Trip to The Pyinn Oo Lwin to Learn About Project "Older People Self Help Group"

The purpose of this trip is to learn, discuss about the project function, the strengths and weakness of the project, and to get the experience with real people with real experience that relates to the concepts and processes discussed throughout the class.

When we were attending the first class of the philosophy of the community development, the teacher explained us we have to go the field trip or final paper. We all were agreed to go the field trip instead of doing the final paper alone. At that time I feel so excited to go to the trip. Our class MACD-6 batch decided and organizes to go to the Pyinn Oo Lwin to learn from the project of older People Self Help Group.

I leaved from home from at 4pm with my two friends. Normally we had to arrive around 5 but that day we arrived 4:30 pm. At the bus station there were crowded with seller. Our group members were coming around 5pm. Although the students of our class have 22 students due to the work only 16 members could go on Thursday night. The bus leaved at 6pm from Yangon. We arrived at Pyin Oo Lwin in the morning around 6:00am. We were little tired but the fresh air and beautiful environment welcome us.

We went to the accommodation by rickshaw. It takes 20 minutes to arrive the accommodation. Our accommodation is Karen Baptist Convention. The place was so beautiful and comfortable to us. We had a breakfast at our accommodation; the breakfast was prepared by the old women from the church. It was so delicious. After breakfast we had an excursion. We visited the famous places of MayMyo such as Peik Chin Myaung Cave, December Mini Farm, National Kandaw Gyi Park, Chitswe Shoes store.

We had a great time in an excursion. Along the way of the excursion we could see the beauty scenes of the MayMyo. We noticed that there was no trash in the street. The streets were clean. There were many people local and foreigners came to visit Maymyo. We had lunch together at December Mini Farm, the food was so delicious and the price was also convenient for customers. We laughed, take a photo and talked together made us stronger our relationship.

We go back to our accommodation and arrived there around 5pm. We ate dinner and had night out together. The other seven class members arrived at 3 am.

We woke up in the early morning. Everyone was active to go to the project area. Before we went teacher Capusine and teacher Ester were explained about the project area, plan and program of the day. We went there by car.

It was two hour to arrive the Project area. Along the way to go the project area we could the bamboo forest. The area we were going to learn was Phu Pwint Way Sar Older Self Help Group in Inn Pot village. Inn Pot village is situated at Pyin Oo Lwin City in Mandalay Division. When we arrived some members of the Phu Phwint Way Sar picked and welcome and bring us to the meeting place.

The meeting place was impressed for us. They put their organization structure, vision, goal, objective, planning, and budgets. They prepared well for everything. Every team member welcomed us with a sweet smile.

In introduction section U Thaung Doe, a member of Phu pwint Way Sar lead the introduction section. Chair-person, U Maung Zaw, Secretary Daw Own Ye, Advisor U Shan Moe, Treasurer U Moe Kyaw, Village Administrator U Tin Tun, Monitoring and Evaluator U Sein Oo and U Soe San Mya, livelihood Sub Committee member U kan Nyut. Home care focal Aye Khine Soe and Health Sub Committee member Daw Swe Khin Introduce themselves. After that from Our MACD students in introduce by ethnic group which area form. We had a discus and sharing about the project with the project leaders, members and volunteers.

There were one hundred and sixty three household and six hundred and sixty five (female – 338, Male- 327) populations. Most of the villagers are Shan ethnics and Buddhists. As the livelihood they work planting, farming. Phu pwint Way Sar Older Self Help group began to established in June 25, 2010.

Fundraising: They raise funds through various way; small store, lucky draw, sale of Older Self Help Group merchandise like balm, soap and micro loan.

Individual Livelihood: it aims to create sustainable individual livelihood business that will consistently bring income to the old people who do not have income in their old age.

Income Generation Venture (IGV): it aims to create a small and sustain business that will consistently bring income to the older self help group fund. It will also create jobs for the unemployed and a business itself can contribute to the village like rice bank for food security.

Homecare: Recruited in the village and trained by doctor, volunteers visit the vulnerable Older People and provide basic home care services which improve their psychological well being as well through regular visit and companionship.

