Outreach, Relief

Su Myat Htet — Hlaing Thar Yar Team

Today my team went to 6 different refugee camps. First, we went to Yadana Thirimyo Oo Monastery. Since we arrived at the camp at lunchtime, we saw many young children eating their meals. It was such a wonderful sight to see. We were especially glad to see them eating enthusiastically because we knew that we were the ones who were able to give them food.

Next we went to Amaka 31. For this site, we had a plan. We had a raffle for tarps. We awarded tarps to 24 out of the 50 families there. After we finished the raffle, we met a young girl who was sick. We saw that she was recovering well from dysentery. When we saw her yesterday, she was a sorry sight to see. She seemed to be in so much pain. What a sad thing to see a girl who was so young, only 11, in so much pain. Yesterday we gave her some money so that she could go to a doctor. So again, we were happy to see that we could make a difference. As soon as we went to houses of the raffle winners and took pictures, I became very upset. The losers of the raffle were distraught and shouting that they had nowhere to sleep. I felt really sorry because it was impossible to provide enough for everyone. As we only had a limited number of tarps, we could only help them so much.

The next place we went to was Thadana Wuntha Dhammayone. The population was not too big, not too small. These villagers had no curries, nothing to eat with their rice. So we donated some potatoes. Opposite from the Dhammayone, there lived 6 widows. Because of our help from the day before, they told us that their situation was improving and they were in good spirits. We requested to give tarps to these widows. But we couldn’t give any additional supplies. So we told them that we’d come again tomorrow. At this point, I was feeling very frustrated and impatient. I wanted to satisfy everyone’s needs immediately. But I couldn’t.

When we got to a building at Shwe Than Lwin, I almost fainted. A 30-year-old man had a serious wound on his forearm which was caused by a bamboo wall that fell during the storm. I was shocked to see it. The wound was so deep that I could see his exposed veins. As we cleaned the wound with alcohol, tears fell from the man’s face. Then we met a 70-year-old woman who had a grim wound on her leg. So we took a picture of the injury and showed it to a doctor at our school. The doctor told us that it needed to be amputated. If I were her, I would have died on the spot. I don’t think I could stand the pain. In reflection, I want to say that we should all treat each other with sympathy and compassion. I pray that while we help others, we may not be hindered. These helpless refugees will only survive this uncertain period if us private organizations help them.

Ki Shing — Hlaing Thar Yar Team

The force of Nargis turned everything upside down. Over a million people became homeless. Many people lost their lives. We want to support as many as people with as many supplies as possible. These refugees shouldn’t be forced to choose their most essential needs. We should give them all basic necessities.

Today we went to Hlainh Thar Yar. We saw and took pictures of the ruins of many houses. Although we gave them some tarps for their roofs, I felt sorry thinking about how long it would take for them to return to their normal way of life. We met an elderly woman living in an unfinished building at Shwe Than Lwin. She was a sorry sight to see. She had what appeared to be an incurable wound. It seemed that her flesh was already decaying. Yesterday we gave the woman some money to go to a clinic and we came to know that the doctor said that there was nothing he could do. We were quite saddened to hear this news.

There are so many refugees at many other places as well. There’s a high risk for these people living in such cramped spaces. Access to drinking water is difficult. And don’t even ask how difficult it is for them to bathe. Flies cover everything. It is unthinkable to imagine what would happen if disease entered these camps.

The best solution to this tragedy is to cultivate our sense of human compassion and do our best to solve their plight. Currently, the biggest priority is rebuilding the refugees’ homes and helping them return to their normal lives. To accomplish this, we should provide them with food and do our best to rebuild their homes. I am proud to work as much as I can for these refugees. But I am sad to think how long they will have to stay here. I pray that no one else will ever have to suffer as much as these refugees.

Shoon Sient Sient

Hlaing Thaya wasn’t as bad as Shwe Pauk Kan. [Two neighborhoods in Rangoon] The thing they need most there is medicine. People are grouped together and since they can only go to the bathroom nearby many of them have diarrhea. One kid has diarrhea and blood in his feces. The main target is to stop diarrhea from happening. If there is an outbreak, everyone will be affected. And dehydration salt, everyone needs to rink dehydration salt.

We need to fix the houses, if the houses are fixed, these people will be fine. If they don’t have houses they are worried they will have to spend the rest of their lives at a refugee camp. And the people who are donating cannot donate all the time. If we can help these people get housing quickly, it can solve a lot of their problems.

Bosco — 10/5/08

Today we went to Hlaing Thaya at about ten in the morning. We found five refugee camps at Hlaing Thaya. Some of the camps have up to 70 families staying there. Some of the people are there because their roofs were blown off but some people’s homes were completely destroyed. According to one refugee, some of them are very poor, so if they have to rebuild their homes themselves, they can’t even afford to buy one piece of wood. Recently they have been surviving thanks to the goodwill of other people and help from the UN. We donated rehydration salts and candles since the people don’t have any electricity. We also donated rice, money, and medicine for people who were sick.

Su Myat Htet — 9/5/08

Of all the refugee camps that I’ve gone to the primary need is clean drinking water. They can’t use the water for drinking. The water in the surrounding area is dirty and smelly so they’re starting to have problems with diarrhea. The first place we went was Amaka (Primary School 31) in Hlaing Thaya. There are 402 people living in this camp, 70 families. When we arrived, a person from the fire department was temporarily in charge. He planned to cook and distribute rice, and bean curry to the refugees. The refugees at this school said they have permission to stay there for exactly one month.

The next camp is at the YMCA. We got there at 2:10 in the afternoon, after lunch. The person in charge is named U Kyaw Win. They also need clean water there. There are 243 people there. According to U Kyaw Win their estimated needs for lunch and dinner are 1 or 1.5 packs of rice. Before rice was given by the local authorities but now they’ve stopped. Currently they are using the underground well.

There’s also one person who was bitten by a dog. He was also injured trying to escape from the storm, he stepped on a nail. His wound was bleeding and inflamed and hasn’t been treated since there are no doctors. All they can do is keep his wound clean. I felt really sorry for him but all we could tell him was that next time we would try to bring a doctor. Helping him was beyond our ability. I don’t think I can deal with these kinds of experiences.

One foreigner donated 7 bags of rice, 2 bags of beans, 18 bottles of cooking oil and 100 cans of sardines (enough for one meal for everyone). But they only got the sardines. We gave 35000 kyats, meat curry, and potato to the camp at the YMCA from our school. On previous days they only had some leafy vegetables and a little bit of fish for their meals. The problem is that outsiders aren’t allowed to do anything without permission.

The last camp was primary school 15. The headmaster of this school was very pleased because with our cash donation they could repair their water tank and build a toilet. At the building beside this school there were also 200 additional refugees. I was concerned because a 72 year old lady had an infection on her leg. We donated money to her so she could buy medicine. We also gave money to another old woman who had suffered a stroke. All I felt was sorrow at seeing these people. We got annoyed with some other people who were interfering while we were trying to help. All we can do is continue to go and help these people who are in need.