beneficiary newsletter _third issue_english version

8/11/2019 Beneficiary Newsletter _third Issue_English Version

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Shae Thot: The Way Forward

Integrated Community Development in Myanmar

Shae Thot

Pact Myanmar

Shae Thot Beneficiary Newsletter

July 2014

This newsletter is intended for the rural communities in the Shae Thot Project Areas

In October, the USAID-funded Shae Thot Project will be three years old. The

five–year-long Shae Thot project - from October 2011 to September 2016 -

is being implemented in nearly 2,040 villages in 20 townships in Magway,

Mandalay and Sagaing Regions of the Dry Zone, Kayah State, as well as

peri-urban Yangon, reaching nearly two million citizens. The Shae Thot

consortium partners include Pact (Consortium Lead), Marie Stopes

International, Pact Global Microfinance Fund, CESVI and UN-HABITAT, as

well as, seven local non-governmental humanitarian assistance

organizations.

Currently, the Shae Thot Maternal and Child Health Program is phasing out

in four townships in the Dry Zone - Myingyan in Mandalay Region, and

Seikphyu, Salin and Aunglan Townships in Magway Region - where

implementation of project activities has been accomplished. Monitoringdata shows that basic infrastructure and MCH sector developments in these

townships have improved greatly. For these accomplishments, Shae Thot

appreciates the collaborated spirit and effort of all partner organizations, as

well as regional government agencies, and above all, citizens!

Shae Thot Towards a Better Future



Shae Thot has achieved remarkable impacts

on local communies!

Unringly Serving the Community…….with Compassion and

Dedicaon!

(Tin Tin Aye, Shwe Pyi Tha Township, Yangon Region)

Shae Thot focuses on the project’s four main sectors: health, livelihoods and food security, water and

sanitation, and community institutions and local governance strengthening . This newsletter highlights

the accomplishments in the Maternal and Child Health Sector (MCH).

Tin Tin Aye gives praccal learning sessions

to community children @ Pact

Maternal and Child Health Sector Accomplishments

October 2013- March 2014

Shae Thot is currently being implemented in nearly

1,700 villages in 20 townships. To date, nearly 2,040

villages have received the project-related assistance.

A total of 937 mother groups, with 12,378

members, have been formed in 237 villages.

During the period, a total of 339 community

volunteers have received training in maternal and

newborn care, nutrion promoon, common

childhood illnesses and early childhood development.

During the period, Village Development Councils, in

collaboraon with community volunteers, held a total of

502 nutrion promoon events in which nearly 26,000under-ve children parcipated. They also held 423

baby-weighing events in which 3,606 under-ve

children were weighed and recorded.

A total of 83 community volunteers have been trained

as Water, Sanitaon and Hygiene (WASH) Promoters,

and these volunteers distributed 3,582 hygiene kits to

families with pregnant mothers and under-ve children.

Now, every house in our sub-ward has y-proof latrines. Together, with the community nutrion volunteer, we

have held nutrion and baby weighing events. We also explain the importance of nutrion and sanitaon, as well

as four clean aspects. When the nutrion volunteer moved to another township, I undertook both dues-

workingas a Nutrion and Wash volunteer. Up to now, I have held six nutrion and baby weighing events at my home. It

means extra work but I am sased. Now children in the neighborhoods know the importance of the seven-step

hand-washing process. I have decided to carry on with these tasks ll we can nd and train a new volunteer for

nutrion. Well, I am unringly serving the community, due to compassion and dedicaon!

Although my township is some 16 miles north of downtown

Yangon, our neighborhoods are kind of peri-urban. When rains

come, they become lled with water, mud and waste - absolutely

dangerous from a sanitary point of view. I run a kindergarten at

home for the kids in our ward whose parents are away all day. So

far, business has been somewhat good. Since most people are daily

wage earners, they work from early morning hours well into late

evening, and therefore cannot care for what happens in thecommunity. Especially as they have very lile knowledge of basic

health issues.

When Shae Thot arrived in October, 2012, and held community

workshops on “Four Clean methodology”, I aended and became a

community volunteer for water and sanitaon. It’s interesng! I visit

homes to explain basic health knowledge to families. Although people

were quite skepcal at rst, gradually they understand my work.

Cover photo : Shae Thot maternal and child health sta members, from Bawlakhe

Township, Kayah Region, assist villagers to form Village Development Commiees (VDCs)



I Am Alive Because of the Shae Thot Team .

Naw Kawt Kaw, Lo Law Htee Village, Mawchee Area, Kayah State

Situated deep in the mountainous Mawchee Area of Kayah State,

Lo Law Htee Village is somewhat detached from mainstream society. The

nearest health center is three hours away by walking, during the dry season.

