Esther Suchanek is working as a project assistant for Malteser International and currently writes a travel diary from the disaster region.

How people in remote areas contribute to improve their living conditions Today, I leave the disaster region for a visit in one of the other project regions of Malteser International in Myanmar. Very early, in the pouring rain, we start our trip to the Mayu Kan peninsula close to Sittwe, in the north west of Myanmar. Here, Malteser International has been implementing a project to improve the water and sanitation as well as the health situation in 26 villages since 2006.

Two years ago, all started with a survey amongst the people in the villages to see what exactly their needs are. Then, together with the  inhabitants, the plan was made about how to go on. For example, the survey had shown that the construction of latrines should be a major point on the agenda: Malteser International was going to provide the materials for the construction, but the villagers themselves had to decide how many latrines they needed and where they wanted to build them. Furthermore, staff members of Malteser International distributed mosquito nets (namely 5165 – every household in the project’s catchment area received one) and  water filters. In addition, health promoters educate the people about risks of diseases like malaria and the importance of clean drinking water. Water ponds are being cleaned and rebuilt so that they will stay clean in the future.

In That Yet Chaung, a small community with about 145 households, we meet the village leader who proudly presents us his new latrine. Here, the people are very engaged and committed to make a change. “Before we started with the construction of the latrines, we had a meeting, every household had a vote. The result: every household wanted to get its own latrine”, the chief says. And so it was done. Where before there were only five latrines for 128 households there is now one latrine for each family.

Malteser International provides a basic set for the construction, the people often bring additional material to make the latrines more stable and look better. “The inhabitants of this village take such good care of their latrines that they will easily last ten to 15 years”, Julio Sosa, project manager at Malteser International in Sittwe, says.

Laughing, the village chief tells us how before, people often fell in the water pond because its edges were muddy and slippery, making the water dirty. This can’t happen anymore since Malteser International built a new concrete stair for the villagers to reach the water.

Furthermore, the villagers together with Malteser International plan to construct a fence so that animals won’t go drinking from the pond anymore. That will make the water even safer for drinking. The construction of the new health centers goes on at full speed.

We walk back through the village to the boat. Everything is very clean and in order. The rain is still heavy and the paths turned into little rivers. Before the arrival of Malteser International and the installation of the latrines, the waste water of many families flew across here...

In total, we visit three villages in which Malteser International works in the sector of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). But this is not all: the organization is currently also constructing five health centers in this region where before there was not even one. Up until today, the medical care is being taken care of by midwives that are each responsible for up to seven villages and work from home. A new health structure is therefore urgently needed. When the construction of the health centers will be finished, the Ministry of Health will take over and sustainably operate them. Of course, they are all provided with latrines and rain water harvesting tanks. And they are cyclone-proof, which is very important in this region where cyclones regularly strike in the beginning of rainy season, destroying many buildings. The construction is going on at full speed; the hand-over will take place soon.

It is good to see how the people here on Mayu Kan are happy about the assistance and how they commit themselves actively in the planning and implementation of all project measures.

They even founded committees to take care of their new facilities like the ponds and fences when they were built. In addition, the access to health care will be secured. This combination will hopefully change the situation of the people for the better in the long term, even after Malteser International will have left the area. The stone just needed to start rolling.

Esther Suchanek