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The Mizoram Project

Mizoram is a remote state in India. It is wedged between Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). It is a mountainous area covered with bamboo jungle. Due to its location and terrain it is virtually cut off from the world and the rest of India.

The Mizo people face a number of challenges and Global Youth Network is working to assist in meeting these challenges.

Mautam

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Currently, the number one issue facing the people of Mizoram is mautam. In Mizo, this means “bamboo death”. Every 48-50 years, the dominant bamboo species simultaneously flower, produce a fruit and then die. In a presently undetermined way, this leads to an explosion in the population of rats. The rats then eat all the rice and a famine ensues. During the last mautam in the 1958-1961 period, approximately 10,000 people died from starvation and disease. The inadequate government response ultimately led to an armed insurgency which only ended in 1986. There are now a few videos posted on YouTube about Mautam, including our own produced mini-documentary seen here.

Malaria Detection Clinics

Most Mizos live in small towns and villages. In these areas, malaria is the number one killer. In the remote areas, there are no nurses or doctors and the ill must take the day-long bus journey to a clinic. Sometimes, it takes many days to get to the road. A simple solution is to open more malaria detection clinics in these very remote villages. Using second hand microscopes donated by Canadian universities and Global Youth Network, clinics are being set up. These clinics are self supporting.

SALT farming

Almost all farmers in Mizoram practice “slash and burn” shifting agriculture. As the population in the state has grown, the land can no longer support this type of agriculture. The land is not left fallow long enough. One farmer can barely grow enough to support a family. Using a technique developed in the Philippines, farms can be made much more productive. This also substantially reduces the strain on the natural environment. The technique is called Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT). Farmers phase out the production of rice on a different plot of land each year. They begin to grow fruits and vegetables on their own plot of land.

Learn more about SALT farming here and here.

HIV/AIDS & Drug Awareness

HIV/AIDS is a large and growing problem in Mizoram. This is primarily due to accessibility of cheap drugs available especially from the Golden Triangle. Most drug use is done intravenously. This leads to the sharing of needles. Consequently, in districts bordering Myanmar, Mizoram has one of the fastest increases in the rate of HIV/AIDS of anywhere in the world. Global Youth Network teams raise awareness about this issue by speaking to students in schools.

All projects in Mizoram are done in cooperation with the Relief & Development Department of the Baptist Church of Mizoram (R&D BCM).

Donations are presently being accepted for this project. Click here for more information.

--Mizoram Project Director: Tim Morgan canadianpilgrim@hotmail.com