VZCZCXRO9640
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGO #1117/01 3230802
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 190802Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY RANGOON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6841
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3393
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1145

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 RANGOON 001117 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS; EAP/MLS 
TREASURY FOR OASIA:SCHUN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID KWMN KPAO KCRM SOCI BM
SUBJECT: WIF GRANT PROPOSAL FOR WOMEN,S EMPOWERMENT IN 
KACHIN STATE 
 
REF: STATE 136319 
 
¶1.  Embassy Rangoon recommends the following project for 
EAP/RSP Regional Women's Issues Fund Small Grants Program 
(SG) for Locally-based Organizations: 
 
¶A. Identifying Information: 
--------------------------- 
 
a) Name of project:  Strengthening Women Capacity Empowerment 
in Kachin State: Approaches Through Vocational Development 
Training 
 
b) Total budget requested:  $24,250 
 
c) Duration:  36 months 
 
d) Name of organization:  Mingalar Community Development 
Cooperation (MCDC), Myitkyina, Burma 
 
e) Organization Director: 
Mr. Lahkang Naw Aung, MCDC Coordinator 
DOB: July 17, 1965 
Place of Birth: Dukahtawng village, Myitkyina, Kachin State, 
Burma 
 
f) Organization Contact:  Mr. Lahkang Naw Aung, MCDC 
Coordinator 
 
g) Address: No 81 Yangyi Aung Quarter 
Myitkyina, Kachin State, Burma 
 
h) Telephone: 95-074-25327 (C/O Thu Kha Ming Tsa Pe) 
 
i) Email: mingalar.cdc@gmail.com 
 
j) Organization History/Achievements: 
MCDC, which was formed on October 10, 2006, is a 
non-governmental organization with a focus on community 
development. MCDC is helping the poor, orphans, disadvantaged 
women, and widows improve their livelihood development.  The 
organization participates in improving the lives of those 
living in rural communities in Kachin State and also promotes 
environmentally sustainable rural development. 
 
Between October 2006-October 2007, MCDC held training 
seminars on the following topics: community forest, agro 
forestry, ecology and watershed development, participatory 
rural appraisal training, women empowerment training, 
planning and management training, data collection research 
training for HIV/AIDS.  The team also helped to strengthen 
the capacity of 11 micro-credit unions in two townships in 
Kachin State.  After providing micro-credit training in these 
two townships, local villagers mobilized their own resources 
to establish micro-credit unions, which loan money to 
villagers at low interest rates. 
 
k) MCDC has not received USG funding to date. 
 
¶B. Project Overview and Justification: 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  The Kachin people, one of Burma's seven major ethnic 
minorities, living in Kachin State have undergone over three 
decades of civil unrest from 1960-1994.  The civil unrest 
left the region underdeveloped, and the many of the Kachin 
people live in poverty, with inadequate food supplies and no 
access to clean drinking water.  Many rural children have no 
access to basic education and health care, as their parents 
cannot afford the high costs.  The majority of parents, who 
have no vocational skills, are employed in the agricultural 
sector, practicing slash and burn cultivation.  However, they 
do not earn enough from these livelihood activities to cover 
their basic needs. 
 
In the fifty villages in Myitkyina and the thirty villages in 
the Waimaw area, women between 12-40 years of age comprise 25 
percent of the population.  Only about 5 percent of these 
women have learned to read and write; the remaining 20 
percent are unschooled, unskilled, and often illiterate.  In 
order to earn a living, many housewives peddle wares in the 
gold mines, jade mines, and logging areas, leaving their 
children behind.  They often contract malaria and other 
diseases, becoming a financial burden on their families. 
Children, particularly young girls, find it difficult to 
escape this cycle of poverty.  To earn money, some families 
 
RANGOON 00001117  002 OF 004 
 
 
send their daughters to sell products in the mining areas, 
unaware of the dangers.  Many young girls become prey to 
traffickers and are forced into prostitution, as well as 
forced marriages to Chinese men across the border. 
Consequently, many young girls contract HIV/AIDS and other 
sexually transmitted infections. 
 
¶3.  MCDC would like to improve the living conditions for 
housewives and young girls by offering a women capacity 
empowerment program, focusing on vocational training.  Women 
and young girls would learn skills such as tailoring/dress 
making and hair cutting.  Additionally, MCDC plans to 
establish a revolving fund to provide women with capital to 
develop small businesses. 
 
¶4.  Over a three year period, this project would help to 
empower and enhance the status of approximately 300 
unemployed, unskilled young girls and housewives. 
Participants will include refugees, uneducated women, 
unemployed women ages 15 and older, and housewives and young 
girls who are vulnerable to trafficking.  This project 
targets those women who are interested in vocational 
educational training for tailoring, hair cutting, and 
micro-income generation.  The participants will be from the 
remote villages of Myitkyina and Waimaw Townships in Kachin 
State. 
 
¶C. Project Goals/Objectives/Implementation Plan: 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶7. Project Goals: 
 
--To strengthen capacity building and empower poor and 
disadvantaged young girls and housewives through skills 
training and community-based development. 
--To improve living conditions for young girls and women by 
providing them with vocational skills they can use to support 
themselves. 
--To ensure employment, sufficient income, and support for 
children's education. 
 
¶8. Project Objectives: 
 
--By the end of year three, approximately 240 of the 
unemployed, unskilled young girls and housewives (80 percent) 
in the remote villages of Myitkyina and Waimaw Townships will 
have acquired: 
--improved vocational skills, capacity and technical 
knowledge in tailoring and dress making; 
     --skill and professional knowledge in hair cutting; and 
     --skill and knowledge in cooking food and food 
processing. 
--Approximately 180 trained young girls and housewives (60 
percent) will have stable employment with secure income. 
--Approximately 30 trained women will receive support from 
the revolving fund to establish their own dress making shops 
and hair beauty salons.  They will become independent 
entrepreneurs. 
 
