Six Months On

Cyclone Nargis Emergency Response - November 2008

The Cyclone
Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar on May 2
2008, severely affecting some 2.4 million
people. Almost 140,000 people were killed
or remain missing from the Ayeyarwady
(Irrawaddy) Delta and Yangon Divisions,
according to state figures. Up to half of the
missing and dead were children.
A further 800,000 were displaced in what
was the country’s worst natural disaster in
recorded history. A12-foot high sea surge
proved deadly for those in the low-lying
Delta. The affected communities had little
or no warning of the disaster.
Nargis decimated livestock, destroyed
homes, rice stocks and agricultural tools.
One million acres of rice paddy were
inundated with salt water, severely
damaging the quality of future harvests.
Drinking ponds were contaminated with
debris and salt water.
A relief response was coordinated by the
Government of Myanmar, the international
community and the formation of the
Tripartite Core Group, comprising of
representatives from the UN, ASEAN and
the Government of Myanmar.
The UN launched a flash appeal for 500
million USD for the emergency response.
Six months on from the emergency, little
more than half of this amount has been
committed.
A young boy stands in front of the wreckage of his church. Around him is World Vision Canada’s CEO, Dave Toycen, helps out at a food distribution
the wood that used to make up the building that had stood for nearly in a hard-hit delta village near Bogole.
one hundred years.
packages in partnership with the World
World Vision’s Response Food Programme (WFP). Through World
Vision’s food aid programme, 275,000
Within 24 hours of the event, World Vision people have been reached with some 4,700
began drawing on its local staff of 600 in metric tones (MT) of rice, pulses, oil, and
order to respond to the wide-spread salt. Supplementary food has also been
devastation in Yangon. Relying on locally provided to lactating mothers, pregnant
procured supplies, World Vision then women, and children under five.
turned its attention to the hardest-hit areas
During the first few weeks of the
in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta.
response, food was distributed in both the
International teams of relief experts joined Delta and Yangon, but once markets began
the response effort in late May, to support operating in Yangon, World Vision shifted its
those already in country. focus to areas hardest hit in the Delta
Below are the main areas covered by region.
World Vision’s emergency relief response
to Cyclone Nargis:
Shelter and Non-Food Items
To minimise the vulnerability of cyclone-
Food Security affected communities, World Vision has
been distributing temporary shelter kits
World Vision has been distributing
emergency food aid and monthly food
Six Months On - Cyclone Nargis Emergency Response 1
 and tarpaulins across the Ayeyarwaddy delta and
Yangon. Locally designed kits - consisting of a
tarpaulins and bamboo poles - were distributed
to nearly 57,000 households.
World Vision distributed emergency items such
as blankets to more than 50,000 households,
clothing packs to over 45,000 households, and
cooking sets to more than 32,000 households.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Immediately after the cyclone, World Vision
made sure that the communities it served had
access to safe drinking water. Thousands of litres
of bottled water along with water containers
were provided to children and their families
immediately following Nargis.
World Vision has cleaned up more than 250
drinking water ponds in the Delta, removing
saline and debris. The cleaned water ponds are
frequently tested to ensure they remain safe to
drink from.
Eight water purification systems, each of which
can produce 1,200 litres per hour, have been
installed at the hardest-hit areas to cover the
needs of local communities.
Water and sanitation activities also include the
distribution of hygiene and sanitary kits, and
hygiene workshops. Over 53,000 households
have been given mosquito nets, about 50,000
households have received water containers and
more than 40,000 households have received
hygiene kits which contain soap, toothpaste, and
other family supplies.
The construction of standard latrines and
2 Six Months On - Cyclone Nargis Emergency Response
provision of latrine materials is continuing in the
Delta.
Child Protection
Nearly 15,000 children from Yangon and the
Delta have participated in World Vision’s 94
Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS). These are a safe
environment in which children can play, learn,
express their feelings, meet with their peers, and
enjoy appropriate care and assistance from
trained staff and volunteers.
The basic needs of a child are met in these safe
havens, including the right to education and play
in an environment that invites trust and brings
back a sense of normalcy. The Child Friendly
Child Friendly Spaces
Spaces also offer children protection from
potential threats such as trafficking. Help Children Cope
World Vision is also involved in the tracing and After Cyclone Nargis struck, eight year old Ei
reunification of separated children with their recalls her escape: '' When our house
