The only people left in Khuti Village in Kachin State’s Naungmon Township are elderly and now require assistance because all of the younger, more able-bodied villagers have fled.

Khuti Village is about 16 km (about 10 miles) from Naungmon Town in Myanmar’s northernmost township, Naungmon Township, in Putao District. Currently there are only about 20 residents staying in the village in five households, most of whom are elderly and some of whom are also disabled.

Khuti Village was once quite crowded, but most of the younger able-bodied people have moved away to look for work, leaving behind just elderly people who cannot relocate.

An aid worker told MNJ that the elderly villagers who remain in the village rely on small-scale rice farming for survival, but they often require outside assistance during the lean months leading up to each harvest.

He said: “Each year, from around May or June when rice is planted, until October or November when it’s harvested, the elderly often find themselves in need of assistance. Their most urgent needs include basic staples like oil, salt, and rice, as well as essential medicines.”

Though the elderly villagers rely on farming for their livelihoods, their age and limited mobility limits their ability to carry out strenuous farm work, which leads to low productivity.

To make matters worse, rats and wild animals frequently damage the farmland, so each village family typically harvests only about 10 tins (approximately 320 kilograms) of rice per year.

The villagers do not only need food assistance, they also need medication, especially medication to help with the ailments of old age that many of the residents suffer from, such as joint pain.