The Amazing Project - Stepping Back to Burma

DARE Network 

We thought we would share with you the aims and results of our work on the Amazing Project in 2016

This whole report was written and compiled by our local DARE Network Staff on both sides of the Thai/Burma Border

Project Title: Step Back to Burma – Hpa’an  District, Myanmar

Project Location: Head Quarters – Hlaing Bwe, Hpa’an District, Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son, Thailand 

2016 ACTIVITIES IN HPA’AN DISTRICT KAREN STATE

DETAILS OF OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

1.Open DARE Network Office in Hpa’an Township

After talking with Karen Leaders and NLD representative, DARE Network has decided to apply for registration as a Local NGO with the new government of Myanmar. We will begin this process in January, in Hpa’an Township.  We will consult with other registered CBOs/CSOs in Hpa’an, make the required application and open a very small office.

Results: DARE decided that it would be more effective and useful to open its official office in the township of Hlaing Bwe, because of its central location between the DARE Centre and Hpa’an.  This way, staff could more easily access both the DARE Centre to support the DARE Team and to go to Hpa’ an for any meetings or coordination necessary.  As well, DARE can store supplies safely and dryly in the Hlaing Bwe office, with close neighbours to keep an eye on things if DARE Staff are away from the office.

2.Build DARE Training and Treatment Centre in T’ree Hpoe Kwee

DARE Network has acquired public land to build a Treatment and Training Centre near the village of T’ree Hpoe Kwee.  We worked closely with the village headman and the KNU and chose this location as most central to our 20 villages, close to the Thai Border and near the new road to Hlaing Bwe.  It is 54 miles to Hpa’an Township and 30 miles to Hlaing Bwe, from the DARE Centre. Please see attached map.

At the writing of this proposal, we also have a proposal into Global Neighbours to take on the cost of building, so that we can free Childs Dream funds for a generator for electricity, and agriculture materials at the DARE Centre for client therapy.  Should our proposal to Global Neighbours be denied we will need the budgeted funds from Childs Dream to be allocated to building the DARE Centre. It is our intention to build the DARE Centre in the 1st Quarter.  DARE will build the core structure including plumbing, toilets, kitchens, roof, cement floors, wood for a Treatment Centre and a separate Training Centre, that will also house DARE Staff.  Our 20 villages have committed to providing the bamboo to finish the Centres, thereby investing in their facilities and creating a sense of ownership.

Results:  DARE staff completed the building of the DARE Centre in May, 2016. This was done in coordination with the 20 villages, village leaders and coordinators.  

3.Train 20 Village Coordinators in Prevention Education, 80 times in 10 months

During the 12 months of 2015, DARE Network will form 5 teams of Addiction Workers from last years training in Mae La Camp.  Please see chart.

Each team will consist of 3 Addiction Workers that will rotate among the 20 villages and the DARE Centre.  Two mobile teams of Addiction Workers will train 20 Village Coordinators each grouped into 8 villages. That is according to location, 2 or 3 Village Coordinators will be trained together, in Prevention Education theory and activities.  The AW Teams will spend a week of each month, with each group of Village Coordinators. Over 10 months, we anticipate that the Addiction Workers will give 80 trainings to the 20 Village Coordinators.

Results: The following is a table of the number of times the DARE Mobile Team trained the village coordinators and the names of the villages, in the modules of the DARE Prevention Education program.

Activities Statistic of DARE Network Karen State Program (Hpa-an District)

Mobile Team provide Addiction Education information Training January to June 2016

VillageReceived Training from Mobile teams

Kler Day 5

Htee Ler Doh Village5

Meh T'Poo Hta Village5

Meh K'Taw Hkee Village4

Paw Baw Hkee Village4

Htee Th'Blu Hta Village5

Kyaw T'Lay Hko Village5

T'Ree Hpoh Kwee Village5

K'Mah Hta Village5

Meh Th'Moo Village5

Wa Mee Klah Village5

Htee Hpah Reh Village5

Htee Moh Hkee Village5

Khaw Thoh Hkee Village4

Htee Per Village4

Ta Kreh Ne Village5

Hpah Kay Kwee Village5

T'Wea Hko Village5

U Lah Kloh Village5

T'Moh Village5

4.Facilitate 20 Village Coordinators to share Prevention Education to 40 other villages, 400 times in 10 months

In the intervening weeks between trainings from the DARE Addiction Workers, the 20 Village Coordinators will take what they have learned to their own 20 villages and 20 new villages, two times each month. Village Coordinators will deliver 400 Prevention Education sessions. It is also anticipated that the Village Coordinators will have the opportunity to travel to the DARE Centre to observe Treatment and to have two or three intensive trainings in Prevention Education together, at the DARE Training Centre.