families. To date, 104 unaccompanied children collapsed, we got into the boat and floated
have been identified and registered for around. Then the boat broke into pieces," she
said in a very distant voice. The young girl was
carried away by the sea surge and later washed
In his arms Ko Ko holds his little sister whom he rescued from the ashore in a nearby village.
cyclone by climbing a tree with her.
In an effort to recognize and reduce the effects
of trauma, World Vision creates safe havens for
children to strengthen their resiliency to face
the future. Ei is one of many children who
attended World Vision’s ‘Child Friendly Spaces’
to receive support and comfort in a time of
overwhelming grief.
When Ei is done with school for the day, she
spends her afternoons reciting poems, singing
songs and joining group activities at the Child
Friendly Space. ''I love playing but I also love
reading. I want to be a big teacher," says the
little girl, with new found confidence.
Farmers in the Delta celebrate as tractors provided by World Vision are
given to the community to share. Seeds and fuel to plant their rice crops
were also given; an important step on helping them back on their feet.
reunification. World Vision shares
information with inter-agency child
protection groups and more than 50 cases
have been put forward for reunification.
The reconstruction of seven primary
schools with reinforced concrete to resist
against future disasters - including the
provision of furniture, education materials,
and back-to-school kits - is underway, and
due to finish before the end of 2008.
Local staff, volunteers, and community
members have been trained in child
protection. Community watch groups have
also been set up to prevent and monitor
cases of abuse in cyclone-affected areas.
Residents of this remote Delta village help off-load shelter supplies
brought by World Vision.
Health
Medicines are being distributed in 11
townships across Yangon and the Delta.
World Vision has completed the renovation
and repair of 11 existing health structures
in the Yangon Division; four rural health
centres in the Delta are currently under
construction. Furniture and equipment is
being provided to health centres.
Two mobile clinics have been operating
since August 2008, reaching remote
communities that would otherwise not
have access to health care following the
devastating cyclone.
World Vision continues to provide basic
health education, covering topics such as
the prevention of diarrhea, malaria, dengue.
Community members pull together to clean the debris out of this
drinking water pond on the outskirts of their village. World Vision provided
pumps to give residents increased access to safe drinking water.
Public awareness is also promoted in
regards to personal hygiene care, the use of
safe drinking water, and clean sanitation
practices.
Livelihoods
The cyclone killed more than half all farm
animals across the delta – animals relied
upon to provide an income, and to plough
the fields. Thirty hand tractors and fuel
were distributed in July, just in time for the
planting season, in one of the hardest-hit
areas of Bogale. The tractors will enable
more than 350 farmers to till more than
1,750 acres of rice paddies.
Six Months On - Cyclone Nargis Emergency Response 3
Accountability
Community feedback and participation
mechanisms have been set up, providing
communities with avenues and
opportunities to express their ongoing
needs and concerns. Key activities will
focus on information provision to
communities, information gathering on
World Vision’s programme quality, and
maintaining regular dialogue with target
communities.
Coordination and capacity-building with
non-beneficiary programme stakeholders is
also taking place. Training in accountability
for local staff and volunteers continues to
be an important aspect of our work in
accountability.
Ongoing needs
Many affected households are still in need
of food aid. This reliance is expected to
continue through to the end of November,
when monsoon-paddies will be harvested.
Many villages, however, are expecting below
average harvests due to saline
contaminated fields. Ongoing food aid will
likely be needed until April 2009.
Livelihoods recovery is a major priority for
most communities. Large and continuous
interventions will be required in this area.
According to state reports, approximately
Kyat 25 billion worth of farm equipment
and over half of farming animals were lost
during Nargis.
Immediately following the cyclone, most
residents of the Delta relied on monsoon
rain for safe drinking water. Despite an
enormous effort to clean up drinking water
ponds, many are still unfit for consumption,
leaving communities vulnerable to water
shortage in the coming season.
Recent reports from the field have revealed
that children from cyclone-affected areas
are still struggling to overcome the mental
aspect of experiencing loss and stress
associated with natural disasters.
Continuous psychosocial care and support
is needed for the young, as well as
educational and health care for affected
children.
Furthermore, entire Delta areas are still in
need of disaster preparedness training and
capacity building to reduce the risk
communities will face in future disasters.

