Ko Ko Kyaw, information officer, MRCS
Anybody who saw the video with San San Win shortly after the disaster could feel and share her pain. As she looked at a board with photos of survivors being found in other areas, she lost hope that she would ever see her husband and young son again. Both perished in the swirling waters.
San San Win told her gripping story to Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) manager San San Maw while crying, the tears washing away the thanaka on her cheeks. She was one of the people who symbolized the losses and the pain of the survivors.
In the months that followed, San San Maw did not forget San San Win. Not only was she included in the psychosocial support programme of MRCS, but she was also involved in organising small events in the Red Cross office and in the community. The two women met regularly to talk.
"We tried to involve her in our activities, keep her busy, give her a chance to meet new people and let her see that she was not alone with her pain," says San San Maw, the Red Cross hub manager in Labutta. "And then sometimes she just needed to talk and to cry."
Staying with survivors
MRCS has provided psychosocial support to thousands of survivors. The Cyclone Nargis relief and recovery programme organised community activities just to get people to play and to laugh and be together. In addition special sessions in the schools that provided toys and organised games, songs and drawing sessions have helped the students express and deal with their feelings.
Red Cross staff and volunteers have maintained close contact with and paid many visits to survivors. Some staff and volunteers themselves lost family members, neighbours and friends. By living and working in the community they have been able to assist in a personal and more sustained way. MRCS also organised training courses in psychosocial support and, in many places, community leaders, teachers and monks asked to join the training.
Re-married
Today San San Win has re-married. Her new husband lost his wife and two children in the cyclone and he understands her pain. Together they earn a small income by fishing and growing a few vegetables. Sometimes, though, sadness creeps in: "When I think about what happened, I am still not happy," says San San Win. "However, I realize it is no use being unhappy, so I have decided that I will try to move on."