Resettling with Resilience: UNHCR and UNFPA Joint Initiative Empowers Displaced Communities in Transitional Solution Sites across Kachin State

“I lost everything—the home where I raised my children, the fields I worked in, even my peace of mind. The conflict forced me to run more times than I can remember. I didn’t just lose a place—I lost parts of myself.”
— Hkawn Ra, 51, displaced woman in Kachin

For Hkawn Ra, the years since 2011 have been marked by fear, flight, and survival. Caught in the cycles of armed conflict in Kachin, she has been displaced multiple times—forced to leave behind her home, her land, and her sense of stability. In 2021, she arrived at one of the transitional solution sites for internally displaced persons (IDPs) with nothing but her determination to start over.

Today, she’s not just surviving—she’s helping others heal.

Over 230,000 people are still displaced throughout Kachin, including 150,000 who were displaced after the 2021 coup. Women like Hkawn Ra are finding new strength through a joint initiative led by UNFPA and UNHCR, with generous funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The programme is more than a humanitarian response—it is a commitment to restoring dignity, safety, and hope for displaced women and girls.

Safe Spaces for Protection and Healing

At the heart of this effort are Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces—places where women and girls can access gender-based violence awareness, mental health support, learn about their rights, and rebuild their confidence. 

For Hkawn Ra, participating in psychosocial support sessions and GBV awareness activities helped her reclaim her sense of self.

“I received mental health support and learned how to take care of my wellbeing and others’,” she says. “Now, I feel empowered—and ready to help my community heal too.”

The Power of Community Support

Lu Ring, a UNFPA-trained community volunteer, is one of the many women now supporting others through this initiative.

“Women here carry enormous stress—from violence, poverty, and fear,” Lu Ring explains. “UNFPA trained us to provide psychosocial first aid and GBV referrals. We’re not just volunteers—we’re part of the community. That’s why we can truly make a difference.”

These volunteers also conduct awareness sessions on sexual and reproductive health, women’s rights, and violence prevention—topics often left unspoken in crisis settings.

Maternal Health in the midst of Displacement

Displacement does not stop pregnancies, and for women like Taing Yaw, the risks are real.

“I fled my village because of the conflict, and I’ve lived in this displacement site for three years. Now, eight months pregnant, I rely entirely on the mobile clinic for care. It’s not just the regular checkups for me and my baby—I also receive crucial health information that gives me some peace of mind. Still, the fear doesn’t leave me. I constantly worry about giving birth without proper healthcare nearby. This clinic is my only hope.”

Thanks to mobile and static clinics supported by UNFPA’s sexual and reproductive health partner organization, women receive maternal and newborn care, family planning, and health education in the solution sites.

“Even in displacement, every woman deserves a safe pregnancy,” says a UNFPA partner’s health staff. “We go where the women are—because essential health care cannot wait.”

A Lifeline Made Possible by Partnership

This effort is part of a broader UN joint initiative, funded by KOICA since 2024, to support the recovery and resilience of displaced communities in solution sites in Kachin. Through this partnership, over 16,000 individuals are receiving access to essential services, protection, and support.

*This story was originally published on the UNFPA Myanmar website.