FireFly Mission Project Cyclone Nargis Team 4 visited Myanmar
from 27 November – 3 October. Our team of six were Chan ST, Low
Siew Kiang, Charmaine Tan, Chung Soon Ann, Tok Meng Haw and Yan
Yan. The entire trip was well planned, and went on very
smoothly. Through the
kindness of Myanmar Air, we checked in 658kg of goods, the bulk
of which were 11 cartons of medicine worth S$30,000, 700 school
bags donated by Sportslink, 4 cartons of food from Kong Meng San
Phor Kak See Monastery.
Team 4 visited a total of 10 Cyclone hit villages in 3
Townships, Dedaye, Pyapon and Moulmeingyun situated in the Delta
region. Travelling
via a motorized wooden boat, we covered great distances and
spent many, many hours in the boat, often seeking shelter from
the scorching sun. Along
the river banks, we saw normalcy restored in the villages.
Many simple attap and bamboo homes have been rebuilt,
some patched with leftover bright blue or white tarpaulins
donated by the aid agencies during the early days of Cyclone
Nargis. Womenfolk
cooking and washing, men fishing, gathering their flocks of
ducks or weeding in the rice fields, younger children playing in
the sand or the river and older ones walking to school in clean
white and green uniforms.
As we say, it is “business as usual” for these very
resilient and admirable villagers.
We had to really strain and search for evidence or
reminders of the disaster that struck the area, just barely 5
months ago! Only a few broken roofs,
a couple of damaged
buildings, and few clumps of rice straw hanging on the branches
and flood water marks have remained to remind us of the
devastation of Cyclone Nargis’ high speed winds and metres high
floods.
It was heartening to witness significant progress being made in
lives of the villagers. Many happy faces indicate renewed
confidence and hope about their future.
Acres upon acres of
green rice fields signify hope for these villagers of the “Rice
Bowl of Asia”. We
felt comforted that the padi fields that FireFly Mission had
helped to replant are growing well, and fears of failed crops
due to the high salt content in the waterways were unfounded.
Until harvest time in a couple of months time however, some of
the poorest villagers still needed help with basic staples.
Team 4 distributed rice, dhal and cooking oil to 915
families in Thanphad (5 villages) and one village in Chaung Wa,
all located in the Dedaye Township.
Thanks to the help of staff from our local partner, Eden
Group of Companies and the villagers themselves, the
distribution was very efficiently done without any incidents.
The villagers waited anxiously but happily for their
names to be called before coming forward, to collect their
rations from our Team members.
We cannot help but share their joy and perhaps some
relief that there will at least be rice on their dinner tables
in the next couple of weeks.
What’s amazing too is that the villagers have not lost any of
their dignity, joy and
hospitality in the face of difficulties and personal
tragedies. Despite the obvious paucity of food, we were very
warmly hosted to freshly cooked and very delicious spread of
home cooked food by the villagers, as well as bananas and
pomeloes, even ice cream!!
“Gotong royong” and the caring “kampong spirit” are very much
alive in these humble villages.
The propeller of our boat broke one day, right the
middle of the river, and before fear could set in on us, two
strongmen had come to our rescue. They appeared within minutes
in their own little boats and without any haggling or
expectation of fee or reward, they immediately set to work, one
fixing the propeller and the other using his little sampan to
hold our boat steady. Half
an hour later, we were on our way again.
It is certainly unforgettable and heartwarming to experience
such hospitality and warmth, and spontaneity, for which we are
extremely grateful.
We cannot help but lament the loss of such spirit back home in
our modern city lives.
Team 4 donated $30,000 worth of medicine to the Dedaye Township
Hospital. We learnt that Dedaye serves over 211,000 people
spread in 320 villages, and it has only one township hospital
(50 beds) and a 16-bedded station hospital and some rural mobile
clinics. Ten boxes or 500 schoolbags and the 4 boxes of food
were also donated in the Dedaye Township.
Brother Chan’s used his laptop to play the DVD on the Channel U
feature program on FireFly Mission President, Dr Ng Yee Kong and
FireFly Mission (many shots filmed during Team 3’s visit) and it
was an instant hit with the villagers.
Many of those who ‘starred’ in the program were grinning
from ear to ear. A
special effort was made to follow-up and meet the little boy
featured in the program, who had an abscess/ infection near his
eye. He has gone to
a hospital in Yangon for surgery, paid for by FireFly Mission,
and has since fully recovered and is back in school.
Thanks
to Brother ST Chan and his hard work in FireFly Mission’s
Cyclone Nargis relief and rehabilitation work, two schools have
been completed in Shauk Chaung Village and The Pye Chaung
Village. Work on the other 5 schools, 2 clinics and 1 orphanage
will begin in November when the dry season starts.
He has decided to remain in Myanmar till December to
co-ordinate and oversee the remaining FireFly Mission Cyclone
Nargis rehabilitation projects.
He will also be getting details for the 8th school that
Team 4 has identified for sponsorship by FireFly Mission.
With Brother Chan’s
commitment and dedication, our donors and all at FireFly Mission
can be assured that our projects are well
managed. We
are also grateful to our local partners (Eden Group of
Companies), Madam Ng and all Venerables for their continued
support and encouragement.
What's Next?
Bro Chan has decided to stay behind in Myanmar for another 2
months to oversee FFM's projects there.
With Team 4, we concluded the short and mid term projects that
we have set out in early May. The next team to visit the
Irrawaddy will be in December as part of the bigger contingent.
We will carry on with our long term project of rebuilding
schools and clinics in the Irrawaddy. In the mean time, we will
continue to take on more school projects to the best of our
capacity and may consider helping those farmers who may
have fallen through the cracks to plant the second dry season
rice crops in December
Of course, all these projects would not be possible without the
generous donations,
strong support and constant encouragement of all our donors,
supporters, volunteers, friends and families. With palms
together, we respectfully express our sincere gratitude.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
With Gratitude & Metta
siewkiang
for
FireFly Mission
Post-Script:
Brother Chan has reported from Myanmar that the foundation has
been laid for the girls’ hostel at the Orphanage in Shweygin.
After further discussions with building engineers and the
Venerables, Bro Chan has
requested the engineers to draw standard 20 feet x 60 feet
building plan for schools in the Delta area. Each should
be able to accommodate students up to primary 4. The estimate
cost would be about S$25k per school.
Bro Chan has also gathered from Ven Sopaka that there are many
more requests from different villages to build schools in
Moulmeingyun Township. He will investigate further.
