Story of Hlaing Thar Ya: From Crisis to Recovery
Hlaing Thar Ya is one of the poorest peri urban areas of Yangon. Su Kyi Mar lives there with her family of five. Like many others, when the dual shocks of COVID-19 and the military takeover hit, her family were extremely vulnerable.
But thanks to UNDP’s Urban Resilience Project – focused on supporting communities to move from crisis to recovery – Su Kyi Mar’s future is looking much brighter.
UNDP Myanmar Strategic Management Team Leader, Nadia Nivin, says: “The livelihoods of many low-income communities were severely impacted following the pandemic and politcal unrest in Myanmar.
“UNDP developed the Urban Resilience Project focusing on the most vulnerable, beginning with rapid response support in Hlaing Thar Ya. Before the pandemic, this area was suffering from multi-dimensional poverty; massive job losses and other impacts from COVID-19 and the economic contraction really exacebrated thes situation.
“In response, UNDP first focused on supporting community groups to distribute meals and water to the most vulnerable. We adopted a ‘by communities for communities’ approach to reach scale on the ground.”
An example of the approach is the supply of clean drinking water, which has long been an issue in Hlaing Thar Ya. Residents needed to pay for clean water, but because of the economic crunch they could no longer afford to do so. UNDP initiated a recovery approach by adopting a cash for work model.
Local people – mostly women – were paid to distribute water to households, creating a dual benefit: residents got clean drinking water and some made extra cash. The cost savings allowed residents to use some money for other essentials, such as rent or medical bills.
UNDP’s Nadia Niven says:
“We saw many more opportunities to move people from 'handouts to hand ups'. After six months beneficiaries told us they wanted to move to more sustainable livelihood options. In response, UNDP developed an initiative that offered vocational training to youth from these same beneficiary households.”
One hundred trainees were selected to join the training programme, designed with a focus on entry level office jobs, including working in call centers, digital finance, general offices, retail and hospitality.
UNDP also created links with local business partners, including Wave Money, Yoma Bank, City Mart and Awei Metta. The businesses helped build model classrooms based on actual business environments and shaped the training, so it best prepared the trainees for the workplace. Thanks to a strong relationship with the businesses, they offered to take on interns and provided positions to successful trainees.
Wave Money CEO, Brad Jones, said: “One of the great things is that it has given students confidence to come into an environment like our call centers. I think if these kids came in off the streets and they hadn’t had the program and training [from UNDP] it would be very intimidating to come into such a corporate environment.”
Su Kyi Mar is an example of the success and impact of UNDP’s crisis to recovery approach. Su Kyi Mar is now working at a bank and earning enough money to keep her family going. Not only that, but she has plans for a bright future.
“We were grateful for the support [with clean drinking water], but I also wanted a sustainable income to support my family.”
She says jobs were scarce, so when the community call came for candidates to join the livelihoods training programme, she immediately applied and was selected.
“The curriculum covered both theoretical and practical training, so I was already familiar with things when I entered the work environment. I just got a job at a bank. I’m earning 150,000 kyats salary. If I get promoted to a permanent position my salary will increase.” Su Kyi Mar says the income supports her family of five. “I’m proud to do this for my family.”
Through its Urban Resilience Project, UNDP reached 100,000 highly vulnerable people during the first phase of the programme. With additional donor investment, UNDP is ready to scale up, reaching 3,000 young people within six months. This would improve their lives and that of their families - some 15,000 people - build resilience, and create livelihood opportunities for some of urban Yangon’s most vulnerable residents.
Expansion of the pilot is part of UNDPs plan to extend the reach of the resilience project across 8 peri-urban townships and support 455,000 beneficiaries. These people represent 18 percent of the total population of urban Yangon and about 90 percent of the most vulnerable.
“Hlaing Thar Ya showed us there are shades of vulnerability that exist. Really understanding that and designing interventions accordingly is important. UNDP has shown the nexus approach to programming is a very powerful concept, and can be implemented in a crisis such as we were facing in Myanmar,” says UNDP’s Nadia Niven.
Living with a disability
When U Aung Thein San stepped on a landmine his body and life were shattered. The 38-year-old father of two was the sole income earner for the family, farming their six-acre betel farm and paddy field in Kyauktaw township in Rakhine State.
