Mother of three, Lao Sao Kwe, lives at the Shwe Sin Camp in Laukkaing Township, Shan State.
Hla Yamin EAIN/ICRC
“The weather is getting colder nowadays. I’m very happy that we have something to keep us warm now,” said Lao Sao Kwe, who was glad to receive some support for the impending winter.
Hla Yamin EAIN/ICRC
The winter in Northern Shan State can get quite brutal. But the families in Shwe Sin Camp are ready, thanks to teams from the ICRC and the Myanmar Red Cross Society.
Hla Yamin EAIN/ICRC
Over 150 households at Shwe Sin Camp received blankets and mattresses to prepare them for the winter.
Hla Yamin EAIN/ICRC
Locals of Laukkhaing community look on as their family members and neighbours collect blankets and mattresses.
Hla Yamin EAIN/ICRC
The people of Laukkhaing Township receiving aid and help from the ICRC and the Myanmar Red Cross Society.
Hla Yamin EAIN/ICRC
Lao Sao Kwe isn’t the only one preparing ahead of the cold winter.
Hla Yamin EAIN/ICRC
Blankets and mattresses are essential for the locals of Laukkhaing Township to get through the harsh winter.
In Myanmar's Shan State, a displaced community reminisces over the past as the summer gives way to harsh winter but things for them remain unchanged.
"A home! That is what I need more than anything else – a place I can call my home," laments Lao Sao Kwe.
As she prepares for a harsh winter ahead, the thought of having a home for her family one day warms Lao Sao Kwe's heart. Though it seems like a distant dream, the mother of three says she will keep the hope alive. Currently living in the Shwe Sin Camp with her children, she recounts the time they had to flee their small beautiful village of Yanglo (in Kunja Township) after fighting broke out.
"I lived in a lovely little house where the entire family would gather every evening for warm meals. We also had a farm where we grew vegetables and were saving money for a brighter future," she wistfully recalls.
But all that came to naught when the family was forced to flee. They first went to China but because their children could not attend school there, they returned home. The unexpected turn of events landed the family in this camp in Laukkhaing Township, northern Shan State.
Lao Sao Kwe and her family are among the 156 households that recently received blankets and mattresses from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Myanmar Red Cross Society.
