While the number of Covid19 infections is high in many countries, it is, contrary our expectations, minimal in Myanmar. We read this positive news in the local newspapers and hear it confirmed by the Dutch embassy and our local friends. Fortunately, there hasn't been a serious outbreak of the virus so far.
The virus has stalled our plans - to date, the country is still locked to foreigners and it is unknown when it will open up again. So now what…?
It has not been easy in the past few months to have unconfirmed plans for the future! Standing still has caused quite a bit of unrest. However, we both have strong feelings that despite standing still we must continue our vision and mission to give people a chance for a better life.
"There is sooooooooooooo much to do on the other side of the world!" a friend of ours, who has done development work in Mali, Africa, for many many years, recently wrote. This is absolutely true!
We especially want the young people and children to have a better future with more opportunities, a better income, and more securities. This would enable them to pay healthcare costs, which literally would mean the difference between life and death if the virus hit the country.
Although we do not yet have the necessary permits to start tourism activities in Myanmar, we would still like to move forward and help the people. In the meantime, we would also like to have our own house and a private place to stay in Taisun, and we have decided to combine these two things. We have been talking with the people in Taisun about this in recent weeks and have given them the task to build a house. On one hand, this means good employment for the people and on the other, a house for us in which we can live or can rent out in the long term.
It is both complex for them, and for us, to negotiate and make agreements remotely but we have been able to agree on a construction drawing and they are happy to get started. We have to get used to the other culture - with our western thinking we would like to have all agreements in black and white but in their culture everything is based on mutual trust, therefore there is not much on paper. But we trust them, and we are very curious about how construction will go.
Ruata, our local business partner, and Hannah have helped make agreements about all this and to explain the culture which is very nice!
We teach people that safety is the most important element during construction. You see unbelievable sights during the construction and maintenance of buildings in Myanmar. This includes people who are working at great heights without safety gear and who are walking on narrow beams at the risk of their own lives. Incredible.
Because we expect Myanmar will open again at some point, we have started to take action in other areas which were put to a standstill. We have started learning the language (and boy, is that difficult!) and immersing ourselves in the culture which is so hugely different from our own but very important to understand. We have a pile of books on our desk to study and we keep open communication with the people in Yangon and in the rural areas.
In addition, we have put our house in Rumpt up for sale and have already had our first viewers. The real estate market is doing well at the moment, so we are confident that we will sell soon. This is quite a difficult step for us as we have really enjoyed our fine spot in the Betuwe where we have lived for 21 years!
Many Myanmarese see on the internet that the world around them has developed further, and they are taking initiative to develop themselves and their country. For example, we saw in March that more and more self-crafted E-bikes are filling the streets.
How great is it to sell a genuine leather fake brand wallet to a tall foreigner... (she giggles constantly while watching the giants in her shop)
… or to cut a women's hair short and dye it. We go to an upper-class shop in Yangon and it is an adventure. A 'mandatory' head, neck, arm, and hand massage at the hairdresser is very common, all together for the reasonable price of $13.00!
For that amount you can’t even dye your hair yourself in the Netherlands!
'From the house...', she said while handing over two sets of ice creams. Offering extra ice cream is nicely meant but not a very practical gesture. Hilarious, though…
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