Dear Friends,
Brother Kenneth and I just returned from a profitable trip to Myanmar. We delivered boxes of surplus clothing, medicine, milk power, etc to our contacts there, thanks to Malaysia Airline System which kindly allowed us to take double the normal amount of luggage. We visited some churches to see the relief effort around Yangon. We did not visit the Irrawaddy Delta, since this was a short visit to deliver some money and the goods we had collected.
We were pleased to learn that one church is rebuilding damage homes and distributing rice to poor families affected by the cyclone in the vicinity of Yangon. Another church which we have been supporting had sent a team of seven men to the Delta for one week. They travelled by pickup to as far as they could go, then chartered a boat to go to an island where there are two villages known to them. One of the villages was where 21 converts comprising their outreach point died during the cyclone. The team distributed a total of 150 bags of rice to victims of the cyclone on the island, helped to build temporary shelters for families, and buried human bodies and animal carcases. A second trip will be made to the Delta this evening, Tuesday, 17 June. A doctor is accompanying them. There are urgent needs for tarpauline sheets, rice and drinking water because the raining season has set in, and many in refugees camps are being evicted and told to return to their homes, which have been destroyed. Two churches have requested for tractors so that they can start ploughing the land and sow the seeds before the planting season is over. All their buffaloes have died. While we were in Yangon, a pastor from the Delta called to request for tarpauline sheets and help to dispose off dead bodies, probably by burning. A very large number of the victims who died were Christians from the Karen tribe. The Myanmar Baptist Covention estimates that some 80,000 of their members died.
The money we brought was not sufficient to cover the immediate needs. The team going to the delta intends to buy the two tractors needed (US$2,200 each), petrol to run the tractors (US200 each), tarpauline sheets, a water pump to clean up wells, and rice. We are attempting to get loans from individuals to cover the immediate needs of this trip to the delta. In the long run, we plan to help rebuild some of the many churches and houses that have been destroyed, to help the churches start orphanages, and families to reestablish their living. Looking at the pictures taken of the situation at the Delta reminded us of the effects of the tsunami of December 2004. We would like to share our experience and the information we have gleaned with others who are involved in similar relief effort. Here are some suggestions:
1. Locals are more effective in providing practical and sustained help. But they need money and suggestions of the things that could be done. In Sri Lanka and Indonesia, a foreign helper acts as “passport” for the team to go through check-points. In Myanmar, foreigners are turned away, although the situation is slowly changing.
2. Rice, salt, sugar, onions and potatoes are basic food that are long-lasting. These should be bought in the towns close to the site to minimise the likelihood of confiscation and unauthorised taxation by army and police. The things should be declared as bought and meant for relatives and friends, not contributions from abroad.
3. It is inefficient to bring mineral water to the victims. Water filters are of some help. The most effective long-term help is to use petrol-operated water pumps to clean the wells. After pumping out the water, dead bodies, carcases and rubbish are cleared away. Chlorine power is sprinkled in. The new water that seeps into the well will be drinkable after a short while. Most pumps need to be primed, i.e. the hose needs to be filled with some water before it is lowered into the well, so that suction can be started off. Clean only one or two wells for each village, then move on to the next.
4. The relief team may help a family/church to clean the house/church and the surrounding if it is still usable, or with the view of rebuilding. Victims often have no heart to help themselves until helpers come to their aid.
5. A portable, hand operated eyelet punch will be useful for punching holes in the four corners of tarpauline sheets that are cut and distributed to each family. Without the minimum four holes, it is difficult to tie the sheet down. Nylon strings or plastic robes may be supplied. We brought along a punch and two boxes of metal eyelet parts in our recent visit to Myanmar.
6. At each station/church/family where goods are distributed, there should be prayer and Bible reading before the distribution, and possibly a short message as well. This is our way of ministering to the people in place of the humanistic counselling provided by NGOs. Distribution of goods should be done orderly and with decorum from the beginning, to prevent outbursts of anger and disorderly snatching of goods. The goods may be handed over to the village/church leaders to distribute, to save on time and effort.
We are reactivating our Disaster Relief Fund to collect contributions from individuals and churches. Contributions are to be sent by electronic transfer, and must be followed by email stating the amount sent and the purpose. An acknowledgement by email will then be sent to you. Collections will be accepted up to 31st December, 2008. A report of the amount collected and disbursed will be issued at the beginning of 2009. We will review the situation before the end of December, to determine whether or not to continue the collection. Until we definitely announce an extension, please do not send any fund for Myanmar relief after that date. Details of our bank account are as follow:
Bank: CIMB Bank Berhad
Branch address: Subang Indah, 101 Jalan PJS 11/2, Subang Indah, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
A/C No: 1272-0000122-05-8
A/C name: Damansara Church
SWIFT Code: CIBBMYKL
Thank you for your fellowship in our feeble effort to act as “salt of the earth, and light of the world”.
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