Ma Lin Lin: midwife, HIV care provider, and dedicated community leader

In honouring the women of Myanmar, UNDP celebrates the work of Ma Lin Lin, a midwife, HIV care provider and now a dedicated leader helping run a water bottling plant in Yangon’s Hlaingtharya Township, supported by UNDP and WaterAid.

Having worked as a midwife and volunteered to provide care for people living with HIV, Ma Lin Lin already knows the importance of providing support to those around her. Now she is thrilled to help improve the health and well-being of people in her community by providing clean drinking water.

This plant provides clean drinking water to over 6,900 people at just 250 kyats ($0.15) a bottle – the same as what they had been paying previously for a bucket of unclean water that was causing many people to get sick.

“When they got sick, they could not afford their hospital bills and because of their low income, they could not spare any money to buy clean water. So, it was a never-ending cycle back then. We now have access to clean water, and we can earn extra money from this work. Since then, the number of people getting sick dramatically decreased in the village. Women in our group have jobs now and earn their own monthly incomes”, said Ma Lin Lin.

The plant is part of a wider UNDP project in Yangon, which includes supporting women who struggle to earn a stable income to get vocational training and better-paid work. UNDP has already helped over 100,000 people in Hlaingtharya rebuild their lives.

Ma Lin Lin’s leadership and determination to make a positive change during these difficult times in Myanmar are vitally important. She sets an example to those around her and shows how supporting women to access positions like these is critical to improving their role in society.