Ko Khin Maung Oo and his son, Nyein Chan Zaw (left) outside their home.
(Photo: Yin Yin Myint/Myanmar Red Cross Society)

The farming community of War Kauk in the Ayeyarwady Delta considers itself fortunate, compared to neighboring villagers. Cyclone Nargis which left 84,500 dead and 53,800 missing on 1 and 2 May 2008, spared the people of War Kauk. While 330 houses in War Kauk village tract (a combination of villages) were completely destroyed, leaving only 10 houses standing, all families were saved with some villagers wounded by falling trees or houses.    

Yet, the screams and cries, and the shock from the disaster have not gone away. For Ko Khin Maung Oo, the leader of War Kauk, the memories of the terrible event have made him reflect on how the village could have improved its response to the cyclone.  The 29-year-old recalls helping villagers especially young children and the elderly, to safe places away from the onslaught of the cyclone. While he is thankful that there were no deaths or serious injuries in the village, he says:

“I remember feeling helpless because I could not do more to ease the suffering of people. Worse still, in case something serious happened, because my village is quite inaccessible, it would have been difficult to reach a clinic or hospital on time."  

The experience has made Ko Khin Maung Oo - a Red Cross volunteer since 2003 when he attended a basic First Aid course - realize the value of Red Cross volunteer training and assistance. He somewhat regrets not devoting himself to more consistent Red Cross participation because of his family responsibilities. 

“The disaster made me realize that it is important to be well prepared for emergencies - to coordinate well and manage villagers properly”.

First Aid training enabled Ko Khin Maung Oo to save his only child, Nyein Chan Zaw. (photo: Yin Yin Myint/Myanmar Red Cross Society)

He got the opportunity to do this in December last year. Along with 29 other villagers from War Kauk, Ko Khin Maung Oo attended Community Based Disaster Risk Management(CBDRM) training. It was the first such training for the War Kauk community which is located in Kyaiklat township, one of many townships in the Ayeyarwady Delta severely affected by the cyclone.  

The townships have been targeted under the relief and recovery operation conducted by the Myanmar Red Cross Society. The three-year operation aims to assist 100,000 affected families across 13 targeted townships. Assistance is provided through the following programmes: shelter, livelihoods, community-based health and first aid, psychosocial support, water and sanitation, and disaster preparedness and risk reduction. The operation is being conducted with the assistance of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the coordinating body for about 186 national Red Cross societies throughout the world.  

During the five-day training, Ko Khin Maung Oo and fellow villagers were instructed in techniques in disaster management, disaster preparedness, and disaster response, as well as the role of Red Cross volunteers during a disaster. 

“We learnt about reducing risks, how to ensure that there is enough food and safe drinking water, and searching for and rescuing survivors”. Participants were also taught how to provide emergency relief assistance and to manage an emergency operation at community level. Other lessons included motivating villagers to participate as a community, the importance of communicating important information such as weather alerts to all households, and providing first aid.  

“The training has given us the confidence to face future emergencies”, says Ko Khin Maung Oo. In fact, he did not realize how soon he would put to practice a lesson learnt during the training. One night, a week after the training, his 18-month-old baby, Nyein Chan Zaw, became ill and stopped breathing. 

“I remembered CPR”. Ko Khin Maung Oo was trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the first First Aid training in 2003 and again during the recent disaster risk management training. “I applied it to my son and thankfully, he started breathing again.” The child was later checked by a doctor and given a clean bill of health. 

Ko Khin Maung Oo and his wife are very grateful that their only child is alive. “I now know the importance of First Aid”.

The 30 villagers of War Kauk who attended the disaster risk management training, and who are also known as Red Cross community volunteers, have since formed six groups geared towards responding effectively towards future emergencies or disasters. These groups focus on six separate disaster preparedness components: communication, search and rescue, migration to secure places, emergency relief, storage of food and safe drinking water, and reconstruction. Each group consists of five CBDRM training participants. Ko Khin Maung Oo is happy to head the communication group, explaining that it is suitable and important for him as village tract leader. “Communicating to villagers and motivating them are part of my duty”. 

The six groups are now being used  as forums to multiply awareness of disaster risk management among their community. Similar training sessions and follow-up activities have been conducted in two other village tracts in Kyaiklat township. These communities are part of a total of 110 communities from 51 townships throughout Myanmar which have been selected to participate in CBDRM training conducted by the Myanmar Red Cross Society. The communities were selected during a preliminary hazards mapping exercise conducted at State and Division-level in February this year. Of the 110 communities, 54 comprise those from the 13 townships targeted under the Nargis operation.