The village is very backward, and villagers do not speak Myanmar language.

Thirty-nine

-year

-old Naw Kawt Kaw, a nave of Lo Law Htee, just gave birth

to her eighth child in last March. She was assisted by her husband , Saw Day

Kuu Lu, and his aunt, as they had done for her other seven children.

However, this me, it happened that Naw Kawt Kaw suered post -partum

hemorrhage. If she had not received care and treatment, her condion

would have become very serious. Fortunately, the Maternal and Child Health

team of Hpasaung Township from Pact Myanmar’s Shae Thot Program,

together with a midwife from the township medical oce, was in the

village, for the Extended Program of Immunizaon. A relave of the suering

woman sought help from the combined team.

The team cared for Naw Kawt Kaw and her infant and she recovered. The

husband was grateful, “ Bringing my wife in a coma to the hospital would be

very costly and dangerous. Thanks to Pact Myanmar and the nurse, her life

was saved. Now, I am going to aend the workshop on basic health care,

given by Pact Myanmar. “ Two weeks later, the Pact Myanmar MCH team

and the accompanying midwife again visited the village and provided post -

natal care to Naw Kawt Kaw and her baby. In addion, they gave the couple

counseling on birth spacing.

Maternal and Child Health is one of the main sectors of Shae Thot Program. The following are pictorial

records of program impacts on local communies

Naw Kawt Kaw and her newborn baby

were cared for by the Pact Myanmar

team and government medical person-

nel.

The above graph shows improvements in maternal health

care in four Dry Zone townships - Salin, Seikphyu, Aunglan

and Myingyan - by March 2014 when Shae Thot began to

phase out aer three years of assistance to local

communies. As the blue (baseline) and red (end line) lines

show, the situaon has improved greatly. The number of

women who received PN care by properly trained persons

reached 96 percent while the number of women who used

clean delivery kits reached 98 percent. Pact Myanmar

appreciates the overwhelming enthusiasm and supportdisplayed by regional authories, partner organizaons and

communies.

Salin...Seikphyu...Aunglan..Myingyan

Shae Thot phases out……. Ongoing Shae Thot acvies

Yinmarbin, Sagaing Region

Currently, Shae Thot Consorum project

acvies are being implemented in Sagaing

Region’s Yinmarbin and Butalin Townships, The

picture below shows a member of the

Maternal and Child Health Defender volunteer

team from Tagaryin Village explaining three

food groups to the village women. The scale (in

blue) used for baby-weighing can also be seen in

the picture.



The following is a pictorial record of Maternal and Child

Health activities from the Shae Thot Consortium

For more information:

Sarah Kellogg

AEA Program Specialist

Washington D.C

[email protected]

Matthew Tiedemann

Chief of Party

Yangon

mtiedemann@pactworld.

Sparsely populated with difficult terrain, and decades-long conflicts,

Kayah State in the southeastern part of Myanmar is left behind in

development. Therefore, local populace have enthusiastically

welcomed the Shae Thot Project, a joint effort by Pact Myanmar andpartner organizations. The photo on the left shows the home care

visit by Pact’s Maternal and Child Health team to a family in

Kubawhtee Village, Hpasaung Township. The girl lying nearest to the

nurse (in a white blouse) is 18 years old and was found very weak due

to malnutrition at that time. Pact Myanmar’s MCH team gave her the

necessary care and medicines and now she has recovered.

Images from the Land of Kayah Peo-

The photo on the right shows

staff from Hpasawng Township

who gave trainings to maternaland child health defenders in

the villages. Often overlooked

by humanitarian assistance

programs, villagers from Kayah

are eager to participate in Shae

Thot’s community trainings.

Yesagyo Township, Magway

The photo on the left shows villagersattending training on Village Health

and Development Funds (VHDFs)

p lay ing games emphas iz ing

coordination. The training focused on

the VHDF fund management .

Bawlakhe Township, Kayah

The above picture depicts Pact

Myanmar’s Shae Thot staffholding a community meeting

to form a Village Development

Committee in Kayah Paing

Village. The meeting was held at

night because it was the only

time when the villagers were

available.

Shae Thot’s Maternal and Child Health sector has cared for

hundreds of thousands of children since the project’s start in 2011.

The graph on the left illustrates the status of vaccination to under-

five children in the four Dry Zone townships since project

implementation began in September 2011 - Salin, Seikphyu,

Aunglan and Myingyan - through March 2014. The vaccination

program focused on five major diseases common in children :

Measles, Hepatitis B, DTP, Polio and BCG.

Healthy Children Through the Shae Thot Maternal and Child Health

beneficiary newsletter _third issue_english version

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