A Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr Khin Win Kyu has been volunteering much of her time for the last 17 years at the Muslim Free Hospital in Yangon, a hospital that treats poorer communities without charge, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity.
Saw Phoe Kwar is a popular reggae singer from Yangon and a former national football player. A Karen, his grandfather was a missionary who raised Saw Phoe Kwar as a Christian, with regular Sunday school and joining the church choir. His single “Love each other” has been a huge hit among young people and he performs regularly around Myanmar for diverse audiences.
U Nay Win is the General Secretary of the Mandalay YMCA. A Christian, he is from a mixed heritage and his family travelled widely across Myanmar, making friends from different communities. U Nay Win’s work extends to coordinating the efforts of interfaith groups both in Mandalay and surrounding areas, like Meiktila, where there have been recent outbreaks of religious violence targeting Muslim communities.
Outside of his work as a sports teacher in Yangon, U Aye Lwin, a Muslim, works tirelessly to debunk myths about Muslims and Islam through peaceful ways, like distributing pamphlets and holding interfaith meetings.
U Aye Lwin is also the chief convenor if the Islamic Centre of Myanmar and a core member of the Religion for Peace Myanmar interfaith organisation.
Venerable Tayzar Dipati is a Buddhist monk from Shwebo, northwest of Mandalay. He grew up in the monastery as a young novice monk and today, his chief role is to care for young HIV patients and to run the monastery of young monks.
U Tayzar Dipati is often called upon by the local community in the area to help neutralise rumours before they grow out of control and on social media, and prevent outbreaks of violence locally.