2024 has been a year of steady progress for the Waymaker Trust. It ended with an arduous but morale boosting visit by the WMT team to the remote village in Chin State where WMT are building a community centre which will become the focal point for their work in the area.
Since the coup, state healthcare provision has all but ceased. Many people have been forced from their homes into refugee/IDP camps and others have moved to remote communities in hard-to-reach areas for their safety. As a result they have lacked access to basic healthcare tools and services. Lyna and her team were accompanied on their trip by a doctor and a nurse and they were able to run a mobile clinic which was the first one to be held for local people since the coup. It was all made possible with the support of WMT donors which enabled essential medicines to be purchased and transportation costs to be covered (see report and photos below).
The visit was also a chance for Lyna to meet up with the WMT women’s empowerment and tailoring group (see report and photos below) and to explore the possibility of WMT providing village children with some of the educational opportunities they are missing out on because of the coup.
Most women in rural communities in Chin State are facing significant mental health, emotional and financial challenges. Humanitarian aid to the region is scarce, and many development activities have been disrupted due to insecurity and ongoing conflict in the region. Insufficient financial resources to meet basic living requirements result in numerous issues affecting not only adults but also children, who suffer from lack of proper food, shelter, education, healthcare, and day-to-day living condition of everyone. One of the best gifts that any child in Chin State can have right now is simply the chance to attend school and the opportunity to learn.
It was a blessing and a privilege for the WMT team to be able to make this visit at the end of yet another difficult year for the Chin people. Lyna has complied two separate reports which can be read in full below. Thank you for all the support you have given WMT in 2024 and thank you for your continued support in 2025!
The Waymaker Trust 