Children happily pose for the camera in this

river-side village south of Bogole. Up to half of
the children here were killed when Nargis
struck, and the village is heavily reliant on the
support that aid agencies can bring.

Six Months On - Cyclone Nargis Emergency Response 4

Facts and Figures
Dead and missing: 138,000 ***
84,537 dead ***
53,836 missing ***
19,359 injured ***
2.4 million severely affected **
UN Flash Appeal: 55% funded (out of US
$ 486 million, as of October 23, 2008) **
Livestock lost: 2 million *
Acres of land inundated with salt water:
1 million *
Nearly 700,000 children still in need of
assistance 3 months after Nargis **
Children turn out for a World Vision food distribution in a hard-hit village in the Delta.
4,000 schools damaged or destroyed **
Cost of damage: US$ 4 billion *
households will also receive support for
Cost of recovery: US$ 1 billion * Next Steps recovery in two critical livelihood sectors:
agriculture and fishing. Activities such as
World Vision has extended its six-month livestock management and community-based
World Vision’s Response emergency response to run until the end of microfinance enterprise are also included in
Total funds raised: US$ 32 million November. World Vision’s programme.
Spent so far: US$ 12 million A medium-term programme will begin in late
2008, aimed at recovery and rehabilitation
Target beneficiaries 338,000 for affected populations. World Vision’s one-
Disaster Risk Reduction
Over 2,000 MT of commodities year plan, beginning December 2008, will Communities will be taught disaster
distributed focus on four main sectors: livelihood mitigation skills and projects will be
recovery, disaster risk reduction, child undertaken to increase community
protection, and water and sanitation. resiliency. The programme will also work on
environmental protection and natural
* Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA), 2008 resources management.
Livelihood Recovery
** United Nations
World Vision will continue its food aid
*** State figures, June 24, 2008
programme through partnership with the
World Food Programme. Cyclone-affected
Six Months On - Cyclone Nargis Emergency Response 5
Child Protection While implementing the project, World
Vision will make sure that there is WV Response Funding
The programme will provide informal accountability and transparency among all
education support through existing stakeholders at all levels, seeking
community groups. Health care services opportunities to help change negative
and nutrition assistance will be available for policies and structures that make the
children in need. Capacity-building activities community vulnerable.
for community members, including teachers
and parents, are also planned.
Recovery
Water and Sanitation
Relief
World Vision has already positioned the 44%
necessary tools should its targeted 56%
communities face water shortages in
coming months. The programme will Total funds raised: US$ 32 million
further develop water sources for the long-
Total funds spent (May to Sept ’08): US$ 12 million
term benefit for target communities.
Total relief budget (May to Nov ’08): US$ 18 million
Hygiene and sanitation promotion activities
will also be carried out. Total rehabilitation budget: US$ 14 million

Contact Us
World Vision Myanmar Asia-Pacific Regional Office
Ashley Jonathan Clements Pamela Sitko
Email: ashley_clements@wvi.org Email: pamela_sitko@wvi.org
Cell: +95 95 035 983 Cell: +66 (0)843 600 345
Office: +95 1 525 191 or 510 148 or 511 265 Office: +66 2 391 6155
Web: www.wvasiapacific.org Web: www.wvasiapacific.org

Six Months On - Cyclone Nargis Emergency Response 6