Note from Build Up: In 2018–2019, we ran the Build Peace Fellows Myanmar program, supporting three initiatives to pilot technology tools to support their peacebuilding work. Here, Hein Paing Htoo Chit, Founder and Executive Director of SEED for Myanmar, reflects on his journey as a fellow.
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Seeing conflict first hand
I can trace this journey back to 2014, when I graduated from medical university and traveled around Myanmar, volunteering in mobile clinics in disputed areas. In 2015, I found myself working in an area where ethnic conflict had driven many people out of their homes and into camps.
One day, I returned from an IDP camp after a medical service tour and had dinner with a group of local residents. They seemed confused and asked me why I was supporting these groups that, they believed, were harming them. I was shocked to see human beings questioning the health rights of other human beings because of their differences. At this point, I realised how much conflict impacts our basic humanity, and saw first hand the importance of addressing this challenge....