A Ray of Hope in Dala - Notes from June Kunugi's Field Diary

A year ago June Kunugi, UNICEF's RD in EAPRO visited a community near Yangon to see a community who are taking action for their disabled children.  UNICEF has provided some aid for the project.  

Read June's entry from her field diary and posted in UNICEF's EAP Blog , "A ray of sunshine for families in crisis in Myanmar".  The article below is based on June's original, so be sure to click the link above for the original.  

A Ray of Hope in Dala

Across the river from Yangon, in Dala Township, daily life carries the weight of Myanmar’s prolonged crisis. Jobs have vanished, schools have closed, and for families raising children with disabilities, every day is a test of strength and imagination.

At a small community-run centre, that strength is on full display. Local caregivers, therapists, and volunteers come together to help children move, play, and learn again. Mothers practice stretching exercises with their children; neighbours build ramps and walkers from bamboo and scrap metal; older children help one another take their first assisted steps.

Six-year-old Wint Yamone Oo arrives each morning with her grandmother for therapy. After months of sessions, she can now stand with support, using a walker built by a local carpenter. Five-year-old Myat Phone Khant, whose widowed mother is raising five children, is learning to move his legs with the help of simple braces fashioned from local materials.

UNICEF and its partners have helped supply therapy equipment, training for caregivers, and modest cash support — but the energy that drives this centre is local. As June Kunugi, UNICEF’s Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific, observed during a recent visit:

“The spirit I found here is remarkable. Families who have lost almost everything are still creating ways to help one another. They aren’t waiting for aid to arrive — they are building hope with their own hands.”

Kunugi crossed the Yangon River by ferry to reach Dala. Watching families disembark, she later reflected:

“On the ride back, I kept thinking about the quiet determination of the parents I met — mothers who have learned to be physiotherapists, fathers who have become builders of walkers and chairs. Their commitment is stronger than any crisis.”

Across Myanmar, countless families face the same struggle. For many children with disabilities, access to therapy, assistive devices, or inclusive education remains out of reach. Conflict and displacement often mean isolation rather than care.

What Dala shows is that change can begin in small, local acts of solidarity. With a little technical guidance and outside support, communities can design their own solutions — ones that fit their realities and restore dignity to children too often left behind.

“Every child has potential,” Kunugi said. “What matters is whether the world around them chooses to see it.”

The challenge now is to carry this lesson beyond Dala — to make sure that children with disabilities everywhere in Myanmar can find not only care, but belonging.