Chin people are of Mongol
tribe origin who occupied the southernmost part of the mountain ranges
separating Myanmar (Burma) from India. Their history from the 17th to the late
19th century was a long sequence of tribal wars and feuds. The first British
expedition into the Chin Hills in 1889 was soon followed by annexation. Before
the British colonialists occupied Chin hill, Chinland was an independent country
ruled by a hereditary chieftainship, followed by a ruling system of councils of elders, and others by headmen after the British occupation. There were also hereditary
chiefs who exercised political control over large areas and received tribute
from cultivators of the soil. The occupation by
the British at the end of the 18th century brought an end to the free and
unified Chinland.
Their territory was
divided into separate administrative zones, and in 1948, when Myanmar became
independent from Britain, the Chin people were further divided, as official
international boundaries were demarcated, which divided them into two nations, notably one under India and the other ended up under Burma. The whole population of the
Chin people is believed to be between 1 million to 1.5 million, 80% and most of whom are
now living in Chin state of Burma and Mizoram state of India. Popularly known
as Chin State in modern day is slightly smaller than the size of Switzerland, and the population there is roughly half a million people. There are
approximately 50 different dialects among the Chin people, and they are mostly protestant Christians. Before the American first missionaries Arthur Carson and his wife Laura, came to Chin Hill in the late 1880s, Chin people were animists, but in the present Chin state, most of them are now protestant Christians. Traditional religion comprises a belief in numerous deities and spirits, which may be propitiated by offerings and sacrifices.
Slash-burn farming is the basis of the Chin people's economy and
livelihood; land is cultivated in
rotation, consecutive cultivation for several years being followed by reversion
to forest. Rice, millet, and corn (maize) are the main crops. Domestic animals,
kept mainly for meat, are not milked or used for traction. The most important
domestic animal among them is the mythun, a domesticated breed of the Indian wild
gaur.
Aims and Vision
KW Chin Community have three main aims:
1. Working together with younger generations, adult and older people as a community to improve life chances.
2. To promote our cultural values, knowledge, skills and enable the younger generation with Chin literacy education.
3. To help the Chin community in local integration, thriving together with multicultural Canadian society from our neighbourhood to every corner of society.
Aims and Vision
KW Chin Community have three main aims:
1. Working together with younger generations, adult and older people as a community to improve life chances.
2. To promote our cultural values, knowledge, skills and enable the younger generation with Chin literacy education.
3. To help the Chin community in local integration, thriving together with multicultural Canadian society from our neighbourhood to every corner of society.
How We Came To K-Waterloo Region
A handful of Chin people resettled as refugees through the UNHCR resettlement programme in July 2003 landed here in Kitchener, Ontario, and later the community increased to a good size in 2005. KW Chin Community was formed in 2005 to support and help each other to settle together as a community and also hoping to invite other Chin individuals resettled separately in different locations across Canada since most of them were resettled through United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assistance and landed in many different places even though some of them were immediate families.
With the hard work of KW Chin Community, most family members and friends were reunited here in Kitchener by 2019. By 2023, approximately 520 Chin people lived in the K-Waterloo region. Community leaders are elected biannually. KW Chin Community was legally registered as a non-incorporated organization in 2018. Most of the adult Chin people living in Wellington county are employed, while some younger people are still studying in high schools, colleges and universities.
Community Volunteers
As a community-based volunteer organization working to provide selfless service to KW Chin community's needs in Waterloo region, KW Chin community volunteers put their effort to the best of their ability to help the community. Volunteer services in this organization include assisting people in the community to accompany them to hospitals, clinics, organizing community events, picnics, sports tournaments, cultural dances, Chin literature and education, fundraising for the community, and annual registration for community members so that to update numbers of households in the community every year.
Organizational Structure
All community executive members are elected biannually in the community general meeting by the public who are 18 years and older. Seven executive members are elected and simultaneously president and secretary of the organization, and treasurer for a years term, also are elected by public vote. The rest of four executive members are assigned to their positions by the president and the secretary. Bylaws and regulations of KW Chin community organization are enacted or amended only in the general meeting, although some bylaws could be added by the executive board, which they deem necessary to carry out the community work. All volunteers are unpaid workers.
