Dream comes true

May Yi Kone is under Khat Ti Ya village tract in Thabaung Township in Ayeyarwady Region. The main livelihood of the village is agriculture. The job opportunities for the landless are farming work, fishing and carpenter as daily wages worker.  There are livestock raising (chicken, duck and cow) in the village for family consuming and side income purpose. For the youth who cannot finish education have lack opportunities to engage well paid job. Especially youth migrated to the cities and boarder areas of the countries to earn more money, but they are not secure and no certain future because of lack of skill. On the other hand, youth still remained in the village engage culturally farming, and laboring to big farmers, and small fishery as daily wages worker even though they have dreams to become in future. Because of no investment to implement their dreams, they just leave them and do as usual with no hope.

Therefore, KMSS-Pathein is implementing the DREAM project in those areas with the partnership of Stromme Foundation in which one of the objectives is creating jobs opportunities for the youth by providing training needed.

Ma Thal Phyu is one of the youths who gained the sewing training provided by DREAM program in 2016. She said, “I was very interested in sewing since she dropped out the middle school because of her family livelihood situation.” In spite of being have had such dream she left it behind her reality and stick to regular jobs as a day labor for family’s income. She mentioned other youth from poor families are also still losing their future likewise her.

Even she can ask sew machine from her aunt to learn and practice during the free time of her aunt, being no sewing machine to practice is the obstacle challenging her to shop dreaming to learn.. By the time being gone to lose her dream, she could turn to dream it again because of the good news about sewing training which was a bridge connecting gabs between her future and reality. At that time she was very pleased and happy to join the training and she did it well. That’s why she said, “It was a bridge to cross spiky road to move forwards.”

Now she could make her dream bigger than before to become professional, so she practices the skills gained from training as much as she can and learns continuously it form her aunt. Due to unable to buy clothing materials, when she practices it at home, she joins the pieces of clothes from her aunt and makes the some shirt, pans and other clothes. Because of the big dream she needs additional higher training, so she said, “If she can have an opportunities to attend advance level training, it will be effectively to support her dream.” On the other hand, she plans to attend advance level training with her own effort by years later