By Fr. Charles Saw, SDB

I. Present Situation

• In Myanmar, out of 14 States & Divisions of the country, 12 are affected. The earliest & most hit are Kale (Kalay), Hakha, and Moe Gaung (Myitkyina).
• Geographically speaking, the flash rains in the upper regions have come down to the plains, and after flooding all the land along the road, flowed into the rivers, thus posing a direct threat to the outlying towns on the banks.
• The aftermath of towns and villages that were the first targets of the floods: slushy roads, houses destroyed by landslides, broken bridges, and mud and swamp everywhere.
• Flood waters are entering only now into some towns & villages and post initial danger just started.
• Paddy-plantation season is June – July; harvesting is from September to December. Paddy and other crops are under water now. In some places, they plant only once a year during the rainy-season which means the only means of income for many; with the present flooding, there is no time for re-planting and thus lack of food and livelihood in the near future for most of the people.

II. Present Activities

• Distribution of food-packets, instant noodle, drinking water, personal hygiene kits and some dry rations for the victims.
• Schools, NGO's, different quarters of the town, Companies – are all out on the roads and at the junctions collecting funds & donations from the passers-by. These hundreds of groups try to do charitable work with the cash gathered by purchasing rice, oil, drinking water, noodles, etc. to be distributed to the victims within reach.
• There are many places where the above donations do not reach, and the victims are starving.
• Where the flood has not subsided, it is possible to reach the affected areas by boat; where the waters have subsided it is difficult to ply between places neither by car and motor-bike nor by small boats due to knee-deep mud & slush. In any case, there is a dearth of drinking water.
• There are still many villages inaccessible by any means of transportation, and so relief materials cannot reach them.

III. Problems

• The receding waters have left in their wake -- mud, mosquitoes, allergies, diarrhea, etc.
• Lack of utensils (pot and pans), fire-wood, sleeping-mats, mosquito-nets, and potable water.
• There are places still where no relief has reached.

IV. What the Salesians are doing

• The SDBs are putting in their contribution in the Dioceses of Myitkyina, Kale, Mandalay, and Yangon:
1. In Myitkyina: Fr. Bosco Aung Zaw Win, Fr. Victor Hkun Myat and the youth from our Vocational Centre are helping in the rehabilitation-activities like distribution of food, cleaning the mud left by the flood, and re-building some houses.
2. In Kale: Fr. Camillus, Fr. Alphonse together with our boarding boys and past-pupils have distributed food and encouraged the victims in the relief-centres during the floods; now after the flood, they are helping to clean roads & houses, cleansing water-tanks and wells, and rebuilding some houses. In all these, they are working together with the local clergy.
3. In Mandalay: Fr. Peter Myo Khin and the Religious of CRMdy (Conference of Religious of Mandaly) distributed food and gave medical help during the floods. Their post-flood activity: rehabilitation.
4. In Yangon: with the other relief-groups, some confreres are joining hands to move people to safer places, distribute food & rice to places yet unreached, disinfect & purify wells and water tanks in post-flood areas, build toilets, and provide sleeping-mats, blankets, mosquito-nets, etc. Especially, they contribute in the distribution of medicines in a joint-venture with local doctors who go in groups of five or so with the nurses to treat the patients.
• On the whole, SDBs net-work with the Church authorities, NGOs & social groups, and past-pupils to facilitate and accelerate the work of relief-activities.

V. Other difficulties and advantages for the Salesians

• There are places that cannot be reached by those small charitable groups, but the Salesians hire boats or light trucks according to the need without much ado for the permission from above.
• For other NGOs or charitable groups, what is needed cannot be provided immediately due to red-tape bureaucracy or delay in gathering data & statistics or lengthy discussions by the decision making body, etc. These create unnecessary delays, but for us Salesians these steps are overcome.
• In some places food-relief is more than enough with surplus going to waste for a group or a village, while in other places what is needed is not provided due to poor net-working & information. But for us Salesians, we can adept according to the situation and change the destination as we think best.

VI. Our Team

• Upper Burma (Myanmar):
1. Myitkyina: Fr. Bosco Aung Zaw Win, Fr. Victor Hkun Myat with our Vocational trainees and past-pupils.
2. Kale and Mandalay: Fr. Camillus, Fr. Alphonse, Fr. Peter Myo Khin with Church authorities, Religious Congregations, past-pupils and volunteers.
• Lower Burma (Myanmar):
1. Yangon: Fr. Mariano Soe Naing, Fr. Edward Sein Myint, Fr. Charles Saw (Provincial) along with Church authorities, NGOs, Social Service groups, past-pupils and volunteers.