The NEW NORMAL

Diinsider is now in Myanmar making social impacts to bring positive changes to the community by partnering with local organizations.

Since crew changes are largely limited out of safety concern, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 seafarers are currently trapped on the sea, facing the threat of mental fatigue and physical exhaustion.

Shunned from the public and invisible in the world of work due to various accessibility barriers, People with Disabilities (PwD) already experienced some form of employment hardship prior to the global pandemic. This time around, 15% of the world population who live with disability are facing ever greater challenges sustaining their livelihoods as they are less able to avoid catching Covid-19 and more likely to die from it.

Atypical incident over the lockdown made Malaysians shell shocked when Veveonah Mosibin, an 18-year-old student from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) climbed up a hill and later on made a bamboo hut for herself to get better internet access for her studies. Her act became an internet discussion in Malaysia.

The very reason as to why smart cities must be and is the way forward is because technology and ideas have evolved to the magnitude where solutions do not seem far away anymore. After all, “the best way to predict the future is to design it.”

Will our children be granted the rights to respect different sexual orientations and to know healthy sexuality education? No one knows the answer, yet we all will have to wait along with our firm beliefs.

Myanmar’s standard of education is lagging far behind the developing world, having faced decades of an underfunded education sector. According to UNICEF Myanmar, the effects range from weak school infrastructures and outdated teaching methods and curriculum to having insufficient numbers of qualified teachers.

“I know exactly what Myanmar's health system is lacking the most – it lacks resources” said a doctor and a freelance artist who single-handedly started a fundraising project for the frontliners. Dr. Ni Ni Win Tun was well aware of the already precarious circumstances of her fellow healthcare professionals, who have been tackling the pandemic under limited medical equipment and facilities regardless of a high risk of infection.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, about 840 million people have no access to electricity despite the fact that people without electricity decreased from 1 billion in 2017. Though the world suffers from an economic backlash, the energy sector still remains relevant in fighting this global crisis.

To Filipino nurses, the hospital ward for coronavirus patients is a dangerous second home.

Solomon Islands is one of the 15 countries around the world that yet to register any confirm cases of the novel coronavirus. With this good news, it doesn’t stop the men, women, and especially youths in Solomon Islands to prepare.