Please help me lift this

On December 3rd, at Kanni village which is one of the Giri affected villages, Minbya township, Rahkine State, Red Cross Volunteers were distributing relief items to the affected villagers.

“Please help me lift this,” said Ma Aung Thar Phyu (Ma Phyu) while she was trying to put family kit on her head. Family kit distributed by MRCS, which contained 9 relief items including blankets and tarpaulin were quite heavy for a woman to carry alone. She asked her son to carry kitchen set (2 cooking pots, 4 plates, 4 spoons, 4 cups) rope, hammer which were packed in a box. Ma Phyu’s family was living without roof and side wall for more than a month. But now Ma Phyu could smile, a very first smile after the strom, as she got not only shelter above their head but also blankets and clothes for her family.

When the yellow Penang bag was unfolded, there she found two longyis, two school uniforms for her children. To her surprise, she uttered, “Oh! U Gyan brand!” quite popular longyi brand which they could not afford to buy although it was not that expensive. She said she will let her husband wear this longyi only on special occasion.

Currently, Ma Phyu and her husband were hired as casual workers for harvest time. But they have no idea yet how their family will survive after harvest time.

Almost ninety percent of gardens were destroyed by Giri cyclone, casual workers like Ma Phyu had been facing financial problems as they could hardly find a job to earn income. “We erect the fallen trees and replant it but we don’t know whether it will work or not. Even if the plants grow, we have to wait at least 5 years for those trees to bear fruits’’.

“So, during these years I will be ….,” Ma Phyu’s voice was faded out by the crowd cheering. By Holding tarpaulin and blanket in hand and she wore a big smile with appreciation and said goodbye to MRCS relief team.

MRCS is distributing shelter kit and family package which are supported to the beneficiaries by ECHO (European Commission - for Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection) through International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). MRCS has planned to distribute relief items to 13912 households in 4 Giri cyclone affected townships (Pauktaw, Minbya, Myebon, Kyaukpyu) in Rahkine State within 5 months. With funding support from ECHO, MRCS will spend 1.3 million euro for relief distribution.

There are some people like Ma Phyu who were still living desperately in open space without any shelter. They need many more hands to lift them up.

If you are interested in lifting their lives up, please contact to - dm1@myanmarredcross.org.mm without any hesitation.

ဇန္းျမတ္
Reporting Officer
Cyclone Giri Operation, Myanmar Red Cross Society