Muse Trip Report

Located in northern Myanmar's Shan state, bordering China, Muse is an area in dire need of aid. Children are being raised in an environment where human trafficking and drug abuse are very real dangers, both to themselves and their caretakers. In response to these conditions, Save the Children's Newborn and Child Survival (NCS) program sends out members who educate mothers on the proper way to care for their children. Additionally, donations made to the Baby Blanket campaign provide mothers with clean attire for their newborns. The following report details the efforts of 3 Save the Children staff members to spread awareness of our NCS program as well as the Baby Blanket donation initiative in the villages within Muse.





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Date

3.6.2010, Nong Kong Village, Namkhan Township
4.6.2010, Mant Maw and Nam Tau Village, Muse Township

Participants- Male(14), Female(65)

The village of Naung Kaung has 172 households with the majority of the population being of Palaung descent. The Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and Child Protection (CP) programs are being implemented in this village.

The village of Mant Maw has 112 households with the majority of the population being of Palaung descent. The CP and NFE programs are implemented in this village.

The village of Nant Taung has 234 households with a mixture of Kaching, Palaung and Lisu people. CP and NFE programs are implemented in this village.

During our discussion with the community, we introduced ourselves and explain the objectives of NCS. The communities were encouraged to actively participate in achieving the goals of the five-year project.
In these villages, children under five years old are dying from preventable diseases. By 2015, we plan for the mortality rate to be reduced by two-thirds. By 2017, we hope for a significant reduction in child mortality rates. Parents are encouraged to join NCS to help prevent the deaths of 6 million children every year.



In order to reduce child mortality, mothers are told to take care of themselves by staying healthy during pregnancy. They should eat nutritious food; receive regular checkups from Health Care centers; and be vaccinated. In order to ensure a smooth delivery, midwives have to check the position of the baby regularly.

We explained that if pregnant mothers do not receive regular checkups from trained personnel, it could potentially lead to birth complications.

Parents were advised to exclusively breastfeed the child for at least six months. In these villages, parents will sometimes give their child water and rice when a child turns a month old. We discouraged this practice by letting parents know that breast milk contained enough nutrients to sustain a newborn child. Supplementary food should be added to breastfeeding only when the child turns six month old. Children are to be vaccinated when they reach one month, two months, three months, nine months, and 18 months old. We demonstrated ways to protect children from diarrhea and influenza. For example, we told parents that a child's inactivity can be a danger sign for certain diseases.



We explained the purpose of the EVERYONE initiative and baby blanket donations. The baby blanket donors' information were presented to the mothers. We distributed baby blankets to mothers that were six to nine months pregnant and mothers who have newborn babies (within 28 days).



We noticed that mothers who were in the later stages of pregnancy or had newborn children were not present during our presentation. When asked why, the villagers informed us that the custom in their village is to prohibit these women from leaving their homes. They believe that women in this period are unclean and thus must be avoided by the men in the village.

Due to this, we elected to visit the mothers in their households. We made sure that they were aware of NCS and the baby blanket donation. The mothers were unaware of good health practices and were more than happy to form them into habits for their children. Villagers were welcome to donate baby blankets.



Naung Kaung village received 14 baby blankets; Mant Maw village received 18 baby blankets; and Nan Taung village received 23 baby blankets. A midwife from Nan Taung, who donated two baby blankets, is very active and interested in the NCS initiative. She said she will let others know through word of mouth that Save the Children is donating blankets. She took a baby blanket as a sample to show villagers.

Marie Stopes International came and donated some blankets to their poor clients. We donated five blankets to the mothers.

All staff in the office have been briefed about the NCS initiative. The objectives of NCS are clarified and seven successful cases from Thahton have been given prizes. Although there is no health program in Thahton township, they still won awards. This township does not have health programs but staff can contribute to the initiative by reporting cases of child abuse as well as by increasing NCS awareness through public activities in targeted villages. Staff are greatly encouraged to dig up more cases and participate in the second competition.

Staff from Muse and Namkham have discussed their cases and will send additional cases in the second round competition.

Difficulties
Some villagers could not speak the standard Myanmar language. We were forced to rely on interpreters for the Palaung people. Due to this, we felt unsatisfied with our discussions.

Lessons Learned
Before entering the village, we were unaware of key village traditions and customs. For example, we did not realize that in one village, mothers could not leave their households during the first month of their babies' birth. In the future, we will be better informed of local customs prior to visiting the villages.

Reported by,
Htay Htay Myint: Project Officer (PO), CP program, Thahton
July Moe Pwint: Project Assistant (PA), CP program, Thahton
Myo Thandar Aung: Outreach Worker(OW), CP program, Thahton