The Irrawaddy region borders the Bay of Bengal and it is from there that the immense winds and the resulting tsunami struck at about 2am on May 3, 2008. When Cyclone Nargis came ashore both the local villagers and the authorities were completely unprepared. The xenophobic military-led government reported that 144,000 people were killed and 220,000 people were made homeless. However non-government agencies later reported that the figure was more likely to be about 1.2 million killed and 2.6 million homeless. These figures are staggering when we consider that as of late April 2011 the recent Japanese tsunami had killed about 26,000 (this includes those reported missing) with another 131,000 still living in evacuation centres.
In the aftermath you may recall that the secretive Burmese authorities restricted reputable aid and development agencies from moving in to assist the people.
As a result of this, in May 2010 we commenced a new girls’ house in Yangon, Burma. We call it WOMEN WITH VISION. Ten of the twelve girls in the home are from families whose homes were blown away during Cyclone Nargis when the tsunami completely obliterated the coastal rice growing region of Burma leaving many many dead. Our aim is not only to rescue impoverished children but also to educate and mentor them over several years so that they will play a meaningful part in influencing the communities from where they originally came from.
Our house mum aged in her late 30′s capably leads the work. She works very well with our board. She has two Masters degrees (which is two more than most of us!) and a very willing heart.
An adult will earn less that US$1/day hence it is not uncommon for families to have just one or two meals per day consisting of rice gruel porridge. Naturally of course everybody is always hungry. Many are still living under tents ever since their family homes (normally 8 m2 bamboo shacks) got swept away. Sadly girls are being sold for sex for less than $1/time.
There are no doctors, no small village clinics nor local nurses. So if someone gets sick they will normally need to travel 50 – 70 km to a low grade very basic clinic where assistance is minimal. Hence if someone is really sick then they must make the long and arduous bus trip to a hospital in far away Yangon. Most folk of course cannot make this trip because they cannot afford the bus fare.
Most of our girls come from families that do not have mosquito nets. As a result of course many end up with malaria of which, for them at least, there is no cure except trying to battle the fever on their own. Obviously many many people die prematurely.
Many of the girls must travel 12km each day to go to and from school. Some traveling by public boats and canoes. But if you have no money how can you take public transport to school? And what do you do when it is raining? For our girls normally formal education is completed at the end of just grade 5.
There is no piped water. Oftentimes a water well is located about 1km away. For them to fetch water they must balance water pots on their heads. The water is very dirty and used for everything including drinking. The water is made to sit for a time in the pot so that the sediment settles to the bottom, then its owners will dunk their cup in to drink it. Typhoid, cholera and hepatitis are so often a death sentence to kids like ours.
So just how remote are the communities that these girls come from? Four of the six girls new girls that I met in early June 2011 admitted that I was the first white person that they had ever seen.
When the girls first arrived at our home they were lice ridden and black. Our house mum must sit them down in a big pot and scrub them by hand. They bring with them maybe 1 or 2 extra pairs of clothes. They have no toys, no photos of family or books. Our house mum has to teach them how to use a squat toilet because they have never seen such a thing before. In the past they just went to a designated area and “did it” there. The use of toilet paper is unknown to them. When the girls return back to Yangon after visiting their families back in the villages for a 10 day holiday they return back to our house mum all dirty again!
At the girls’ new home they all sleep under a huge mosquito net together with their house mum. Each girl has her own blanket and a plastic box to keep her almost non- existent belongings in. This is unbelievable comfort. Our house mum is very excited to have twelve daughters and you better believe that she puts her heart and soul working to see the girls truly become women with vision.
Our girls come from about 50km inland from the Bay of Bengal coastline. Those in the closer coastal areas were completely wiped out. Everything and everybody was taken. Buffalos, cows, babies, policemen, rice farmers (and their children), dogs, huts and even insects and spiders. Now in July 2011, about one third of this coastal land can be farmed again. Much of it has been destroyed by salt water inundation and thus the land requires considerable time to heal.
On average our kids’ parents each earn about US$0.90/day/person. They barely have enough money to purchase rice sufficient for two meals per day for their family. Their wages will not stretch for them to buy meat or vegetables. Hence they must forage for crickets, ants, beetles, leaves or anything else to eat with their rice.
Despite their obvious poverty our house mum continues to contact the girls’ parents and ask them to send money so that she can purchase clothes for their daughters. This is a positive thing to do on so many levels. There is no such thing as a free ride!
