MP pushes for landmine victims welfare fund

...

MP pushes for landmine victims welfare fund

Mizzima, 24 Sep 2013

URL: http://www.mizzima.com/news/myanmar/10160-mp-pushe
Lower house MP U Nyan Win Swe from Kyauk Kyi Township informed Mizzima that he will submit a proposal to allocate special funds for landmine victims welfare.

“I will submit the proposal to the Bago Government Council through township administrators to allocate special funding for people disabled by landmines in Kyauk Kyi Township in Bago Division”, he said.

Kyauk Kyi Township falls under Karen National Union (KNU) controlled territory and people living in the area still sustain injuries from landmines that were buried during armed conflicts between the KNU and the government.

U Nyan Win Swe said he would submit the proposal to the Minister of Social Welfare, Bago Division to facilitate rehabilitation of disabled victims and support their children’s school expenses.

The landmine victims in Kyauk Kyi Township are between the ages of 16 and 60 years and most of them farm bamboo shoots, collect firewood and gather leaves for packaging, to make a living.

Between 1983 and 2013, there were a total of 30 landmine victims from 40 families from Myaung Mya village in Kyauk Kyi Township. 13 victims have lost both their legs. There are 333 landmine victims across Kyak Kyi Township, and 3 of them were injured in 2013.

Minister U Aung Min from the President's Office had pledged to demine all states and divisions in Myanmar in December 2012.