ReliefWeb

MAWLAMYINE, Mon State – Hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) will benefit from a water point and a school building built by the UN refugee agency in Pa Yit Kho village in Thaton township in Mon State of south-east Myanmar.

Today, UNHCR’s Representative for Myanmar Mr. Giuseppe de Vincentiis officially handed over a water point and primary school to communities in Pa Yit Kho village during a ceremony attended by the State Minister of Border and Security Col. Htay Myint Aung, the State Director of the Department of Education Mr. U Myo Tint Aung, the Chairman of Social Development of Thaton township from the Karen National Union Mr. Pha Do Saw Tin Soe and the Secretary of the Myanmar Red Cross Society Dr. Aung Mon.

The water point and the primary school will benefit over 40 families and 62 students, numbering a total of 262 people living in Pa Yit Kho and the nearby villages. “We are extremely satisfied with these projects”, said de Vincentiis. “Our aim is to support these communities that have been affected by conflict so they can build for a brighter future, especially at this time when we see many changes in Myanmar and new avenues for peace.” A large number of people are displaced in south-eastern Myanmar’s Mon, Kayah and Kayin States and Tanintharyi Region, where UNHCR is operating. Additionally, some 110,000 Myanmar refugees are hosted in nine camps along the Myanmar-Thai border.

Speaking about refugee return from Thailand to Myanmar, de Vincentiis said: “UNHCR is preparing for a day when the situation is conducive for refugees to voluntarily and safely return home. For this to be durable, we need to work together, as Government, Ethnic Groups, local communities and international community, to design a response that is part of a broader comprehensive effort in the south-east. Refugees have hopes, fears and needs that are important to be understood and taken into account.” The water point and school construction was undertaken by UNHCR with its partners Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) and Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ). The projects were generously supported by the Governments of Japan and of the United States of America, two of UNHCR’s main donors.

Between 2004 and 2014, UNHCR assisted in building more than 500 rural health subcentres, primary schools and water points, as well as several hundred rehabilitation projects, school latrines, transitional shelters. The agency also provided school and medical equipment and relief supplies to address the needs of internally displaced people and refugees who decided on their own to return from Thailand to Myanmar.