Impact Heroes Wai Wai Nu

Impact Hero 2019

Support Ended

Wai Wai Nu

Founder: Women's Peace Network

On one fateful night in 2005, an 18-year-old Wai Wai, and her entire family, were suddenly captured and imprisoned as political prisoners. Yet, it was there where she witnessed firsthand the social injustice the thousands of girls, women, and minority groups faced that led to their despair.

Soon after her release at the age of 25, Wai Wai channeled her pent-up conviction into an educational institution that would seek justice for the women and ethnic minorities. She believes that education has the unique power to open doors to freedom, peace, and social equality and help build trust between people. Her institution, the Inclusive Futures Foundation, trains the country’s next-generation leaders.

Today, Wai Wai’s work turns the heads of world media and state leaders, bringing much-needed attention to the genocide and persecution the Burmese government brought upon Rohingya minorities, and the social injustice the women of Myanmar.

Read their story

Organization

Women’s Peace Network

Active In

Myanmar

Cause

Human Rights

SDGs

• SDG 4
• SDG 10
• SDG 16

Support Started

2019

Support Ended

2021

Support Report

THE MISSION

"Protecting the rights of ethnic minorities in Myanmar"

> 1,000,000

registered Rohingya refugees

52%

of refugees are children

51%

of refugees are women and girls

> 1,800,000

internally displaced people (IDP)

WHAT THEY DO

Educating the Next Generation Leaders for Myanmar's Future

After she was acclaimed by women in prison, Wai Wai received funding from the National Democratic Fund and established the Women’s Peace Network (WPN). Through the WPN, she works to protect the rights, enhance the status, and increase the inclusion of marginalized women, youth, and communities in the Rakhine state and across Myanmar to live peacefully and prosperously. This mission comes to life through three core programs:

Human Rights Protection

Wai Wai engages, empowers and advocates for the rights of marginalized women and communities in the Rakhine state and across Myanmar by: documenting humans rights abuses across Myanmar; providing trainings on human rights to the very people who are the targets of such abuses; and advocating for the protection of human rights locally and internationally.

Peace Building

In order to achieve a peaceful future in Myanmar, a mutual understanding between ethnicities, genders, and religions must be built in order to eliminate discrimination, stereotyping, and hatred. Wai Wai's multi-channel approach to peace building aims to engage and affect youth online and build solidarity and coalitions among diverse groups on the ground.

Mobilizing Youth Development

The Yangon Youth Leadership Center or YYLC, is the youth development arm of the Women’s Peace Network. YYLC gathers women and young people from diverse backgrounds to learn, share, and explore their ideas and promote leadership in social, political, and peace-building. It provides English education and vocational training for women as well as political and leadership education for youths including ethnic minorities and Buddhist Bamar to build peace among ethnic groups.

OUR SUPPORT

Supporting Wai Wai's high level advocacy for inclusive futures in Myanmar

Operational Expense

Advocacy for Democracy

Management Consulting

Opportunity Building

Fundraising – As YYLC faced financial difficulties. Earth Company launched a crowdfunding campaign in June 2019, for which 96 people donated, and a total of US$46,000 went to support YYLC operations. Although YYLC was forced to cease its activities after the coup, their alumni are still leading the democracy movement, including activists who are now in leadership positions in the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG).

Fundraising – Immediately after the military coup broke out in February 2021, from March to April, we conducted a crowdfunding campaign to support Wai Wai's advocacy work. We were able to secure donations of US$32,000 from 317 donors. Combined with corporate donations, the final donation totaled US$60,000. This enabled Wai Wai to continue her advocacy work to the UN and other international organizations as well as foreign dignitaries around the world while urging International Community to act through major global media outlets.

Earth Company supported the the Women's Peace Network's preparations to register as a non-profit organization in the U.S. which will expand its fundraising possibilities in the region where she is now based and has an extensive network. We held a bootcamp to verbalize the organization's vision and mission and organize the positioning of its projects. Additionally, we also facilitated consultations to help her new organizations establish its brand identity.

Earth Company held a press conference during Wai Wai's visit to Japan on the issues surrounding Rohingya refugees at the Japan Press Club. The article was later published in several media.