¶9.  Implementation Plan: 
 
Activity 1: Advocacy and awareness for participation. 
The project committee will organize and conduct two-day 
awareness seminar workshops with community members and 
religious leaders to discuss the concept of women's economic 
empowerment and development.  Materials on the topic in both 
Burmese and Kachin will be disseminated among the community. 
The Committee will announce when the skill workshops will be 
held. 
 
Activity 2:  Tailoring Training and Hair Cutting Training. 
Each year, MCDC will hold three training sessions, which will 
last for three month periods.  MCDC plans to train 90 women 
annually; 30 women, 20 from Myitkyina and 10 from Waimaw 
area, will attend the training sessions. 
 
Women will be divided into beginner and advanced classes for 
both the tailoring and hair cutting seminars.  Those with 
more advanced skills will work as apprentices in the shop. 
 
Activity 3: Provision of a Revolving Fund. 
MCDC will use the revolving fun to provide several women with 
money to start small businesses.  MCDC will provide two-year 
loans to women interested in opening a tailoring shop.  The 
small businesses will be monitored by an MCDC team comprised 
of the manager and three committee members. 
 
RANGOON 00001117  003 OF 004 
 
 
 
Activity 4:  Provide employment opportunities for some 
trainees at the center. 
MCDC plans to hire up to five trainees a year to work at the 
center.  These trainees will be assistant teachers, and will 
receive additional training to improve their handiwork 
skills. 
 
Activity 5: Conduct the committee meeting and project 
management. 
The Project Committee will meet twice a month to discuss the 
progress of the training seminars.  The committee will have 
the responsibility to plan and manage all of the activities 
of the training center.  The treasurer and accountant will 
handle the projects financial management.  There will be five 
full-time staff:  one manager, three trainers, and a clerk. 
 
¶D. Measuring Effectiveness: 
--------------------------- 
 
¶10.  The project will enable the women to improve their 
standard of living by providing them with vocational skills 
and means of earning a living. 
 
MCDC will review the work and activities throughout the term 
of the grant, and will make suggestions for improvement based 
on the results of their monitoring. 
 
¶D.  Budget: 
----------- 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 Strengthening Women's Capacity Empowerment Project 
                 Values in Kyat 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Purpose                 Local            Requested 
                        Contribution     Amount 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
-Advocacy Awareness        30,000          100,000 
-Tailoring Training                      9,895,000 
 
  -Includes materials and 
  equipment (sewing and 
  hemming machines) 
-Hair Cutting Training                   3,500,000 
  -Includes tools and 
  Materials 
-Revolving Fund                          1,600,000 
-Women Education and                     1,750,000 
Development training 
-Classroom and office      60,000        1,195,000 
Furniture 
-Equipment                                 450,000 
-Logistics/Maintenance    500,000          745,000 
-Meeting and Workshops    200,000          400,000 
-Monitoring/Evaluation                     500,000 
-Capacity Building for                     300,000 
Staff 
-Misc.                    100,000          500,000 
-Admin and Coordination   500,000        5,740,000 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Total                   1,390,000       26,675,000 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
Total Projected Budget: 28,065,000 kyat or USD 25,513 
Total Requested Amount: 26,675,000 kyat or USD 24,250 
 
¶11.  A more detailed budget was sent via email to EAP/RSP on 
November 15.  Embassy Rangoon has some reservations about the 
above budget, and requested MCDC to provide us with 
additional details about what equipment/tools MCDC will 
purchase with the funding.  We will forward additional 
information to EAP/RSP via email. 
 
¶E.  Resumes: 
------------ 
 
Mr. Lahkang Naw Aung 
81 Yangyi Aung Quarter 
Myitkyina, Kachin State, Burma 
Telephone: 95-74-25327 
Email: nawawng.lahkang@gmail.com 
 
Date of Birth: July 17, 1965 
Place of Birth: Dukahtawng village, Myitkyina, Kachin State, 
Burma 
 
RANGOON 00001117  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
Work Experience: 
 
1990-2007 Freelance Community Development Worker while acting 
as Volunteer Coordinator for an HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse 
Prevention Program, Youth Department, Kachin Baptist 
Convention 
 
--During the past seventeen years, Lahkang Naw Aung worked on 
early childhood development issues, community development in 
Kachin State, and HIV/AIDS and drug abuse prevention.  As an 
employee of the Kachin Baptist Convention, he coordinated and 
supervised over 50 village/community based development 
programs in Kachin and Shan States from 1993-2004.  In 
2006-2007, he  conducted a baseline survey for data 
collection, situation analysis, and planning for the HIV/AIDS 
and Drug Abuse Prevention Program.  He also conducted an 
external evaluation of KBC's development program in 35 
communities. 
 
--Currently, he is working with the Kachin Baptist Convention 
on their multi-sectoral development project plan and farmer 
field school project plan. 
 
1985-1991  Primary School Teacher, Dukahtawng village, 
Myitkyina 
 
Lahkang Naw Aung has a good command of English.  He has 
computer skills, and is proficient in Microsoft Word, 
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Statistical 
Package for Social Science (SPSS). 
 
¶12.  The Embassy does not have a relationship with MCDC, and 
is still conducting due diligence on the organization.  MCDC 
also recently applied for a small grant from the Australians. 
 The Australian Embassy contacted several NGOS working in 
Kachin State that it has worked with in past, including World 
Concern, Kachin Veterans Committee, and Metta Foundation, to 
find out more about MCDC.  All three NGOs informed the 
Australian Embassy that MCDC was a new organization that has 
good ideas.  The Australians are considering funding MCDC. 
 
VILLAROSA