World vision: Myanmar photo essay, searching for better wash results for flood-prone areas

During the rainy season many people who live in flood-prone areas like Nwew Ni Chaung village in Thabaung Township in the Ayeyarwady Delta area, experience great difficulties with sanitation. Although most people accept this as a normal part of their way of life, the government and development organizations want to help improve the situation. World Vision Myanmar has attempted to help improve people’s lives through material and technical support but sometimes we did not sufficiently take into account existing local skills and knowledge. As a large international development organization with complex operating systems, field workers sometimes find themselves with insufficient time to pay proper attention to understanding the complexities and realities of communities and their needs and aspirations. Failing to do this often leads to poor results. Reflecting on what we do and openly learning from our mistakes is an important way of improving our practice.  [authors abstract]