"Things were horrible. I went to some hard hit
areas where people don't go much - Pyabone and Bogalay. The weather was so bad
we couldn't go further. We made it out and back. A big relief group said we were one of the most adventurous teams to go
where we were.
I saw dead bodies of people and animals. Children
and adults died and many villages only had one or two people left. They stay
together in one or two houses or in the monasteries. One young boy was left by
himself as six of his family members died. People are staying on the streets,
really wherever they can.
There are so many things we need to do. Please tell
the believers how important it is to be involved in this. I will go back on
Tuesday again. If people do not get involved in this, I cannot imagine the
horrible social problems that will come in the near future. Children are begging
for food. People are hunting or scavenging just trying to survive. They look as
if they just woke up from a nightmare. They are staying and eating together but
soon they will realize their families are missing. Then they will weep. They
will cry for the missing ones.
When I got back I cried and cried for their
situations."
The weather has made relief efforts very difficult and the situation
even more critical for the hundreds of thousands who have lost their homes. Our
people continue to travel into the delta region and to areas around Yangon that
have not received much help. One of our people who lives in a community on the
outskirts of Yangon says,
"
The authorities are trying
to share some rice and potatoes and cooking oils to the victims in some
communities. But for example, in our community, a victim family gets only
two pieces of potato and people are getting mad and
quarreling."
More Photos...
NMSI is accepting donations toward relief efforts and continues distributing relief supplies.
With your gift, we can:
Provide help to an entire family--$100
Construct digging wells--$100
Rebuild a home--$400
Build a water system to supply clean water indefinitely for 1000 people--$3000
Urgent need: $30,000 for vehicle to deliver relief supplies
As
the monsoon season arrives, a quality 4x4 vehicle is needed to carry
the team and relief supplies into the devastated areas.
A month after the disaster.
Millions of people are still at
risk of disease, starvation, and the consequences of exposure of the cyclone that devastated the Irrawaddy Delta region in Myanmar. The after effects of the cyclone are being felt as the region's rice crops have been destroyed, and people have no choice but to drink contaminated water. These lingering problems have the potential to
overshadow the the initial damage and devastation of the storm itself.
To donate to Myanmar cyclone relief:
2. Select Checking/Savings Account donations OR Credit Card Donations
3. Enter your information and designate your gift to "Cyclone Relief - Myanmar". If
you know some of our staff there and want to donate to their specific efforts, please
designate the gift to them.