Local aid groups in Myanmar step up to help vulnerable communities amid worsening humanitarian crisis - CNA
With some 16.2 million people in Myanmar needing humanitarian aid in 2026, local organisations are helping bridge gaps by providing essential supplies and skills training.
Trainees at non-profit organisation Step-In Step-Up in Yangon, Myanmar, learn sewing skills as part of a programme to produce reusable sanitary pads. (Image: CNA)
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Leong Wai Kit & Marcel Pereira 29 Oct 2026 04:19PM Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST YANGON: At a sewing workshop on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, vulnerable youths and people with disabilities are learning to make reusable sanitary pads.
The programme equips them with skills to earn a living while helping women and girls who struggle to access such products.
It is one of several projects run by Step-In Step-Up (SISU), a non-profit organisation that has provided vocational training and employment support in Myanmar since 2016.
“I have three daughters of my own, and I can’t imagine what their lives would have turned out to be if they didn’t have access to sanitary pads,” SISU founder Jackie Appel told CNA.
CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Appel, originally from South Africa, moved to Myanmar with her family after living in Singapore, where she had become a citizen.
She started by teaching basic English, housekeeping and life skills to 10 women from disadvantaged communities in her home. The number of trainees grew as participants found employment.
According to her, SISU now trains up to 250 women and men at a time, bringing together people of different backgrounds and abilities.
Among the beneficiaries is 23-year-old Khit Myat Noe, who is deaf and has found it difficult to secure employment.
"Because of the situation in our country, life is extremely hard, especially for disabled people," she said through an interpreter.
"There are many difficulties and barriers. Even if we want to learn, there is the obstacle of a lack of sign-language translators."
She added that the lack of job opportunities for Myanmar’s deaf community has made it difficult for them to earn an income.
Through the SISU initiative, Khit Myat Noe now uses her sewing skills to make a living while helping other women in need.
