Phan Foundation is pleased to announce that Saw Thay Gay Mu (Thay Poe) is the recipient of the 2021 Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award.
The Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award recognises outstanding work by young Karen leaders.
Saw Thay Gay Mu is Coordinator at Safe Water for Every Child – Myanmar, and former student activist from Karen Students Network Group. He was selected as ASEAN climate change young leader, and was Group Leader at a Leadership and Management Training College.
Safe Water for Every Child provides clean drinking water in Karen villages in Kawthoolei (Karen State) and along the border of Burma and Thailand, including refugee camps and migrant schools, to improve community health. They reject top-down delivery of services and instead work in consultation with communities they help explaining their methods and use of scientific techniques. Almost 40,000 people have benefited from their work.
“In a variety of roles Saw Thay Gay Mu has shown commitment and leadership in the Karen community and we are pleased to recognise his work with the Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award,” said Nant Bwa Bwa Phan, Director of Phan Foundation.
The award comes with a $4000 grant to support Saw Thay Gay Mu’s work. The ceremony and announcement of the award was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation of Burmese military attacks against Karen people. The award ceremony will now take place at the 72nd commemoration of Karen Martyrs’ Day in Hpa-An District, on 12 August 2022, and will be attended by Saw Say Say Phan, son of Padoh Mahn Sha.
“It is an honour to receive this award in memory of our great leader in history Padoh Mahn Sha, who always supported young Karen people and their work. Water is life, and crucial for all living things to survive, so I am proud to be working to support the life and better health of our Karen people. It is a basic human right to have safe drinking water and sanitation and I will do my best to reach these goals and to give knowledge and practical solutions across Karen State/Kawthoolei for now and future generations,” said Saw Thay Gay Mu, winner of 2021 Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award.
The Phan Foundation was established in 2008 by the four children of Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan and Nant Kyin Shwe, in their memory. It provides grants towards education, poverty alleviation, promoting human rights and protecting Karen culture.