Khin Pa Pa Myo, 22yo, Management Step, Cotton 4 You program,
her sister Khin Tazin Aye, 20yo, Responsibility Step, Myanmade program
and their grandmother Daw Bo Ma, 73yo - LPC Hlaing Thar Yar, Myanmar
“We were both born in the house where we still live now, in Hlaing Thar Yar, Yangon, this is our home and it is impossible to imagine living somewhere else! This is our grandmother’s home, it is full of life, many children, uncles and aunts live here together, it is a happy place. We live in a separate house just behind, with our mother, father and one of our brothers. We both admire our brother Tun Tun, he is a very important person in our life. He is nice, smiling, friendly and funny, and most of all, he is successful and a good person of the community. He works for a local NGO and this is very inspiring for us, he pushes us to be smart and to work for our dreams.
Our grandmother was born in Thaketa, another district in Yangon, her grandparents came from India. She loves speaking indian language, and that’s why we all learn this language in our home. She moved to Hlaing Thar Yar with her husband and their 6 children in 1990. She loves to be surrounded by children, that is why she is so happy.”
For you, what does it mean to be a woman?
Khin Pa Pa Myo’s point of view: “For me, to be a woman is everything. You have many responsibilities, you need to take care of others, to be a good mother, to worry a lot. You must be careful all the time, when your family is hurt, you are hurt too and that is difficult to manage sometimes. But you must be strong and not show what you feel too much! That is why I like to be surrounded by other women, we support each other.
My grandmother Daw Bo Ma is 73 years old. She is not very healthy now and she needs to rest a lot, so my sister and I help her in the house. She loves watching TV, laughing with her friends, and playing with her grandchildren. She is very funny. She is a good cook, she makes delicious indian food! She is a very inspiring and strong woman. I love her so much!”
Khin Tazin Aye’s point of view: “To be a woman means that you need to be kind and helpful, it is difficult because you need to try and fail and try again, you need to be strong, you have a lot of responsibilities, but it is an honor to be a woman.
My grandmother is afraid of hospitals, and she loves watching Bollywood movies on TV! I think she is a very strong woman, she has always worked hard at home to take care of her children and now of her grandchildren! I admire her, she is strong, friendly and always cheerful, she is always smiling!
Daw Bo Ma’s point of view: “For me, being a woman is being a mother. I admire my mother for teaching me all I needed to know in my life. She taught me how to swim, how to sew, how to do accounting, to be a good mother and to have a lot of patience. These skills made me a strong woman. I hope my granddaughters are learning these skills from me too. I always advise them to be respectful and thankful for their lives. We are very lucky to be healthy and to have a roof, it is important to recognize this, not all people around us have this luck. So I tell them to smile, that is my advice and to be patient and study a lot.”
See the answer of Mary Joyce Parco, 22 years old, Responsibility Step, Fashion 4 Youth program, Payatas, Manila, Philippines >> here
See the answer of Saraswati Soren, 26yo, Management Step, Green Village Kathmandu, Nepal >> here