Collecting Water In the hills of southern Shan State, Myanmar, the village of Nawng Ker Kei is home to 80 households from the Pa-O ethnic community. Like many rural villages in the region, families work hard each day to support themselves, yet opportunities remain limited. Nearly 87% of villagers rely on daily wage labor, often [...]
Ng'andu with his family Supporting Family and Building a Future: Ng’andu Mwiinga’s Story At just 25 years old, Ng’andu Mwiinga of Mpasu village has stepped into a role many would not choose so young. After the passing of his father, he became the primary support for his widowed mother and younger siblings, providing food, clothing, [...]
For Nang Win Kyi, childbirth was once filled with fear, uncertainty, and financial strain. Today, it tells a different story; one of preparation, partnership, and confidence made possible through community-led health education and shared responsibility. Nang Win Kyi is a 30-year-old mother of two from Myauk Hti Bwar Village. She and her husband [...]
Working Together Beyond financial support, these groups create a space for learning and connection. Women share ideas about health, livelihoods, leadership, and family well-being, often discussing topics that rarely have space elsewhere. Over time, these conversations help women grow in confidence and strengthen their ability to make decisions for themselves and their households. The ripple [...]
Witman Panel In December, Shanta’s Global Program Manager, Khai, was invited to participate with a team to teach a one-week intensive class at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. Joining Anna Taft, Executive Director of Tandana Foundation, and Madjalia Seynou, Executive Director of Farm Sahel, the team gave students an opportunity to learn concretely how [...]
Until just a few years ago, Nan Khan Raim never imagined herself sitting in a village meeting, let alone speaking up, managing funds, or helping guide major community projects. At 33, she juggles life as a farmer, a wife, and a mother of three in Ham Phoe Pay village. Her family grows corn, pigeon peas, [...]
Nestled in the quiet hills of Taunggyi Township, Ham Phoe Pay Village is home to about 500 people across 100 households. Life here revolves around the farming of corn, rice, and beans, as well as the production of mustard seed oil. While the village’s hardworking spirit is evident, education has long struggled to take root. [...]
Building local capacity is one of the foundational concepts in Shanta Village Partners’ six-year Village Partnership Model. It reflects our belief that lasting change happens when communities gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead their own development. From the beginning, our goal has been to ensure that villagers, not outside organizations, are [...]
We're excited that Teri Turner, a hugely popular Instagram food blogger and author of the best-selling cookbook, No Crumbs Left: Recipes for Everyday Food Made Marvelous, is encouraging her Friday Favorites newsletter subscribers to donate to Shanta. And she is matching their donations, dollar for dollar! If you like to cook and could use some [...]
While our partner villages have not yet had any Covid-19 cases, the travel restrictions and drought have severely impacted their livelihoods. Villagers could not get their crops to the markets this past spring due to lockdowns, limiting the money they had to invest in their fall planting. For families living on less than $1.50 a [...]
Collecting Water In the hills of southern Shan State, Myanmar, the village of Nawng Ker Kei is home to 80 households from the Pa-O ethnic community. Like many rural villages in the region, families work hard each day to support themselves, yet opportunities remain limited. Nearly 87% of villagers rely on daily wage labor, often [...] 
Ng'andu with his family Supporting Family and Building a Future: Ng’andu Mwiinga’s Story At just 25 years old, Ng’andu Mwiinga of Mpasu village has stepped into a role many would not choose so young. After the passing of his father, he became the primary support for his widowed mother and younger siblings, providing food, clothing, [...] 
For Nang Win Kyi, childbirth was once filled with fear, uncertainty, and financial strain. Today, it tells a different story; one of preparation, partnership, and confidence made possible through community-led health education and shared responsibility. Nang Win Kyi is a 30-year-old mother of two from Myauk Hti Bwar Village. She and her husband [...] 
Working Together Beyond financial support, these groups create a space for learning and connection. Women share ideas about health, livelihoods, leadership, and family well-being, often discussing topics that rarely have space elsewhere. Over time, these conversations help women grow in confidence and strengthen their ability to make decisions for themselves and their households. The ripple [...] 
Witman Panel In December, Shanta’s Global Program Manager, Khai, was invited to participate with a team to teach a one-week intensive class at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. Joining Anna Taft, Executive Director of Tandana Foundation, and Madjalia Seynou, Executive Director of Farm Sahel, the team gave students an opportunity to learn concretely how [...] 
Until just a few years ago, Nan Khan Raim never imagined herself sitting in a village meeting, let alone speaking up, managing funds, or helping guide major community projects. At 33, she juggles life as a farmer, a wife, and a mother of three in Ham Phoe Pay village. Her family grows corn, pigeon peas, [...] 
Nestled in the quiet hills of Taunggyi Township, Ham Phoe Pay Village is home to about 500 people across 100 households. Life here revolves around the farming of corn, rice, and beans, as well as the production of mustard seed oil. While the village’s hardworking spirit is evident, education has long struggled to take root. [...] 
Building local capacity is one of the foundational concepts in Shanta Village Partners’ six-year Village Partnership Model. It reflects our belief that lasting change happens when communities gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead their own development. From the beginning, our goal has been to ensure that villagers, not outside organizations, are [...] 
We're excited that Teri Turner, a hugely popular Instagram food blogger and author of the best-selling cookbook, No Crumbs Left: Recipes for Everyday Food Made Marvelous, is encouraging her Friday Favorites newsletter subscribers to donate to Shanta. And she is matching their donations, dollar for dollar! If you like to cook and could use some [...] 
While our partner villages have not yet had any Covid-19 cases, the travel restrictions and drought have severely impacted their livelihoods. Villagers could not get their crops to the markets this past spring due to lockdowns, limiting the money they had to invest in their fall planting. For families living on less than $1.50 a [...]