THREE weeks after Cyclone Nargis ripped through southern Myanmar (Burma), The Salvation Army is continuing to distribute much-needed relief supplies to survivors and is planning a larger-scale assistance programme as soon as visas become available.
Communication has been very difficult, with information about conditions and the Salvation Army response hard to come by. Earlier reports that The Salvation Army has been helping victims almost every day since the cyclone can now be confirmed by Major Mike Caffull of International Emergency Services, who has been able to gain access to disaster scenes during an assessment visit. Within a day of the cyclone, Salvation Army officers (ministers) were visiting areas south of Yangon (Rangoon) to find out what they could do to help the people affected by the disaster. Unfortunately, there has still been no possibility of access to the Ayeyarwady Division of the country, where the worst of the storm hit and where it is reported that up to 60 per cent of people have still not received any assistance.
However, since those early hours after the storm, Salvationists have been making daily visits to some of the most difficult areas, often spending many hours on the road to reach places which are difficult to access. Since the relief work commenced, nearly 6,000 kilos of rice and more than 3,000 kilos of noodles have been distributed, as well as a number of other food items. Salvation Army teams have provided more than 11,000 people with basic supplies including food, tarpaulins, drinking water and clothes. These figures do not include the many hundreds of people who lined up outside The Salvation Army’s children's homes home in Yangon to receive clean drinking water from their wells in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone.
As the five teams of local Salvationists – boosted by the International Emergency Services training they received shortly after Major Caffull's arrival – continue to make their visits with food and clothing, they are finding more ways in which people need help. Plans are in place for an international Salvation Army team of experienced emergency responders to make their way to Myanmar – once visas have been arranged – so the caring work already under way can be supplemented and developed.
 Major Mike Caffull (International Emergency Services, nearest camera) helps with clothing distribution |
 A Myanmar Salvation Army officer delivers clothes to a family in the Magiyhan area of Myanmar, south of Yangon (Rangoon) |
 A Myanmar Salvation Army officer offers words of comfort to a family living in temporary accommodation in the Magiyhan area of Myanmar (Burma) |
 Children and family members pictured in front of what used to be the local school |
Major James Aaron, regional officer of The Salvation Army in Myanmar, says: 'We have been sad to see so many people suffering through bereavement and loss, wandering around, not knowing where to turn for help, with no homes or possessions. Yet to see some of them smiling when our teams visit with only small assistance is wonderful.' Major Aaron leads one of the teams himself and has personally been involved in the response to victims for many days.
Major Caffull has been working with the local teams and has sent a message from his base in Myanmar to say: 'The international Salvation Army should be proud of its colleagues in Myanmar who are giving of themselves sacrificially to help many people who have been left with nothing. We need to help them do more and hope to be able to deploy an experienced team to help. The need is great but so are the resilience of the people and the compassion of the Myanmar Salvationists.'
