Children on the Edge
  • DONATE
    • The Big Give 2022
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES
Picture

LATEST STORIES

Click to donate

Food Parcels for Starving Kachin Families

28/1/2022

 
Staff members weighing out supplies for emergency parcels in Kachin State, Myanmar
​Border closures and conflict have left hundreds of families without food and basic supplies in Kachin State, Myanmar where Children on the Edge work with displaced communities, living in remote mountain camps. Our food relief programme has just ensured that 970 households received emergency food parcels, to last them a month. Find out more below.
In Myanmar, we support Kachin people who have been internally displaced and forced to live in remote mountain camps on the border with China, following years of fighting and persecution from their own government.

Working with two partner organisations on the ground, we support 15 Early Childhood Development centres, providing just over 400 of the youngest Kachin children access to education and support in safe, colourful classrooms, with trusted adults and plenty of space to play and have fun. However, these centres have been forced to close for nearly a year thanks to a swathe of crises affecting Myanmar right now. They were finally able to open again in January 2022.


A military coup in January last year has created an open dictatorship, with army generals now in absolute power and the country facing economic collapse. Fierce clashes resumed between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the military in spring last year, and this fighting has led to even more instability and fear for the communities we support. 

Previously, rounds of peace talks between the government and the KIA created relative stability for the Kachin people, but these talks have stopped and the situation is now far more unpredictable, with fighting getting closer to the mountain camps where the people we support live. 
A Kachin woman is stood at the front of a queue outside and is signing a piece of paper being held by a woman in PPE at a wooden desk.
People queuing up to register for food parcels in Kachin
Kachin people queuing up outside a wooden building to register for humanitarian assistance. A desk at the front of the queue is staffed by someone in full PPE. Everyone is wearing masks.
Queues to register for food parcels
Whilst communication with our partner organisations in Myanmar has been difficult, we were able to ascertain recently that the communities we support are currently facing huge uncertainty, with stress levels sky high. Relative peace until recently, has meant that people were able to cope, as they have been for years, despite the tough situation they are in. But now, they feel unsafe and have far less optimism and joy.

This already dire situation has of course been compounded by the restrictions and impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The border with China (who have a strict zero covid policy) has been closed completely for the past few months, after some coronavirus cases were found to have come in from Myanmar. This has stopped the transit of goods, supplies and migrant workers into Kachin State, which has meant that displaced people living in the mountain camps are now struggling to get hold of food and basic necessities, they have either run out or become unaffordable.  Some camps have also faced a shortage of firewood to cook their meals, as they now have to collect wood from deep in the jungle, putting them at risk of tripping landmines. 

For the first time since we have started working in Myanmar, despite years of conflict and coronavirus restrictions; food scarcity is now a real problem and people are beginning to starve. Families we support in the displacement camps are facing severe hardship, particularly those people who are unable to forage for food, including the elderly and those with small children. People have been unable to travel around the displacement camps and have been forced to stop working on farms. With jobs lost, travel restricted and borders closed, those living the most hard-to-reach camps have been in desperate need of food and emergency supplies. 
“This year is a very tough year for every family in our camp. Some families could not even afford table salt for their meals. We are very pleased to have your assistance during this difficult period.”

Teacher Kawn Mai Li from Sha-it Yang 
Picture
Supplies for food parcels
Picture
Volunteers preparing for distribution
To support these communities, we supported a two-day humanitarian food relief programme for the hard-to-reach camps, namely Pa Jau, Sha-it Yang and Maga Yang. Travel to these areas, even for humanitarian relief, was not permitted, but after some negotiation, our local partners were granted access to the most remote camps. They managed to deliver food and Covid prevention materials to 970 households, reaching 4,496 people.
​
These food parcels contain peanut oil, onions, garlic, eggs, peanuts, potatoes, noodles, sanitiser, face masks and an electric kettle. ​
Kachin child holding hand sanitiser from the emergency food parcels
Women carrying emergency food parcels including eggs and sanitiser.
“We are running out of our food stock and we could not access the Chinese market for a long time. I am very glad to receive the food you have provided, and I am going to buy the face mask this evening but, now I have it and no need to buy. I would like to say thank you very much for your kind support in these hardships"

Mrs Yi Ma Sa from Na Ru
Picture
Children from Pa Jau with their new clothes
This emergency humanitarian assistance in Myanmar is in addition to our annual provision of warm clothes for the children who attend the Early Childhood Development centres we support. In December, 350 children aged between 3-5 years old across five camps received a set of warm clothes, including a hat, coat, trousers, socks and shoes. These help the children to stay warm during the freezing winter months. 
READ MORE ABOUT OUR WORK IN MYANMAR
​

Support us

  • Give monthly Give monthly
  • Fundraise for us Fundraise for us
  • Receive our emails Receive our emails


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    RECEIVE OUR EMAILS

    Blog Categories

    All
    Ambassadors
    Bangladesh
    Burma/Myanmar
    Chichester
    Child Participation
    Child Protection Team
    Child Rights
    Child Sacrifice
    Coronavirus
    Dalit
    Digital Education
    Early Childhood Development
    Education Loans
    Fundraising
    General
    #GetToKnowUs
    History
    Hope
    Humanitarian Relief
    India
    Kachin
    Kyaka II Uganda
    Lebanon
    Postcode Lottery
    Protective Environments
    Refugees
    Rohingya
    Schools
    Storytellers
    The Body Shop At Home
    #ThrowbackThursday
    Uganda
    UK
    Ukraine
    Volunteer
    Women's Rights

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011



    RSS Feed

JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Click to donate

Get Involved

Corporate Partnerships
​
​Email updates
Fundraise 
Give Monthly
Grant Giving Organisations
​The Body Shop At Home
Volunteer

aBOUT US

Who We Are
​​​How  We Spend Your Money
Latest Stories
​Our Story
​​Our Work
Accessibility  | Annual Report  | Contact Us | Jobs | Media Centre | ​Privacy Policy | Resources | ​Safeguarding | Shop | ​Strategic Partners 
For raffle ticket holders | Take Part | Rules and Prizes | Complaints | Responsible Gambling ​
Logo which says 'Registered with Fundraising Regulator'

Registered charity no. 1101441
REGISTERED COMPANY No. 4996130 

​Children on the Edge, 5 The Victoria, 25 St Pancras, Chichester,  West Sussex, PO19 7LT, UK | 01243 538530 | communications@childrenontheedge.org 
  • DONATE
    • The Big Give 2022
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES