Feature: After the cyclone
How the Global Aid Network (GAiN), the humanitarian aid arm of Campus Crusade for Christ International, is helping people in devastated Burma (Myanmar) put their lives back together ...
A church in Ponkamar village, Dedaye district was holding a youth convention. These 1,200 young people were excited about their future. All of them, along with 850 villagers, died in cyclone Nargis.
A couple who had just got married thought the storm would blow over. Then the husband saw the water coming. He turned and called his wife. His vision of her was momentarily distracted as he heard shouting and fear behind him. He looked back, only to see a torrent of water approaching. Water was suddenly upon him; he turned to call out to his wife to grab something secure as water rushed all around him. She had vanished. He never saw her again.
In some areas close to the sea, the cyclone brought with it a 12-foot high wave of salt water, destroying rice growing regions. Wells and river systems have become undrinkable due to salt, mud and contamination.
More than 200,000 are dead and 44,000 people are still missing. Three weeks after the storm, bodies can be found still hanging in trees, and rotting corpses line the river banks and dams.
Cyclone Nargis represents the complete destruction of people’s emotional, physical and social lives. GaiN has begun a strategy that takes on a holistic perspective to helping people rebuild their lives.
GAiN was one of the first organisations to visit two jails and provide food and comfort to starving prisoners. More than 7,000 people were fed.
A senior GAiN official also secured a joint agreement to rebuild two Buddhist monasteries located in the centre of two disaster areas. The larger monastery can provide shelter for hundreds of people during the coming monsoon. It can also double up as a school and help people find some sense of emotional stability in the short term.
The local authorities were so impressed with GAiN’s partnership with the Buddhist monks, that the official was able to obtain an audience with one of the four generals who is in charge of the relief project in one of the four affected areas. Immediate relief and assistance was offered to the local government controlled relief camp at Maubin as well as a feeding programme. Talks have opened the door for further involvement with government authorities in the relief and rebuilding of communities.
By 23 May, 18,000 women’s and children’s kits had been distributed by GAiN’s local partners.
On 24 May the same official met with a senior government minister. Agreements are in place to allow GAiN to help six villages that are still in a desperate situation. GAiN will provide immediate relief items such as food, water, shelter and medicines and has organised basic emotional relief training for volunteer teams. This will be extended to include more in-depth counselling support in the future. Architectural plans for homes have been signed off and building will commence within the next couple of weeks.
GAiN will start building six schools in each of the six villages. This is expected to be completed within the next few months. GAiN will also install an ergonomic water tank and filtration system that can provide enough clean water for the whole village.
A Christian centre was selected as the training ground for 40 local people in the building of a large tank water filtration system. Using simple products such as carefully selected pebbles, gravel and washed river sand, people can build a natural chemical free, water filtration system.
A teacher and water filtration expert from GAiN USA said: “The locals were so excited and so willing to work. It has been great to work with them.” Within the next month, the construction of another 10 water filter systems will commence. By training locals, GAiN can speed up the delivery of clean water to storm affected villages and communities.
The Myanmar relief project is a united effort between the GAiN head offices of USA, Canada, Germany Korea, Holland and Australia. GAiN Australia is the lead agency. Further information from www.globalaid.net
