I had to rely on my husband since we married, so now I am happy to earn money. Now, we are saving for my son's future and it makes me feel so pleased.” Eindray Eindray, 28, lives in Rakhine State, Myanmar, with her husband and five-year old son. She is one of 30 women enrolled in a livelihood project implemented by Community Partners International partner Precious Lady, that teaches sewing and handicraft skills, provides them with sewing machines and raw materials, offers basic sales and marketing training, and helps them to access markets where they can sell their products.
 A health worker in the COVID-19 ward at the hospital in Yangon, Myanmar, operated by the Karen Baptist Convention with support from Community Partners International. (KBC/CPI) “My grandmother’s blood oxygen level dropped to 80% and she couldn’t eat or drink. At the end, she was so weak that she couldn’t breathe from the oxygen tank. Losing a family member in front of my eyes really made me understand the danger of COVID-19.”
In early October 2021, Elizabeth’s whole family came down with COVID-19 in their village in Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. The country was in the midst of a devastating third wave that killed many thousands of people. The health system, already shattered by political unrest, was overwhelmed.  Tweltar, 9, was able to continue studying after her school closed thanks to the Saya Foundation's home learning program supported by Community Partners International. (Saya Foundation/CPI) When the COVID-19 pandemic closed Myanmar’s schools in June 2020, Htar’s nine-year-old daughter Tweltar reacted as most children would. “At the start, she was happy that she didn't need to go to school and could play at home much more than before,” Htar explains. But, as school closures lengthened from weeks into months, Tweltar changed her mind. “Gradually, she realized that her school had been closed for a long time and she wanted to start learning again."
 A woman at a health facility in Chin State, Myanmar, uses an oxygen concentrator provided by Community Partners International. (HLDO/CPI) In April, conflict in Chin State, western Myanmar, pushed villagers over the border into India where the Delta variant of COVID-19 was spreading rapidly. Soon after they returned, COVID-19 cases in Chin State began to spike. Due to Myanmar’s ongoing political crisis, the local public health system had little capacity to respond. Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner the Hualngo Land Development Organization (HLDO) mobilized to provide COVID-19 prevention and care to people in desperate need.
 Volunteers supported by CPI help a woman to reach a COVID-19 vaccination center in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh. (CPI) Living in crowded and cramped conditions, Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. On August 10, 2021, amid a worrying spike in infections, the Government of Bangladesh launched the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign for refugees over 55 years of age in Kutupalong Refugee Camp. As the first line of health care, volunteers supported by Community Partners International (CPI) and local partner Green Hill mobilized to encourage and support eligible community members in Camps 1W and 4 to take up the vaccine.
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February 2023
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