Myanmar (Burma) Cyclone
After Cyclone Nargis, more than 2.4 million in Burma still need help
On 2 May 2008,winds of up to 190kmph swept across the south west coast of Myanmar (Burma) causing massive destruction.
Yangon (Rangoon) and the Irrawaddy delta regions were worst hit. Official government figures say 84,000 people have been killed, 53,000 are still missing and thousands more are homeless.
Severe flooding, damage to roads, buildings and crops, and contaminated water supplies have left families in desperate need. At least 40% of those who died were children - as are nearly half the survivors. Our focus is on protecting those surviving children.
Scaling up our response
When the cyclone hit, getting aid into the country was a huge concern for international aid organisations. But Save the Children has been working in Myanmar (Burma) for 13 years. With 500 staffalready there, we were able to help within 48 hours. Andrew Kirkwood, our Country Director, says, "Our presence in the country before the cyclone meant we could provide immediate support to affected communities. Straight away we distributed food, plastic sheeting, water purification tablets and kitchen equipment."
Within weeks, the government cautiously allowed aid agencies greater access and we extended our work into more remote affected areas in the eastern delta.
We've reached more than half a million people and now have more than 700 staff there. Still, more aid is needed and the number working in delta regions is expected to rise from 375 to more than 500 by July.
Continuing concern for children
A full picture of the devastation is now emerging. Huge numbers of children have been separated from their families or orphaned, left without shelter, clothing, adequate food or clean water. They're also struggling to deal with the suffering and loss they’ve faced and need emotional support from our trained staff.
In the aftermath of disaster, children are more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse - especially from traffickers. In desperation, families and carers are handing their children to institutions and organisations, thinking their welfare will be better protected. Sadly, removing children from their families can just leave them more vulnerable to shocking abuse.
Contaminated water has caused more cases of diarrhoeal, respiratory tract infection, malaria and dengue fever. The lack of healthcare services and essential drugs makes these illnesses lethal. On top of children's needs, tens of thousands of pregnant women need clean, safe baby delivery areas and antenatal care.
Save the Children's response
We're now working in 14 of the 15 most affected townships in Yangon (Rangoon) and the west and east Irrawaddy Delta regions.
Over coming months, we expect to reach 16,000 more households with food distribution and 70,000 with shelter supplies.
We've also:
- provided plastic sheeting for 450, 000 people.
- set up three water-cleaning stations, providing 50,000 litres of safe water every day.
- set up 50 child-friendly spaces where children can play and get emotional support.
- reunited children and their families through our pioneering tracing work.
- built temporary schools, in partnership with UNICEF, while we repair damaged buildings. We continue to train teachers to emotionally support students.
- helped 43,000 children with education, giving out 5,300 kits with school essentials like exercise books, pencils, rulers and school bags.
- partnered with Mercy Malaysia to run health clinics treating diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections. By mid-June, we'd treated around 3,700 people and we aim to reach a further 150,000.
- distributed essential food for babies and malnourished children.
- sent cash to townships in Yangon (Rangoon) to help people buy essentials, despite rising fuel and food costs.
Planning the future
People still need basic help with food and shelter - but we're not just distributing emergency aid, we're also supporting families in the long term.
Helping children return to school is one of the best ways to help them recover from the trauma of a disaster. But children are also dependent on their families' and carers' livelihoods, so these urgently need rebuilding too. Farmers must be able to return home to plant their fields and labourers need support to find work.
We believe an essential element in reducing the impact future disasters will have on children is to teach them, in advance, how to cope. Andrew Kirkwood explains, "Teaching a child what to do if they face a disaster in the future reduces their fear that this will happen again and better prepares them. Simple things make all the difference."
What you can do
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More information
- see the latest news and photos
- hear first hand from children
- read a personal acount of the conditions in Burma
