Our visit to the Muslim Free Hospital and Medical Relief Society was enlightening, to see the amount of renovations $55,000USD can buy in Yangon City. The city hospital was wrapping up the construction and renovation of a minor operating room, outpatient area, a maternity ward and a pharmacy. Funds are being extremely well spent. The hospital sent a team to the delta setting up three clinics to cover the Christians, the Muslims and the Karens, reducing the risks of unfair treatment, which were all too common in Thailand during the tsunami.
The slogan of this charitable hospital is “For the poor of all communities”
And that it truly is, serving the Buddhist, Muslims, Hindus and Christians of Yangon city. We were greeted at the entrance by hordes of patients lined up to collect their prescribed medications. The out patient department was calling patient number 346! And it was only 10:30am. Our group arrived laden with bags of medical supplies, donations in kind from Canada, making for difficult passage in an already very crowd space.
The donations we bring include sutures, anti-biotics, ambu-bags, multi-vitamins, skin oitments, surgical blades, steri-strips,
By Nina and John
Canadians on this trip: Mark and Dawn Marshall, Tim Norman, Ross McClellan
Our first trip was with Serge Pun and Associates (SPA) travelling from Yangon to Pathein with 109 of their donors, volunteers and staff all involved with the initial emergency response. It quickly became apparent as to why international aid agencies all had so many difficulties and were met with a logistic nightmares trying to deliver assistance to the homeless victims of Cyclone Nargis.
We departed Yangon City at 7:00PM for the 100-mile journey on a very rough road. After arriving in Pathein 10 hours later, at 4:30am, we transferred to an express riverboat for a further 4-hour trip arriving at the village of Auk Pyun Wa on Middle Island at 9:00AM. At one point our river boat lost its steering coming to a halt up on mud flats due to deep fishing nets set up by local village entrepreneurs.
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Due to its long term presence in Myanmar AZG was able to respond quickly after Nargis struck Myanmar. Operations started on the 5th of May (Yangon Division) and 6th of May (Ayawaddy Division; Ngapudaw and Laputta).
AZG sent 250 national staff from the large existing programmes in Myanmar and used the medical reserves that were already present in the country.
In the first weeks AZG sent out 8 distribution teams to ensure the distribution of food (rice, oil, fish, beans) and non-food items (sheeting, bed nets, blankets, toolkits) and 8 watsan teams to clean up ponds and wells. Distribution was executed at household level, ensuring that all recipients did acquire the necessary items. AZG sent also 28 mobile medical teams to conduct medical consultations, set up feeding centers for malnutrition and opened 8 fixed clinics in the Ngapudaw and Laputta townships.
We take a four hour drive to Tbaeng Meanchey in Preah Vihear province with Carol Cassidy. Our first stop the abandoned children’s orphanage, Carol has supported for the last 10 years, to deliver blankets, mosquito nets, rice and vegetables.
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By Nina
We drove up country 1 hour on hard surface, 2.5 hours on dirt road 80% full of pot holes. Our destination Tbaeng Meanchey in Preah Vihear province Carol Cassidy’s ‘studio’ so primitive, dirt floors, endearing weavers, amazing to find such luxurious textiles created ‘from the red earth’. Here over 40 rural artisans, land mine survivors earn a sustainable income under the generous care of Carol’s NGO Weaves of Cambodia.
From the red earth of Preah Vihear, Cambodia, a community of determined land mine survivors is creating a sustainable income through traditional weaving. In 1998 with five women making silk products and now employs over 40 rural artisans who use their artistic skills to earn a sustainable income. “We strive to uphold Fair Trade values by ensuring that all team members are able to enjoy a healthy and safe working environment.” Carol Cassidy.
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Patient Total October 2008
| |
October 2008 |
Year to Date |
Total since 1999 |
| Outpatient |
12,860 |
92,733 |
601,469 |
| Inpatient |
214 |
2,339 |
24,876 |
| Intensive Care Unit |
58 |
622 |
3,894 |
| Low Acuity Unit |
85 |
856 |
7,741 |
| Emergency |
603 |
6,418 |
88,051 |
Over the past four months, we have made tremendous progress towards assisting in the recovery from Cyclone Nargis made possible with your generous donations. Although this disaster has faded from the media, the job of rebuilding lives continues to be a challenge.
Along with providing for the most basic needs of simple food, water and temporary shelter, the donated funds have been used for:
- safe shelters for child protection;
- specialty food bars to curb malnutrition;
- critically required antibiotics and other medicines not available in large quantities within the country;
- materials to construct permanent housing; and
- psycho-social support for children and their families.
On August 6th, close to 8,000 lbs of donated medicines and high energy food were successfully air lifted to Yangon from Vancouver with 100% of the goods cleared without interference from government authorities. The value of this shipment exceeded $300,000 CDN.
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In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, the Myanmar Tourism Cyclone Relief Team had been initiating its relief effort for the Cyclone Nargis Victims by sending aid directly to those who are desperately in need at Phya Pone District and nearby Townships at lower Ayeyarwady Delta.
As of June 2008, the Myanmar Tourism Cyclone Relief Team had been able to reach out to 5,000 families reside at 70 villages with aid items worth US$ 80,000 approximately both in cash and in kind. The Myanmar Tourism Cyclone Relief Team is now involving in rehabilitation processes as the 2nd phase of ongoing relief effort, especially in the educational field by rebuilding and repairing schools in the Phya Pone District, Ayeyarwady Division.
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