After Cyclone Nargis, Finding Hope amid Heartache

A network of Buddhist monasteries is playing a crucial role in coordinating and distributing aid. UUSC is supporting these traditional spiritual leaders in their relief and recovery work.

"The wind started at about 5 p.m. and it grew wilder and wilder by the minute. Not long afterwards, all the big trees were uprooted from the soil...My mom, my two younger brothers, and I embraced one another tightly when the wind started to shake our house...Mom was encouraging us, telling us not to be afraid. She cried: ‘Don't be afraid, mom is here!' Those were the last words we heard from her."

Ma Wai Wai Myint, 22, is one of only two surviving members of her family, following the severe cyclone that struck the southern delta region of Myanmar (Burma) last May. In order to survive, she and her father rely on emergency aid - food and water - from their village monastery. According to a local volunteer from Bogale town, their story is similar to those of other families in the Irrawaddy River Delta.

In the aftermath of the cyclone, the Myanmar government was reluctant
to allow international aid groups into the country. As a result, almost no aid groups from outside the country could reach survivors.

Yet, in their place, a vibrant network of local volunteer groups flowered around the country. These groups have reached out to families like Myint's, providing essential food, water, and health care.

Commented UUSC President Charlie Clements, "Despite the scale of this disaster, courageous people in that country are using their cars, pick-up trucks, and small boats to move aid to where it is most needed. All the challenges they face have not diminished their inspiring humanitarian response."

Months later, Myint and her father are trying to move on. They have gone
back to their village to rebuild their home and their lives. But they face painful memories, flooded fields, destroyed houses, and sparse food supplies.
To assist vulnerable survivors, UUSC is working with volunteer networks to provide immediate relief.

Using faith-based networks, UUSC is channeling aid through international Buddhist relief agencies and individuals who have strong relationships with local monasteries and nunneries to support child care and education for orphans and unaccompanied children.

Myint's life has fundamentally changed. She will never see her mother or siblings again. But through her strength, and with the sustained efforts of local volunteers, Myint has the chance to develop new ways to survive and, eventually, thrive.

Together, with your generous support, we can continue to act in solidarity with the courageous survivors of this devastating natural disaster. Please join our efforts.