Results:  The Village Coordinators have completed 190 Prevention Education sessions. 2 Intensive trainings have taken place at the DARE Centre for the Coordinators.  The spin off has been that villagers in the villages where the Village Coordinators have completed their sessions, continue to train others.  The information is spreading exponentially by the villagers who have attended the sessions.

Village Coordinator Sharing addiction information to villagers and school January to June 2016

NoVillage Coordinators provide addiction information

To village & SchoolFemaleMaleTotal

1Kler Day Village

12 times11085195

2Htee Ler Doh Village

12 times7565140

3Meh T'Poo Hta Village

12 times12575200

4Meh K'Taw Hkee Village

8 times5744101

5Paw Baw Hkee Village

8 times6849117

6Htee Th'Blu Hta Village

8 times8865153

7Kyaw T'Lay Hko Village

8 times4956105

8T'Ree Hpoh Kwee Village

8 times149115264

9K'Mah Hta Village

8 times6245107

10Meh Th'Moo Village

8 times484593

11Wa Mee Klah Village

10 times6658124

12Htee Hpah Reh Village

10 times483583

13Htee Moh Hkee Village

10 times6445109

14Khaw Thoh Hkee Village

8 times583290

15Htee Per Village

10 times7535110

16Ta Kreh Ne Village

8 times552984

17Hpah Khay Kwee Village10 times493281

18T'Wea Hko Village

10 times523991

19U Lah Kloh Village

10 times6042102

20T'Moh Village

10 times7048118

5.Provide 2 cycles of Addiction Treatment in DARE Centre in T’ree Hpoe Kwee

The DARE Treatment Centre will be available for treatment in the last 3 Quarters of the year.  DARE Network Addiction workers will work in 5 teams of 3 workers each and rotate in and out of treatment and prevention education activities.  Each treatment cycle is 3 months long with a month preparation and a month in between to assess and accept clients. According to the assessments, some clients may engage in 6 week treatment cycles.  The DARE Addiction Workers are trained in assessments and can make the appropriate determinations of treatment plan.  To be modest in our first year, we hope to treat on average 20 clients per cycle. It is better to be thorough for success, especially when building our reputation in the area.

Results:  The first cycle of treatment started 4 days after the opening ceremony.  27 clients arrived over the first week, many supported by their families or village leaders.  As in the beginning of DARE’s program in Thailand, the most severely addicted and often violent people came to treatment.  It is a way to test DARE Network’s abilities to the extreme.  As we experienced this before, we were not surprised, but nevertheless, it was stressful for our workers to have so many hardcore addicts at once.  However, they worked together with our longtime experienced staff and managed the detox as best they could.  The village volunteers helped manage the hardest cases, in the nighttime.  All the clients made it through detox.  There already is a waiting list of clients for the next treatment cycle.

Clients treated in 1st Treatment Cycle

NoFemaleMaleRemark

    0         27

1.9 Clients from  Pa Pun Township

2.2 Clients from Hlaing Bwe Township

3.2 Clients from Mae La Camp

4.4 Clients from Kwan Be village Hlaing Bwe Township

5.1 Client from Thai village

6.2 Clients from T’ree Hpoh Kwee village

7.7 Clients from P’Nwen Thaw village Hlaing Bwe Township

6.Core DARE Staff support, monitor and evaluate program outputs

DARE Network Core Staff, Master Trainers and support staff will support, monitor and evaluate the program over the 12 months. As our main office is still in Thailand, due to our work in the refugee camps, we will travel to Hpa’an and work with the Burma Liaison Officer to ensure that all logistics are met, that activities are full and on schedule, as much as possible, that coordination among CBOs/CSOs is advancing, that evaluation is done and that the program is meeting its goals.  The Burma Project Coordinator will work with DARE’s Program Coordinator to ensure that all financial aspects of the work are accountable and on time to the DARE Accountants.

