Restoring Dignity
"The camp is closing in March. They say we can go home. But home is where the bombs are still falling." Nearly 5,000 women face forced return to conflict zones. They need support to survive what comes next.
For over a decade, IDP camps in Myitkyina and Wai Maw have sheltered families displaced by conflict. Churches and limited humanitarian funding kept them alive. Now, by March 2026, funding has collapsed and churches can no longer bear the burden. Camps are closing. Thousands of families—including 4,778 women across eleven camps—will be forced to return to their places of origin. But "home" remains a war zone. Airstrikes, drone attacks, clashes between military forces and the Kachin Independence Army—the dangers that drove them out haven't stopped. They'll return to destroyed homes, no livelihoods, no healthcare, no schools.
This project transforms that resilience into lasting capacity. Thirty women leaders will receive intensive training in protection, women's rights, and humanitarian law. They'll then cascade that knowledge through their communities—creating protection mechanisms led by and for women.
It's a simple but powerful idea: the women who stayed when others left are the ones best positioned to protect their communities. They just need the tools.
