EcoVillage Team distributing cloth masks in the water market of Nyaungshwe Township  

Market vendors with cloth masks from the EcoVillage Team 

<EcoVillage in Myanmar Provides COVID-19 Assistance to Residents>

EcoVillage Team, KGF’s Myanmar branch, distributed cloth mask kits at the 5-day market of Nyaungshwe Township to raise awareness about the importance of mask-wearing and handwashing in the fight against COVID-19. 

Myanmar saw the second wave of infection, reaching 2,000 daily positive cases in August 2020. Despite the severe impact, the limited access to human resources and goods prioritized urban areas and left Nyaungshwe residents without adequate access to information and hygiene products. The linguistic diversity in the township with many different smaller tribes rendered unsuitable what limited information that government could provide. The lack of infrastructure further impeded the dissemination of information through the country’s Ministry of Health websites and other online outlets. 

Since September, through the KOICA program, KGF started providing emergency food supply, organic fertilizer and seedlings, cloth mask kits, washbasins, and liquid soaps to 50 villages like Nyaungshwe Township and provided information in local languages tailored to each tribe.