Delta's Triumph: Navigating Floods of Resilience and Compassion
In the heart of the Ayeyarwady Delta, where the damage from floods and the aftermath of cyclones have gone largely unnoticed, our team has begun a collective effort to meet some of the region’s great needs, and they issue a call for continued compassion. Our local team leader provides the update.
“ On the next day after our arrival, we had to travel, riding in a motor boat, along the distributaries for one and half hour to reach the nearest town to purchase the materials for the donation.”
We have completed the food donation for flood victims in the Ayeyarwady River Delta. We contributed food to the aged and needy from two villages along the border of the Ayeyarwady and Bago Regions. Although it is not unusual for the delta to flood during the rainy season, the Ayeyarwady River’s many channels help divert the water and keep the level of water down. However, the rainy season in 2023 was affected by two severe cyclones, Cyclone Mocha and more recently, Cyclone Hamoon, which overwhelmed the ability of the delta region to regulate excess water. Local and international media both reported the damage Cyclone Mocha caused in Rakhine State, but not much was known about how the cyclone affected the Ayeyarwady Delta (which is close to Rakhine State).
We distributed rice, cooking oil, and peanuts to 72 families: the aged, poor peasants and fishermen from two different villages built on sandbars. Upon the invitation of a monk who resides in the monastery between those two villages, we traveled there by boat. On the day after our arrival, we traveled again by motorboat on the river’s tributaries for one and half hours to reach the nearest town to purchase the materials for the donation. We transported the rice sacks, cooking oil bottles and peanuts back to the two villages on the same day.
The leading monk in this area helped us carefully select aged people aged over 60 who have no farmland and financial supporters. Some are suffering from stroke or other chronic diseases. As we know, the economically struggling people in this remote, rural area cannot afford to travel to the city and pay modern physicians. Instead, they try to cure themselves with traditional medicine, which is all they can afford. Most of the aged people there have no children or supporters to help or feed them; in some cases, their children, themselves, are poor peasants; in others, their children have moved far away, even to Malaysia or Thailand for work, and in others, and they are unable to contact them. All the beneficiaries of our donations own no land to cultivate crops.
Some of these beneficiaries couldn't even come to the monastery to receive our contributions, but had to send their neighbor or relative in their place. We visited some of the home-bound sick and aged beneficiaries who live in the nearest village. One 80-year-old beneficiary lives alone in a small, shabby, bamboo hut. He used to survive by weaving mats and roof panels from reeds, but had to stop a few months ago. He has poor eyesight and he can't walk due to the back pain. Another beneficiary worked as a woodcutter and lives with his wife who's just a little younger than him, in her 80s, and who works on the farmland. In Myanmar, there are no government programs to help the elderly, whether in urban or rural areas.]
Dear donors from overseas, your generosity has made a profound difference in the lives of these elderly and vulnerable residents in the Ayeyarwady Delta. Your donations have allowed us to provide essential food supplies to those who have been overlooked by many; your contributions have brought relief to individuals facing the dual challenges of recurrent floods and the recent cyclones. We witnessed firsthand the living conditions of these people, and saw their resilience despite so few resources and so little help. While our recent effort has made a positive impact, the needs of the sick and aged in this remote, rural area are still acute, and your continued support is crucial!
We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your past support and kindly request that you consider continuing to join us in our ongoing efforts to make a lasting difference in the lives of those who need it most!
