Homeless with a heart even near a garbage dump

Nay Aung and Khin Mar Oo’s family collects garbage for daily living on the 24th street in Mandalay, Myanmar. Nay Aung is raising five children, instilling a sense of hard work and honesty in them.

The neighborhood community is aware of the impoverished family struggling for  living. People who come close to them end up respecting them for their sense of family – noises and laughter, working together, and raising their children.

In contrast to many homeless parents, who make their kids beg on the streets, Nay’s family believes in hard work to earn a living, even if it amounts to collecting garbage.  

For the homeless, conditions are always unstable.

People offer more food to this family than other homeless, as political situations and pandemic crises disrupt the conditions of the homeless.

St. Joseph’s convent is on that street. And the nuns engage with Nay’s children, Kyo Kyar, Khaing Myae Ko, Zar Zar Aung, Yin Mon Khaing, offering free-of-cost pre-elementary education.

Nay’s eldest is 15 years old, and the little one is two years.

Sister Emily from St. Joseph’s Convent says even the family lives almost near the garbage dump; they display courage and hope.

Nay’s family wakes up at four in the morning, walking a kilometer radius to collect garbage. Nay has a tricycle to pile the trash from the streets.  For Nay’s family, waste segregation is challenging during the rainy season, as they don’t have enough shade to cover the heaps of garbage.

Sister Emily and the nuns are assisting Kyo, the eldest daughter, to join students of her age group.

“Many vendors love this family. They love the kids, and even sometimes they take care and give snacks while the parents went around to collect and left the four kids with the eldest daughter,” said Maria, a resident of the area.

Vendors even help the family during medical emergencies for their honesty and hard work.  

Nyein Chan, the owner of a bicycle repair shop says, the family has their own house – like a small hut. The family has a habit of saving money and doesn’t have to rent a place like many people in the city.

Nyein considers the family as working colleagues and sometimes even babysits their kids while the parents are away from their shelter.  

Nay Aung family’s hard work is an example to society. The education initiatives of the nuns can change things for Nay’s family.

With inputs from Sister Lucia Thandar Aung, SJA