“I joined APS with a completely different background and field of work, currently in Myanmar operating an IT startup company. Through the APS programme and the people I have met, I was able to make my own peacebuilding a reality through starting my own company.”
From Hollywood to peace building
What was the reason you applied to APS?
International Law and Human Rights course class.
I lived in California for two years from the age of 25 and that was exactly where I found myself being interested in working in peace building. At that time, I was living in the middle of Hollywood where the extreme rich and poor subside – this was also where I saw the reality of poverty and inequality with my own eyes.
The feeling of wanting to challenge myself for a switch in my career after going back to school strengthened and as I started to do some research for that, I came across APS.
Upon starting the APS course, I was given an opportunity to take a lecture by a Japanese staff from the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) at the University for Peace, which gave me a clear vision of wanting to work at an international organization doing peace building and humanitarian assistance. Therefore, it was only reasonable that I understand International Law and Human Rights course.
The uniqueness of learning in a diverse environment
What kind of skills and knowledge did you gain through APS?
The biggest thing about APS is being able to meet so many different people from around the world. The fact that I had classmates from more than 50 different countries helped me a lot upon job searching.
At the same time, I was face with difficulties in trying to come up with solutions and collaborating with so many different types of people. Additionally, most of my classmates were either lawyers or prosecutors and since I had no prior knowledge of law it was very difficult to keep up with the discussions. I spent most of my spare time in the library trying to catch up and read books related to the field.
Another thing is that the University for Peace is located in such a beautiful environment surrounded by so much nature. When under stress, I took walks around the campus and even went to the Capital, San José for some downtime and really cherished my alone time.
After graduating, you were appointed by an International NGO to work in Myanmar and now you have started up a local company. Did you have a change of heart in wanting to work in humanitarian aid?
After graduating, Aya started working at an NGO as a Project Coordinator working in an ethnic conflict area, Rakhine State of Myanmar.
During the APS programme, I interned at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Myanmar and while living there, I was really fascinated by the warmth of the local people, which made me want to continue living in Myanmar after graduating. (*Aya’s batch had a requirement to conduct an internship in the curriculum.)
After graduating, my dream came true when I was given an opportunity from an NGO to work in peace building in the state of Rakhine in Myanmar, but the reality consisted of more desk work than anything. This made me want to work for the local people even more, which led me to obtaining a coaching license.
Following that, being involved as a trainer to young staff at local companies, Aya realized that mental healthcare is not sufficient in Myanmar, where young people have no one to consult with, leading to depression.
“I want to mentally support every single Burmese person.” This feeling got stronger, so I joined the Yangon Campus of the Founder Institute, an American business incubator, entrepreneur training and startup launch program from Silicon Valley, where they helped me launch a volunteer chat service called Mee Pya Tike, a free application where people can vent.
Since starting up in January of 2019, through word of mouth marked more than 1,200 downloads within a week. Since then, there has been a lot of positive response with other mental healthcare institutes as well as other requests from other countries reaching out.
Because of APS, I was able to walk this path as an entrepreneur
What are some of the experiences from APS that come in handy in your current occupation?
When launching Mee Pya Tike, I was looking for someone who can provide legal advice. As I posted that on Facebook, one of my Indian classmate from the same course contacted me. An Indian lawyer giving legal advice for a startup in Myanmar – you would never get something like that living in Japan. This is all thanks to the network I gained through APS.
On a fundamental level, I believe I was only able to take this path of starting a company only came from being part of APS. Through APS, I was given many opportunities to learn and think about the importance of not just utilize existing systems, but also the importance of creating new systems for peace building. Students that came together wanting to be involved in peace building taught me that it can be done outside of International NGOs or companies, and that the options are limitless.
This is why when I decided that I wanted to work on mental healthcare in Myanmar, I chose coaching and entrepreneurship – something I did not have too much experience in.
If anyone is hesitating to apply, I would advise them to just apply. I too, was not sure about what I wanted to do when I enrolled, but being part of APS, I was able to encounter amazing people and knowledge. I believe that you can decide your future through these experiences.
APS is an amazing programme that gives an opportunity for passionate people that want to do something for peace. It is also a place where you can grow drastically – I highly recommend everyone to apply.
With staff of Mee Pya Tike.
Aya Terasawa | Born in Okinawa prefecture, in 1980. In 2005, while living in the U.S., she became interested in poverty and equality, which lead to her interest in the peacebuilding field. In 2011, joined the APS Programme as the sixth batch and in 2012, obtained a Master’s in International Law and Human Rights from the United Nations University for Peace. After graduating, joined an International NGO, Bridge Asia Japan and ultimately led to starting up an IT company TEAMFLOW MYANMAR in 2019. Also operating a free application counselling service called Mee Pya Tike (“lighthouse” in Burmese).
APS Programme is supported by The Nippon Foundation. Interview by Chihiro Masuho (Class of 2012, APS Batch 5). English Translation by Mario Takahashi (Class of 2012, APS Batch 5).