Investing in women leading the change

Mi Win Thida, one of Wedu’s rising star, comes from a village in the state of Mon, Myanmar. She is an MSc student in Health Economics  and Health Care Mangement at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mi Win Thida aspires to create an affordable health care for all in Myanmar. When she was little, her mother and sister suffered from chronic health problems, with serious financial implications.

“[My] father had to save his earnings for my mum and sister’s medical fees instead of consumption and investment”. The experience made Thida realise the importance of what is often so taken for granted: affordable health care. “Just like my family, I am confident that there are millions of families facing similar problems in economic burden and catastrophic health care payment. I ponder that our family would not encounter such financial and health burden if there would be a robust and smart health program in my country.”

She is determined to complete her education and change her community through her knowledge, passion, dedication, and experience. “[If] I want to help my people, I have to be educated and have to upgrade myself first. Without starting to change myself, I can’t change the behaviours, concepts and lifestyles of other people.”

Over time, her mother and sister have had to spend an ever increasing amount of money on medical care. Thus, the expenses incurred from their illnesses continue to loom. Supporting a family of nine on a farmer’s income is not easy in the first place. What is more, her father was arrested and put into the prison for three years for political reason. So the responsibility for their family income fell on the shoulders of her two elder brothers, one of them staying behind to farm, the other moving to Malaysia as a migrant worker. Thida’s ambitions of pursuing a Masters and reforming Myanmar’s health care system was put on hold despite wishes her family.

Now she is an MSc student in Health Economics and Health Care Management at the Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Thida benefits from financial support from Wedu and mentorship by an experienced health expert. Her mentor has instilled in her a sense of purpose and direction in her quest to establish an affordable health care system for Myanmar.

It is her success that Wedu exists to support. We offer high potential young females an opportunity to solidify their vision of positive change by providing financing for university, and offering mentorship for personal and professional development. We do this because we believe that where you are born or where you come from should not hamper your potential to change your world.

Read More

How has mentorship inspired me?

12 July 2013 by Svenn

Editor’s Note: Thida is the author of Wedu’s first mentorship program blog. She is a student in Health Economics, mentored by Tricia who lives in the USA and is a consultant with the Clinton Foundation. Thida learned about Wedu’s scholarships and mentorship program when she met Co-Founder, Mario at a Myanmar student meeting in Cha Am, Thailand. Read Thida’s blog below on her experiences thus far as a mentee in Wedu’s mentorship program.


How has mentorship inspired me?
This mentorship drew my attention in Cha Am beach town in November 2012. I was selected to attend a Myanmar scholarship students’ meeting in Cha Am. During our meetings, a man introduced this program after exhibiting with pamphlets and marketing about his organization’s visions and missions. His promotion attracted my interest and I was curiously to learn about the idea of mentorship program. I pondered about how does it work and how can be bridged between this program and my Mon Community in Mon State.

My burning desire to apply to this program could not stop and I applied to the mentorship program from Wedu Fund through an online application within a month. Fortunately, I was selected to be a mentee. I am humbly delighted, as one of my dreams became a reality. After that, I was matched with Tricia as my mentor. Tricia is originally from the Philippines and now living in America. She has been working with many organizations as fellow and consultant.

There are three specific reasons that the mentorship program has inspired me. Firstly, the mentorship manager sends the leadership lessons monthly and mentees are requested to read the questions and write their opinions prior meeting. Moreover, what I love about mentorship is the scheduled learning process with a time frame. I believe that learning about new things through a schedule and guidance is more effective than a process of self-study. From my experiences, the leadership lessons from the mentorship manager encouraged me to learn more from other sources and prepare to discuss with my mentor before meeting. Even it is required to meet two times a month, the mentees could ask the questions and discuss with mentors apart from meeting.

Secondly, during our discussions, we mainly focused on some topics that related to health economics. However, we also discussed some issues with regards to leadership lessons for personal development. What makes me feel very special about mentorship is that it is long term human-to-human (H2H) relationships. Being honest, I realized that I have been given someone to consult about challenges in my studies and career life. Before I met her, I was confused how to achieve to become a good health economist. However, after discussing and consulting with Tricia, my career and life goals become a crystallized clear.

Thirdly, this mentorship program builds bridges between mentees and mentors. We have similar educational, regional and cultural background. From my experience, my mentor and I have a common field of study, e.g. health economics. People with similar academic field or research background have more understanding because we exchange technical and common languages. I am not only learning from my mentor but also have a chance to share my experiences, obstacles and opportunities of my country. Besides, my mentor also connects with some of the prominent individuals in health economics field in order to extend my network.

In conclusion, the mentorship program offers a great opportunity for me to learn new things through scheduled lessons, matching similar background with the opportunity for mentees to consult any challenges and share their experiences. I therefore, am confident that if I will continue with this mentorship program, I will unquestionably see the progress in my learning process in the near future.
- Thida

For more information about how you can apply for mentorship or to mentor with Wedu, please contact Noor, Wedu’s Mentorship Coordinator, aka. The Mentorship Champion at mentorship@wedufund.org

Source: http://www.wedufund.org/how-has-mentorship-inspired-me/ 

Read More