In a rural village in Myanmar, Daw Dau Tsai is protecting her community’s most valuable assets

When an animal falls ill in her village, people call Daw Dau Tsai. She comes to the house, assesses the animal and administers treatment: injections, medicine or more complicated procedures that she has learned to perform, such as hernia operations. 

For families in the village, many of whom cannot afford the journey to the nearest town for veterinary care, her presence is practical and valuable. 

For Daw Dau Tsai, 43, who settled in the village after being displaced with her husband and six children, it is a livelihood that she has built from scratch and one that continues to sustain her family as crisis and conflict drive displacement across the country. 

“That was a very difficult time for our family,” she says. “For our survival.” 

Daw Dau Tsai, in her own words, on building a livelihood and an important role in her community.

Daw Dau Tsai and her family arrived in a rural resettlement village in 2016, after moving from a displacement camp. The village was new, work was scarce and her husband’s health was poor. She had held seasonal farming jobs before, but in this new place she struggled to find work. 

Over the years that followed, she took part in a series of training programmes on women’s rights, livelihoods and animal husbandry, delivered by local organizations working alongside UN Women. One of these was a comprehensive animal healthcare course that covered disease treatment, vaccination, nutrition, breeding management and surgical procedures including castration and hernia operations.

“Before the training, I had to seek casual work in nearby villages,” she says. “But now I can stay home, treat animals and raise pigs to cover our family expenses.”

By the time she had performed castrations and hernia operations on 15 pigs, word had spread and neighbours began calling. 

“At first, I had to build trust with my neighbours before I could do home call services,” she says. “I practiced on my own pigs to prove my skills and gain their trust.” 

Daw Dau Tsai keeps in contact with the veterinarian who trained her and continues to learn new procedures, such as artificial insemination of pigs. She had previously connected pig-owners with visiting veterinarians and assisted in the procedure, but now she performs it herself. 

“If cattle or pigs get sick, and their owners can’t afford to go to town, they come to me,” she says. “I go and give the animals injections, medicine. If there are pigs that need breeding, I can also do that.” 

In a village where livestock is often a family's most valuable asset, and where the cost and distance of veterinary care can mean an untreated animal and a significant financial loss, her skills have become something the whole community draws on.

Daw Dau Tsai is among the women supported through a joint project by UN Women and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), funded by the Government of France, which delivers skills-based training, flexible cash assistance and access to protection services for women in crisis-affected and resettlement communities. 

Women in our village should not miss these trainings,” Daw Dau Tsai says. “I encourage them to take the time to attend and learn how to raise animals at home like I did. Because it will help you and your family build a secure livelihood.”

Her ambition now is to extend her reach, bringing her services to nearby villages and increasing both her income and her impact. 

*This story was originally published on the UN Women Asia and the Pacific website on 2 June 2026.