It is estimated that at least 40% of Yangon’'s population are poor or are extremely poor. They are only able to live from day to day and have little or no resources to meet emergencies. Many are vulnerable to shocks due to insecurity of tenure, the location of their houses in areas that frequently flood and the fact that their house construction materials do not protect them from the weather.
There are a large number of female headed households and elderly or disabled people who struggle just to survive. Many have a source of income that fluctuates due to the weather, such as those selling food on the road side. The vast majority of families depend on borrowing from money lenders at high rates of interest to meet crises such as the illness of a family member.
Despite this people have the strength not just to survive but to try and improve their own lives and those of others. The stories below
document their struggles and their efforts to find a better future for themselves, their families and their neighbours.
Photobook Title: Courage in Adversity, Urban Poor Families in Yangon.
Photo,Text and Graphic Design by Veronica F. Wijaya, Advisor and Text Editor by Michael Slingsby
Published by UN-Habitat, Produced by Urban Poverty Programme, Yangon, 2012.