| This page is dedicated to our dear friends in Burma who so selflessly support our cause, while disaster surrounds them and their own families. Thank you, Min Min, Moe and Mr Early Morning. We couldn't do this without you. |
If the newspapers in Australia are anything to go by, the plight of hundreds of thousands of Burmese people in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis is no longer particularly newsworthy. There has been the odd mention of the relief efforts of the large international aid agencies, and the occasional comparison drawn between the regimes in Myanmar and in Zimbabwe, but other than that, the attention of the world's media seems to have moved on.
The Burmese government has been boasting of its success in handling the post-cyclone crisis, highlighting the number of foreign aid workers allowed into the country, and the extent of the relief effort undertaken by the military in the Delta region. We make no comment on these claims here, other than to note that our volunteers on the ground in Yangon continue to identify villages where practically no aid has been received, and where people are struggling to survive. More on this below.
Since we last wrote to our supporters, we have been proceeding steadily with our own relief efforts, with a focus on the orphanage at Mingalar Parahita in the township of Twante. You will recall that the orphanage was directly in the path of the cyclone, and that most of its buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. Our first priority was to replenish the stock of rice and other basic food and medicines, which was achieved fairly quickly thanks to the efforts of our small band of helpers on the ground.
The children who were injured in the storm have been recovering well, and the mood in the orphanage and surrounding community is reportedly quite positive under the circumstances. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will ensure that food stocks are well-maintained.
A lot of basic repair and reconstruction work has already taken place, and it has been encouraging to see teams of workers from the local villages doing what they can to help out, despite the challenges posed by the monsoon season. We mentioned in our last newsletter that we were planning to re-roof the largest surviving building - this was achieved within a few days.
This tactical patch-up work will continue, but we are also moving ahead with our more strategic plans to rebuild the children's dormitories and other buildings which were destroyed or badly damaged. We have engaged local engineers to commence work on a number of projects, including the construction of a 2-storey dorm with toilets and washing facilities and a complete overhaul of the water supply system which, although it has survived the recent crisis, is quite antiquated and not as hygienic as it needs to be, to provide clean water to a seemingly ever-growing population at the orphanage. We have also decided to replenish the stock of Maths and English textbooks at the school attached to the orphanage, taking the view that this is one tangible way to help get the children's lives back to some semblance of normality as soon as possible.
We feel that we have stabilised the situation at the orphanage and, although there is a great deal of work ahead of us in the next few months (to which we have committed a fairly sizeable budget), we feel confident that we have done everything we reasonably could to help the children and the local community.
We have been concerned, however, to learn of several other communities in the Irrawaddy Delta region where practically no external assistance has been received in the two months since Nargis struck. Although our focus has been the orphans of Twante, we have decided to extend the reach of our aid, and have made arrangements to transport rice and other basic supplies to these other communities in the Kungyangone district. This is logistically challenging, thanks to the greater distances involved, and somewhat riskier - there have been reports of local donors and aid workers being arrested by the military for becoming involved in relief work near the villages we are targeting.
Just as an aside, many of you will be aware that 8th August 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the popular uprising in Burma, during which an estimated 3,000 peaceful protestors were shot dead by government troops. All eyes will be on Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, but we wonder whether the stage may be set for events in Burma once again to steal the headlines...
The recent funding we have received from our supporters around the world has been amazing. Contributions have been received from, amongst other places, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, the UK, the USA, Spain, Turkey, Dubai, Canada and Bermuda - a truly global response.
We assure you that the money you have committed is being used sensibly and productively, and really is making a difference to the lives of the people we are helping in Burma.
We will keep you abreast of our progress from time to time, but meanwhile we send you once again our sincere thanks for all your support.
The Mandalay Projects Team
21st July 2008
www.themandalayprojects.net
All photographs are © M.L. Oo and The Mandalay Projects
The orphanage we have been supporting most recently, Mingalar Parahita in the township of Twante in the Irrawaddy delta region, was right in the path of Cyclone Nargis, and took a direct hit. The orphanage has been badly damaged, and several of the children have been killed by falling trees and masonry. Many of them are injured, some seriously. We estimate that the damage to the orphanage will cost US$ 125,000 to repair. Living conditions in the area are now awful, with an acute shortage of water and food. Shelter is also an issue - the rainy season is about to start and the children at the orphanage are now living in rooms with badly damaged walls and roofs. We have also been saddened by the news of how badly our local volunteer supporters have been affected. The home of one of them has been destroyed, and the village where his family lives is now under water. The images from the stricken area tell their own story:
With the generous help of our supporters around the world, we have already started to distribute rice, tarpaulins, medicines and vitamin tablets to the children at the orphanage. This has lifted the spirits of the children and the staff at the orphanage, and they are all actively involved in the clear-up.
To all our loyal supporters around the world, we send grateful thanks for your donations and messages of support.
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