The landmine changed everything. Two months of hospital treatment in Sittwe cost the family everything they owned – seven cattle and 1,600 dollars (USD).
“After being hit by the mine I dared not work in the field anymore. Even though this was the only source of income for my family I was fearful there were more mines in the field.”
U Aung rented out his farmland and used the income to open a grocery store in the village. U Aung had options. He is one of the lucky ones, but challenges remain for him and his family.
Landmines continue to devastate the lives of farmers in Rakhine State. Some farmers lose their lives, while others become disabled, and the poor state of public hospitals means treatment is limited. The result is that most no longer have a productive livelihood, making them vulnerable and evermore reliant on diminishing family resources.
Even for U Aung, who was able to find a new way to make money, challenges remain, much of the burden of running the store has fallen to his wife, Ma Soe. The 33-year-old often walks for one hour to purchase supplies for the shop, taking a motorcycle ride home with the purchases. This is on top of other domestic chores, like walking for 30 minutes to collect water for her family.
Living with a disability has changed U Aung’s life, both socially and financially.
“I used to participate and help with social events like weddings and religious ceremonies in the village. Now the villagers still invite me, but because of my disability I must ask my wife to participate on my behalf as I cannot be of much help anymore.”
The grocery store is helping the family to survive, but U Aung says people with disabilities need to be factored into development plans, especially in areas affected by conflict.
U Aung is one of the thousands of people identified by UNDP through its community networks that need support to recover and create resilient futures for their families.
UNDP has already reached 500,000 people across townships in Rakhine with livelihood and income generating opportunities. With increased investment, UNDP plans to expand its support to all 17 townships in Rakhine State, home to 3 million people.
Growing livelihoods in Kachin
Daw La Bya Yun is an 81-year-old grandmother from a village in Myitkyina Township.
“I’m the oldest in my family of six, I stay with my son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. In the past we were doing shifting cultivation, but we can’t do that anymore because we have no land of our own. I am also of an age where I cannot travel far from home.”
“I was interested to plant seasonal vegetables and received seeds and gardening equipment from UNDP.
“The tools were very useful. I could never afford to buy them, or the seeds, with my own money.”
Before receiving the seeds from UNDP, Daw La was only able to plant coriander and mustard. Now she grows more diverse crops, including onions, long beans, and lettuce.
“I have both new plantation experience and new knowledge. I have learnt how to store the seeds and how to best plant them. I also received green [protective] netting which is very useful as animals can’t enter easily to the garden.
“If I compare what I have grown this year with other years, this year was more productive and increased my income more than other years. The organic fertilizer from UNDP helped me a lot.
“In this year I could sell many vegetables in the market, such as long beans, lettuce, coriander, and mustard.”
Daw La says selling vegetables in previous years only earned her about 10,000 kyat per month, but after UNDP inputs and support she could more than double her monthly income.
“Now I have an extra 20,000 kyat after buying meat, oil, and some other basic needs. By selling vegetables from my garden, I can save money, buy some meat, and support the fuel costs of my grandchildren.”
Follow-up assessments in 8 villages around Myitkyina found that 95 percent of households that received seeds and gardening tools experienced tangible benefits. The harvested vegetables were sufficient for home consumption, allowing them to save money for other essential needs. Some households were also able to sell or share the vegetables within their community, increasing the benefits at the village level.
Protecting labor rights
Maung Tin Soe Than was on holidays from school when he decided to take a short-term construction job to help support his family. The Grade 11 student left for his first day of work, and never came home.
The 17-year-old had already experienced much in his short life. In 2019, he and his family were displaced from their home in Paletwa and had been living in a camp at Ngasarilechaung Monastery.
On his first day of work, Maung was asked to collect the electrical cord for a water pump. As he coiled it around his hand, Maung touched a broken wire that had been covered with tape. He was electrocuted and died a few hours later in hospital.
Like many other young people in Myanmar, poverty pushed Maung into work at an early age with little knowledge of workplace risks*.
Maung’s death became local news and reached Daw Hla Aye and U Myint Shwe, paralegals at Sittwe’s Labour Issues Help Center. The pair went to Maung’s worksite, where they learned more about the incident – including that it was his first day on the job where he was earning 9,000 MMK a day.
