The
second village we visited was Laing Chung, which had 47 houses, accommodating
269 people. In Myanmar there are 135 races. The Bamar are the most numerous,
followed by the Chin who have 53 races. On our way into the town of Gangaw, I
noticed a hotel called Yaw Hotel and thought it to be a play on spelling until
I learned that the people around here are called the Yaw Chin!
Most
Chin are Christian, and as all the inhabitants of Laing Chung were, it was
appropriate to give away the glasses that had been donated by St Peters Church
in the UK. When it came to villagers trying out anigyi glasses for reading, they chose the bible as their text. Thank
you to the St Peter’s congregation for sending the glasses to me.
Almost
all the villagers were farming. Most grew rice, sesame and peanuts. Others grew
beans.
We
sat down under the house and, as word got around, people came to see what we
were up to. U Zaung Maung couldn’t decide whether he wanted anigyi for close up or awegyi for distance viewing. Sebastian walked a
little way away and raised four fingers and asked him how many? Yes, he could
tell us how many, so he opted for anigyi
to be able to read his bible. Ma Tan Zan Zoo was a weaver and therefore needed anigyi to help her work. Tun Hla Aung
proudly told us he had three acres of rice and peanuts, but the next person,
Daw Shwe Mi, was a worker – meaning that she didn’t own any land and must work
at any job given to her to be able to feed herself. Some people, like Daw Thein
Ya who was 73 had retired because her children were farming and could support
her.
In
this village we gave away 17 pairs of glasses.
No comments:
Post a Comment