by Myo Ma Ma Kyaw, Reporting Officer, Myanmar Red Cross Society
Almost two years after Cyclone Nargis, the Ayeyarwady delta is gradually recovering. Major challenges remain and survivors are still struggling, but thousands of families have received new houses, villages have been restored and now have improved water supplies. Farmers have received fertilizer and tools, and fishermen have received boats. Schools and health centres are being constructed and numerous training sessions on health and disaster preparedness have been conducted.
The recovery operation is well underway and some of the new innovative approaches used can now serve as examples for other operations, not least because of the involvement of affected communities. Link to more stories about recovery in Myanmar here.
Daw Tin Pu smiles brightly as she talks about her new home. It is a shelter built for her and her four-year-old grandson, Pho Chit, by the Myanmar Red Cross Society. "Being safe and secure in our new home is such a nice feeling," says the 70-year-old widow.
Their old home was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis which struck Myanmar in early May 2008, devastating large parts of the Ayeyarwady Delta. The village of Pay Gone, where Daw Tin Pu and Pho Chit live, is situated in Kungyangon township, one of several affected townships in the delta.
The disaster left 84,500 people dead and 53,800 missing. An additional 2.4 million people, mainly in the delta, were severely affected, according to the United Nations.
Before the cyclone, Daw Tin Pu's small house was in a state of disrepair. When Nargis struck, it collapsed.
After the storm
Daw Tin Pu and Pho Chit then sought refuge in the village monastery. For the next several months, they continued to sleep at the monastery and meals were provided by one of Daw Tin Pu's daughters who lives in the same village.
Daw Tin Pu, who suffers from hypertension and heart problems, could not get any assistance from her seven other children who live in other parts of Kungyangon township or other areas in the country, as they were in difficult financial situations and had families of their own to look after.
Pho Chit is under his grandmother's care as his mother died upon giving birth to him. His father lives in another part of Kungyangon taking care of another son and a daughter.
"When I heard that the Red Cross was going to build houses for our village and that I was on the list to receive one, I was very happy - so happy that I cried", Daw Tin Pu recalls.
A simple house
A simple house was built for Daw Tin Pu at the end of February 2009, as the Red Cross household shelter project in Kungyangon township was initiated. The building of shelters is part of the society's overall Nargis relief and recovery operation aimed at assisting 100,000 affected families across 13 townships. The three-year operation, running until 2011, is being conducted with the assistance of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Daw Tin Pu's house was constructed in about one week. It is made with wood, poles, bamboo, bamboo matting, nylon ropes and thatch. Construction was carried out by a shelter technician and field assistant attached to the Red Cross office in Kungyangon, as well as five local carpenters. This shelter team and several others received instructions in building techniques at the start of the shelter programme.
A total of 20 houses including Daw Tin Pu's were built in the village of Pay Gone, which has a population of about 900 villagers. Households which had not yet rebuilt or received proper shelters since the disaster struck, were selected for this project. 368 shelters have been allocated for targeted beneficiaries across 36 villages in Kungyangon township, and altogether around 15,000 families in 11 townships have or will receive a new home.
Shelter projects
Other ongoing shelter projects conducted by the society include the repair of damaged community buildings and the construction of Red Cross posts for a variety of uses by communities and Red Cross volunteers as well as schools and rural health centres.
The Myanmar Red Cross Society's three-year Cyclone Nargis relief and recovery operation aims to assist a total of 100,000 affected families across 13 townships. Assistance is providedthrough the following programmes: shelter, livelihood, community-based health and first aid, psychosocial support; water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, and disaster preparedness and risk reduction. The operation is currently being conducted with the assistance of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Myo Ma Ma Kyaw is a reporting officer with the Myanmar Red Cross Society's hub office in Kungyangon township, in the Ayeyarwady Delta.
The office is one of nine hubs set up to complement pre-existing Red Cross township structures in the implementation of the three-year Cyclone Nargis relief and recovery operation. For more information on the operation, visit http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/08/MDRMM00226.pdf