7.Coordinate with CBOs and CSOs in Hpa’an District

During our trips and investigations in 2015, we noticed that although there are a number of great CBO/CSOs operating in Hpa’an District, there is not a lot of knowledge of each other’s programs.  Because DARE Network’s work is cross-cutting, we feel we are well positioned to help coordinate a sharing of information among our colleagues and organizations. In Hpa-an Township there is a higher level of understanding of what people are doing, but in the District and sub-District, where we work it is not so indicative.  We hope to help support a mechanism for sharing.

Results: DARE plans a workshop for CBOs/CSOs in Hpa’an in Q4 to get to know each other better and to share our work and plan with others how we can contribute to each others work.

8.Investigate value added activities to actors in Kachin State

Although it was our intention to visit Myitkyina in early December, 2015, we were not able to coordinate the visit with Childs Dream partners there, nor other contacts that we have.  DARE Network has received several requests to help in Kachin State.  For 2015, we felt we needed a longer timeline to put a worthwhile visit in place, as it is far and expensive to get to and back.  It is our intention to make this visit in 2016 to coordinate with Childs Dream Partners and to determine how we can add value to the work already being done.  It is our estimation that all groups working on prevention and treatment issues would benefit from our new training manual.  To be completely effective, it might be useful for us to do experiential detoxification workshops of two weeks, to maximize the use of the manuals. Our first step though is to go, look and learn. 

Lessons Learned

 Learnings

-All the Male staff gain their driving skill for the dry season and raining season.

-Staff have more relationship village coordinators and village headmen and villagers.

-Staffs are try the best they can to meet the goal.

-The addiction workers are less than the clients but they are unity and helping each other. Villagers and some clients also help the staff when some clients run away and climb the mountain during the clients have withdrawal symptoms. Neighbour villagers see, know and understand the problems of addiction because they see the treatment from DARE.

-Now people are coming to our treatment centre or phone us for to admit their addicts for treatment but we suggest them wait for the next treatment cycle and ask them start to reduce their using. Why we are not accepting their request is now the treatment already pass more than one month and ongoing into education part with treatment. 

-More people are heard our program even we are not going to their village and provide addiction information yet but they hear by people to people who know our program and share the information.

-Clients family are share treatment information to their community because after they see the benefit from treatment centre even we didn’t know.

-Village headmen are participate with us for to manage the client.

-We have close coordinate with Back Pack Health Worker Team for to back up our clients for with other medical problems such as malaria, skin disease etc… 

-For relapse prevention some of our staff travel to the clients villages to share information about addiction and prepare the families and villagers for the return of client after treatment

Challenges 

-As raining season some river are high and strong. 

-Some part of road are cut and very muddy. 

-According to weather some time need to adjust the training schedule.

-Most of clients are high withdrawal symptoms and run around the place.

-Clients are not coming on the time that we start.     

INTERVIEWS WITH CLIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES MADE BY STAFF AND INTERNS AND TRANSLATED BY THEM

Interview 1.

Client story.

He is a young who lives in Laing Bwen Township in Karen state. Based on this story he started to use drugs when he has 13 years old. He was persuaded by his friend to drink the water of toddy in the school. This was a natural alcohol which is very popular in Burma. People could get easily because it was very cheap. Especially for the young people, it is the basic of starting how to use different kinds of drugs.

A few year later he was fire by the teacher because of did not follow the school regulations. And then he went to Bangkok for earning money. Unfortunately he met with an uncle who could drink and gambling. Anyway he had to rely on him because there is no the documentation for travelling. Sometimes the oldest people asked him to go and buy for them. In particularly for the special day and New Year it was a great day for them. In addiction most of his friends were using drugs. 

He used many different kinds of drugs. Such as beer, necrotic, Yaba, ice etc... But the most addicted is Yaba. At first he planned to find money for his family. But when he was addicted he could not save and spent it all for Yaba. It cause 2500 kyat per one tablet. Because of it his life was getting worse and his mind full of darkness. He went to the hospital to buy the medicine for cure himself. But it did not work. Because there is no schedule for him to take the medicine.

Fortunately one of his friend was contacted and informed him about the value of DARE has conducted the process. He was really interested and confidently to stop using drug. He was expressed his gratitude and thanks to DARE which is the organization that guide him in a good way. It is not only the process of treatment. It is including with del