Disaster Risk Reduction (DPR): to raise older people’s awareness of disaster risk reduction, the project provides community-based management training and helps the older self help groups to conduct village level DPR risk analysis and action planning.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E): The M&E subcommittee will closely monitor the Older Self Help Groups activities, makes a report on findings and give feedbacks in monthly meeting to improve their activities.

They have also volunteers. There are also rule and regulations for homecare for volunteers.

This project got technical support from Help Age International (HAI), they stated the is project initial funding amount 30000 kyat support by HAI as the first step, later on Phu Pwint Way Sar improved and fund increased to two hundred thousand kyat. HAI give technical support such as Leadership training, Financial management, Organizational management.

The annual plans for Social Productions of the Project are as below.

They provide as the health care for the older peoples by visiting home care service. Home care subcommittee visits the old people once in a month. If the older peoples are sick and have to refer to the township hospital they inform the nurse and provide 10000 kyat and if they sick they provide 5000 kyat in each person. In Thinyan peorid they provide the old people give free medicine and checking blood pressure chart for old people.

They have annual meetings. In the meeting the committee members give feedback and recommendation for the project. There are also weakness and strength of the project. The strength of the project is they have gathering and fellowship once in a month. Old people are talking, sharing, laughing together make their relationship stronger is one the strength of the project. The weakness is they need young generation who interested in old people care and carry out the project.

After the discussion we had a photo time with the leaders, volunteers and some older people and had lunch together. After lunch we had a chance to visit some five older people families’ houses and had a conversation about their life style and their feeling upon as the membership of the Phu Pwint Way Sar Project. We split three groups to visit and learn the project. The four women lead us to visit some older people. We went the north place of the Inn pot Village.

We arrived at the treasurer’s field first. He was a farmer. He plants the flowers. He borrows money from project. This is the third time borrow money. He sells the flowers to Mandalay. He was become the member when the self help group formed.

The second house was the old woman house. She is about 70 years old. She is also the first member when the Old Self Help group formed. She also took loan money from the project and she raises pig and selling tofu. She said that she was happy as the member of the project. She pleased about she has been visit chaung thar beach organize by HAI. She always go to gathering meeting. She treat us her tofu and tea.

After that we went the third old couple house. They were not felling well that day. The grandma was sick and can’t walk. The grandpa was sick and they couldn’t go to the gathering as usual. So we asked about them do the team member come and visit you. They replied that they come and visit whenever they were sick or couldn’t attend meeting or gathering. The team members provide the medicine if they were sick and gave some money as a medicine cost. They also pleased about the group activities. We took a photo with grandma and grandpa and we left from their house.

After that we went to the old woman house. She was around 50 years old. We had a conversation with her; she treated us strawberry from their field and Shan food. It was so delicious. She said that her kneel wasn’t good and got pain. So she couldn’t go to the gathering program, although she couldn’t go her friends and team members came and visit her that made her happy.

After that we went the last old woman house. She was divorced. She has two children and grand children. She was also the first member of the project. She was recently not feeling well. So she stayed at home and making tofu and selling it. She also pleased about the project members’ activities and care to her. After we had a conversation we left from her house.

We got a little tired by working but all the activities, sharing with older people made us happy and forget what we tired. After visiting program, we went back to our car and went back to our accommodation.We left form Maymoy at 6pm and arrived in Yangon on Sunday in the morning.

If we look at what we have learn about the community development,

Community Development process is a process where people are united with those of government authorities to improve the economic, social and cultural condition if communities and communities are integrated integrated into the life of the nation enabling them to contribute fully to national process. – (United Nations, from Biggs, 1999)

To develop the community, those communities need to be healthy communities.

Community development seeks to strengthen the capacity of community members to act collectively to improve their physical, social, economic and political environment.

Community development builds sustainable places through participation and empowerment.

Community development requires reflective practice, considering ourselves as individuals and parts of the community.

Community development emphasizes people’s participation, fosters self- reliance and bottom-up problem solving.

So if we look at the Phu Pwint Way Sar Self help group I could see them they are healthy community. And also could see they approach a community through raising awareness, individual within a community will become motivated to take control and solve their own problems.

In this trip, I got a lot of experienced, spent together with classmates, sharing and talking funny made us our relationship stronger. In the project area, I got valuable knowledge. By having that project the older people are confident, strong relationship. It was remind me I have a responsibility to work for the older people from Chin land.

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