Start from within

“We just want to sit in a circle and talk. That’s where things can change.” – says Daw Htu Jar, from the one of the Solution Sites in Waing Maw, Kachin state

In communities across Kachin state, especially in Solution Sites where people are trying to rebuild and resettle into what is now their new home, women and girls continue to carry the weight of conflict, displacement, and daily struggle. The pain is not always visible. It sits in silence, fear, shame, and the pressure to stay strong at all costs.

In many places, humanitarian support is still unpredictable. Distributions come and go. Services are short-term. But healing, rebuilding trust, and reclaiming identity take longer. And those things have to come from within.

These were not needs we created. These were needs we heard.

Women didn’t ask for more training or information campaigns. They asked for space—somewhere to sit, to feel, to speak freely, and to start healing on their own terms.

That’s how it started.

Action: Volunteer-led, Participatory Spaces

In the absence of strong community management structures like in IDP camps, the women volunteers stepped up. They are women from the same community—daughters, mothers, teachers, working moms, and teenage girls—each with their own story, but one shared purpose: “This is our community. It’s up to us.”

They coordinate and lead sessions themselves, even under difficult conditions. Since July 2024, internet and mobile access have been cut off in some areas, taking communication back to the 1990s—landlines, handwritten messages, and house-to-house visits. Volunteers are able to plan sessions two to three days ahead, walking to inform and invite women and girls, meeting with stakeholders, and preparing materials and space.

In areas where community halls are unavailable or double-booked with other actors, they adapt—sometimes using a participant’s home to hold the session. And when women cannot attend due to caregiving responsibilities, the volunteers adjust: organizing small groups, meeting in flexible time slots, making sure no one is left behind.

Together, they lead community awareness sessions followed by psychosocial support activities using the Five Feelings approach: Calm. Connected. Safe. Able to act. Hopeful.

They share key messages on Gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and referral pathways.

They use drawing, dancing, cooking, and storytelling. They share their own lived experiences—not as role models, but as real women validating their feelings and reminding others: you’re not alone.

“I’m not trying to inspire anyone,” one volunteer said. “I’m learning to know myself. To understand what I feel, and why. To protect myself—even when I’m alone.”

“I never knew it was okay to say no.”

“I thought I had to be strong all the time. Now I know it’s okay to feel weak, too.”

“I feel angry sometimes. Then I join the session, and I forget some stress. We laugh. My mouth gets tired from smiling. I feel like I own myself again.”

Impact: Community Ownership with UNFPA Support

UNFPA continues to stand alongside these women. Through direct implementation, ongoing mentoring, and coaching, UNFPA supports the design and facilitation of these sessions—but the leadership is local. The volunteers know their people, their realities, their solutions.

They are not just delivering sessions—they are building safety nets. They are creating a local ecosystem of care and response. And they are doing it with dignity, flexibility, and trust.

Thanks to the generous support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), UNFPA will continue to invest in local leadership, create inclusive spaces, ensuring that community-based protection is not temporary—but lasting.

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