SEWING SKILL TRAINING

Community centres address the challenge of unemployment by providing skills training. One of the main long term programs New Hope runs is sewing training . This training program is an avenue to encourage entrepreneurship and give participants a competitive edge as they apply for jobs. Helping men and women develop tangible skills that empower them to obtain meaningful work is having a long-term impact on our communities.  
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Our sewing program not only teaches women how to make clothing, but the course is also an entry point for many women who will join one of our Women’s Transformation Groups after completing the training. Many women who complete the sewing program will go on to start their own small businesses that are often based out of their homes. Last year alone over 300 women graduated the New Hope sewing program.​

FOOD AND WATER PROGRAM

In the communities where each centre is located, hunger and thirst are at the forefront of people’s minds. Every day, our food and clean water programs provide nutritious food and clean water to people in the community. 

Every week community centres are serving around 2000 meals, collectively. Our food programs provide nutritious food to children, and when adults in the community come together as a large group at our centres, a meal is provided.

There are few places where you can find clean water in the communities where we work. Having access to clean water is transformative for a community—water-borne illnesses decrease, time is saved by not having to walk long distances to gather clean water, along with many other benefits. This is why three of our community centres have installed a huge reverse osmosis filter which provides 3000 litres of clean drinking water per day to the centres and their surrounding neighbourhoods. ​

EDUCATION PROGRAM

Our trained staff lead an education program for children who are either not yet school-aged or they are unable to attend school. Children are able to bring their younger siblings along when they come to the community centres’ education programs, allowing boys and girls who are also caretakers for their siblings to come receive an education. Through this program, children are taught to think creatively and gain skills in decision making—all while receiving a basic education. Children who are able to attend school also face educational challenges. In classrooms with upwards of 50 children, teachers in Myanmar struggle to teach lessons in a way that is effective for all students. 

Most of our community centres provide afterschool Tuition to children in their area, where they help them with their homework and prepare for exams that students must pass in order to continue to the next grade level. This has been a game changer for so many students. In a town where one of our community centres is located, most of the children attended school but they were not passing their exams. When this community centre began providing afterschool Tuition that the children otherwise would not have been able to afford, all of the children who participated passed their exams the next year.  ​

TRANSFORMATION GROUPS

In the communities where we work, men are seen as the heirs to property, the rightful recipients of good education, the decision makers, the business owners and the autonomous heads of the family. Women are often overlooked by society. Transformation Groups allow community centres to be connected with and understand the needs of women in the neighborhood. The purpose of these groups is both relational and practical. Women gather to enjoy time together, sing, discuss life and share their hopes and dreams. It may seem simple, but it’s incredibly powerful. When a woman feels she has trustworthy people surrounding her, something inside begins to bubble up to the surface: a sense of hope and confidence that she can improve herself, her family life and her community. 

In the Transformation Group, women learn about hygiene, receive anti-violence training and learn how to start a small business. They are also given tools to help them start building savings, and they are educated on loan programs. Transformation Groups begin the process for women to become income generators and decision makers. They become empowered women. Their daughters become empowered daughters, and so the cycle continues. To date we have 140 women registered as part of the saving program across 9 different transformation groups.

COMPUTER PROGRAM

In today’s age of technology, having basic computer skills unlocks a whole new world of job opportunities. Access to computers is limited in the communities where our centres are located, so we provide a computer training program for young adults. Having a skill set that includes computer proficiency gives these young adults a competitive edge as they apply for jobs.  ​

In the last year 300 students have completed the computer program, with 60% of those students going on to get a computer based job. We now operate the computer program in 6 of the community centres. Training includes learning to use Microsoft office softwares as well as learning to type in both Burmese and English.