Myanmar - Mnai Hleih - 2019 Graduate
Kanpetlet Township Baptist Association
site visit February 2020
submitted November 2021
Deep in the Mountains of Myanmar – a brief glimpse
by Steven Cutting – Coordinator of Graduate Outreach, ARI
https://gyazo.com/500abac3aa2cef05a1c7d0065ccf10ba
The mountains of southern Chin State, Myanmar
“Have you got your raincoat?” Mnai asked me on this brilliant cloudless day. “Ah, yeah,” I replied with some confusion. “Good, you’ll need it for the trip to my village. I brought back the raincoat I was given at ARI, and I use it all the time, but not for rain – for dust.” And dusty it was. After four hours on his motorbike, the two of us had become as brown as the dirt road we’d just traveled on.
https://gyazo.com/b00a28928c34170759a4105e97430c7d https://gyazo.com/2fe4b8b29b4f848edbdddae40fe43a7b
Road to Mnai's village
It was late afternoon when we glided into the 41-household village that is Mnai's home, deep in the mountains of Southern Chin State, Myanmar. His father had just returned from hunting. Sister was in the cook house, preparing the evening meal with vegetables from the kitchen garden, and 30 minutes later mother showed up with a basket of oranges and bananas from their orchard. Nearly everything the family needed came from their garden, the river, and the forest around them – food, wood to build their home, rattan for the huge baskets holding a whole season’s rice harvest. Their every possession was for necessity only, nothing extraneous. It was the same for every household. Electricity, enough for a couple of light bulbs, came from a solar panel. The whole village boasted two TVs, and the construction materials for their beautiful church, where Mnai is the assistant pastor, had been carried in by motorcycle – every concrete block, every bag of cement.
https://gyazo.com/ed4944c2e4db73c2ae2c637ad962d2bf https://gyazo.com/e85f7ed5fb7c29c2db83fee3c502a8a8
Mnai's house and village church
Life is simple. Life is constant work. Life is shared. And Mnai loves his village.
Also, life is changing. The whole of Myanmar is going through rapid economic development, bringing in even Mnai's far-flung village, now being connected to town with a broad, paved road. What will these changes bring them? More of something good, like health care, electricity, cell phone reception? Or loss of something precious, like forests, clean rivers, a tight caring community? Mnai knows it can go either way, or both ways at once. That is why he is ready to stand with his village to help guide them, protect their way of life and even their very existence as they move into an unknown future. This is his job as an ARI trained rural leader. It will take a lifetime, and he is ready for that.
-the visit for this article took place one year before the coup d’état of Feb 1, 2021. Now, more than ever, the future of Myanmar is uncertain and all the graduates there need our prayers.
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Response from Mnai
by Mnai Hleih, August 2020
Village School Farm Project
This is Mnai Hleih, 2019 graduate from Myanmar, and serving my community as a Pastor. During my study life at ARI, I saw the spirit of servant leadership clearly in the lives of ARI staff. I was motivated and empowered through the life of the ARI community. I deeply respect and appreciate all ARI community members.
https://gyazo.com/0554aba419a06aa82192dc94cfe9dba1
Mnai on his farm
Since arriving back home, I have often been sharing the knowledge and experiences with my community, which I have learned at ARI. ARI is really a good learning community. I am always proud to be a graduate of ARI.
https://gyazo.com/6d5e0a926b367c37881d782d218cbeb2 https://gyazo.com/4e7a676fbaf4a6c7e86de0a9ca2ae94c
at the village school ready to start the new farm project (Mnai second photo)
Last February, Steven san visited my village. His visit and concern were really a motivation for the people in my community to be able to start a school farm, which is one of my dreams that I presented at ARI during my final oral presentation. So, I have started a school farm with the hard work and cooperation of my community. Teachers and parents were so excited and happy when I shared the idea of what a school farm is. I can say that this kind of school farm idea could be a pioneer in Myanmar even at the national level. I could make it because of ARI.
-Chin State is now experiencing a brutal military crackdown in the aftermath of the coup d’état of February 1, 2021. This has caused Mnai and other ARI graduates to suspend their activities and put their dreams on hold. They are now working for the day-to-day survival of their people.
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