Myanmar Trust UK

MTUK a UK registered Charity established in 2018 which aims to strengthen civil society’s contribution to building an inclusive, democratic Myanmar. MTUK’s focus is on enabling grassroots community access to resources to promote non-violent movements and to progress accountability. Accordingly, we work in the fields of human rights, legal reform, local governance, community resilience, emergency response, inclusion and gender equality. We are a re-granting agency with a executive director in the UK, a majority-Myanmar-woman team based in Thailand and an international board including Myanmar people. MTUK supports approximately 70-100 local groups per year. Funded initiatives are primarily carried out in Myanmar, especially in conflict-affected areas. A smaller proportion supports actions for displaced people on the borders. MTUK provides partners with direct or facilitated support on org development, tech support, digital security, mental health or other non-financial needs. Central to MTUK’s strategy is acknowledgement of our complementary role as a mechanism to enable local Myanmar groups to access funds that would otherwise be inaccessible. Groups would be at great risk if they applied to the registration system through the junta. Most are taking a principled stance against engaging with the military. Many civil society leaders are now in exile where there are significant challenges regarding registration and setting up official bank accounts. As such, MTUK’s systems seek to balance the need for flexible, responsive support for groups operating in incredibly complex crisis situations as well as strong compliance and fiscal accountability.