From there, the paralegals went to the home of Maung’s family at the IDP camp. The family said they didn’t want to file a lawsuit; they assumed their son had died due to his own negligence because of a lack of experience.
However, the paralegals explained that the family had a right to expect compensation for their son’s death that was caused due to problems at the worksite. Negotiating on behalf of the family, Maung’s employers agreed to pay 5 million MMK to the family to help them cover funeral costs and to compensate them for their loss.
Within days the settlement had been agreed, signed, and the support funds transferred.
Maung’s family are just some of the people to receive assistance from UNDP-supported legal centers in Pyapon, Awyarwaddy Region, and in Sittwe, Rakhine State. The centers were established in February and March, respectively, of 2022.
Employing 11 staff, including 7 women, the Centers were set up with financial support from UNDP as well as technical support on legal practice. They are fully funded by UNDP to the end of 2022.
After their establishment, Center staff distributed labor rights information in community areas, especially those where daily wage labor is common. All services at the centers are free, and include in-person and online legal consultations, legal representation in court, and mediation. The Pyapon centre has also created networks and links with other organizations working on labor issues.
Despite the military takeover and concerns over rule of law, legal aid can still make a big difference.
Up to 200 people have indirectly benefited from the centers already, with staff helping to resolve 65 cases, including domestic violence and divorce cases as well as workplace deaths, like Maung’s case. The centers have also helped workers receive payments owed by their employers.
With further investment, UNDP plans to scale up its work to support 12 CSOs to expand legal empowerment programmes in Chin, Kachin, and Shan states, reaching up to 120,000 people.
*https://www.ilo.org/yangon/press/WCMS_626640/lang--en/index.htm
From thriving to struggling to survive
New UNDP research paints a bleak picture of the impact of garment sector shutdowns on women in peri-urban Yangon
Yangon’s garment sector was once a thriving industry, employing as many as 700,000 people. But COVID-19, the military takeover, and the subsequent withdrawal of some companies due to sanctions have decimated the sector. Estimates are that as many as 400,000 people have lost their jobs, most of them women.
New survey research by UNDP, looking at the impact of garment sector closures on workers in two of Yangon’s peri-urban townships, will be launched in July.
The findings are concerning. Families are coping in ways that make them ever more vulnerable – selling productive assets, eating less, spending less on things like health care, or borrowing money. The scenario is vastly different to just a few years ago.
During the previous decade, Myanmar’s garment sector was growing rapidly and contributing to the overall economic growth of the country. Garment sector products accounted for close to a third of all Myanmar merchandise exports.
Jobs in the sector gave new economic opportunities to women, with relatively high levels of pay. They also supported an array of auxiliary industries in areas around the garment factories including retail, transport, and services such as hospitality catering to garment workers.
Key to the sector’s growth since 2011 was the lifting of economic sanctions and restoration of the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences, which gave Myanmar better access to EU markets.
But since February 1, for those no longer employed in the sector, the prospects of finding a job are slim. Half of unemployed respondents believe it may take between one and six months to find a new job. About one in ten unemployed former garment workers has given up: neither employed nor looking for a job. Many women have reverted to more traditional gender roles inside the home.
Roughly nine in ten households have reduced non-food consumption as the principal way to cope. Household incomes no longer cover basic expenses, such as healthcare, fuel for cooking, and hygiene products.
The outlook is most dire for households with an unemployed former garment worker. Worse still are the ways they are coping, which are likely to deepen vulnerability.
These households are mostly dependent on income from other family members, and two thirds of them do not have a secondary source of income, further heightening their financial vulnerability. About the same proportion are using unsustainable coping mechanisms, such as eating less. These households are also most likely to sell productive assets – such as motorbikes – reducing future opportunities.
Survey respondents also said that economic and personal insecurity had led some to migrate. About 5 percent of respondents said they had migrated back to rural areas. While some feel more secure living there, the economic reality is they earn less than those who have remained near the garment factories.
Driven by fear of losing their jobs, 99 percent of respondents stated that the special trade privileges granted by the EU and other importing countries to the garment sector should continue. This finding is in line with smaller surveys that have also assessed worker’s sentiment regarding this issue.
UNDP’s Myanmar Development Observatory will release its report on the garment sector in July.