Mr. Yaw Mai is one of 74 selected young internally displaced people (IDP) and one of two persons with disabilities who participated in the Vocational Education to Support IDPs and Host Communities (VESI) Project organised by AVSI Foundation in the Government Technical High School (GTHS) of Bhamo. He chose to enroll on the motorbike repair course, as he has been passionate about the topic for a long time.
Yaw Mai has been living in the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) Man Si IDP camp in Kachin State since 2011, when the civil war erupted between the Kachin Independent Army and the Government Military. He always wanted to learn about motorbike repairing. However, after completing a few introductory classes, he never had the opportunity to attend a course or training that would allow him to acquire the necessary skills to actively work in the field.
In February 2020, AVSI’s project team in Bhamo conducted information-sharing sessions in camps to advise interested applicants on various vocational training opportunities, including motorbike, computer and electrical wiring courses. Luckily, Yaw Mai lives in one of these camps. When hearing about the opportunity, he was immediately eager to apply to the motorbike repairing course.
After applying, Yaw Mai was pleased to learn that he was selected to participate . Before starting the vocational training, he attended the opening ceremony in GTHS Bhamo, where he had the chance to meet fellow trainees, teachers and AVSI staff. He then attended a three-day pre-training workshop for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) short courses and the Life Skills and Business Skills Training in GTHS Bhamo. There, he gained valuable knowledge on a wide range of crucial topics. He also learned more about how the training itself would unfold and what to expect. In March 2020, he started attending the motorbike repairing course. During the training, he acquired both theoretical and practical skills to repair motorbikes.
His knowledge and skills on motorbike repairing improved substantially throughout the training. Today, he continues to practice repairing motorbikes in the Man Si IDP camp. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic however, the GTHS, like all other educational facilities, had to close down suddenly. Yaw Mai is therefore currently staying at home, but he is nevertheless looking forward to the GTHS reopening for him to continue his training as soon as possible.
For now, he intends to focus on repairing motorbikes in the camp. In the future, he wishes to own and run his own motorbike repair shop. He looks forward to completing the course as well as the internship programme offered by the VESI Project, which he is confident will play an essential role in him reaching his goals and dreams.
The LIFT-funded VESI project is a three-year initiative to expand the livelihood opportunities for internally displaced persons and host communities by delivering market-oriented vocational training and job matching services in Kachin and Northern Shan States. The project is managed by a consortium led by ADRA and is implemented through local partners, including HTOI Gender and Development Foundation, GRIP Hands Organization and the Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training. It has a particular focus on expanding inclusion of marginalised groups through strengthening access for women, youth and people with disabilities to training and employment opportunities in non-farm sectors.
Article contributed by AVSI Foundation Myanmar
Photography: Labang Aung Gam, AVSI Myanmar
