Relief Efforts from Taos to Myanmar
From Taos to Myanmar: Relief effort spans globe
Submitted photo Residents of the storm-ravaged region of Myanmar get some much-needed relief in the cyclone’s wake.
By Jerry Padilla
Monday, June 30, 2008 5:32 PM MDT
On May 2, a cyclone slammed into Myanmar, killing more than 130,000 and displacing an estimated 2.4 million residents in the southern delta region.
“I had never seen so much damage; 10,000 trees, many several stories tall were leveled, and seeing that up front, it is almost unbelievable,” said Katrina Lehman. “The saddest is all the displaced children, many who lost their parents, and entire families. If enough salt water cannot be pumped out of rice fields in the southern delta region — so it can be planted soon — there will not be a crop this season, things will just get worse, and there could be famine.”
Lehman, a former Taos High School teacher now teaching technology and English at the International School in Yangon, Myanmar, experienced the tragedy up close and is now working to make a difference in the lives of Myanmar’s stormravaged residents.
“My friends and I put my Toyota to work for loading and transporting supplies,” continued Lehman. “I left it with them to use. I wanted to stay, but my fellow teachers decided I needed to come back to the U.S., to continue raising consciousness about just how much relief aid is still needed there.”
Lehman said that a cyclone warning preceded the deadly event, but warnings as the storm’s severity were never received. Ten hours after the cyclone hit land, the damage was done.
“It was total devastation,” Lehman said. “It felt like a war zone and everyone was in shock.”
Phone service was out, there was no electricity, and almost no potable water. When her fellow teachers arrived at the school, they found a tree in the building, the gymnasium’s roof had blown off and water damage prompted the school’s closing. Teachers and students met and decided to pitch in together to commence a relief effort.
“So many people had lost not only homes, but several family members as well. We began renting trucks to load with rice, transporting it as far as the road was passable to one of the worst hit areas about 60 miles south of Yangon, (formerly known as Rangoon).”
Teachers and students from 27 different countries, visiting artists, and others who happened to be there, all pitched in to help the survivors. Teachers donated their pay checks. Travelers wrote home asking for donations. And aid workers kept preparing family packs, of eggs, rice, fish, cooking oil and potable water for distribution.
“We bought and loaded 104 gallons of diesel fuel in a rented truck and transported it in boats in regions where the damage was worst — boats were among the only means of transportation in the storm’s wake,” she said.
After the storm
Now, more than a month after the deadly storm, residents — including countless orphaned children — are trying to pick up the pieces and resume as normal a life as possible. For many of the area youth, are is providing the vehicle with which many are coming to grips with the tragedy.
“It’s very interesting to see what children depicted about their parents and families during art therapy sessions,” Lehman said. “Many people who were not found very soon after probably didn’t make it. A pregnant woman lost three of her four children, and we hope some of the missing brothers and sisters of all the orphaned children might be found alive … perhaps displaced by the confusion.”
“One little old man was found clinging to a tree, and he was the only one of his family who wasn’t swept away,” she continued. “People were washing in, and drinking water that had corpses. It was like a holocaust.”
Lehman said she’s hoping to dispel an American misnomer that there’s little an average American citizen can do to help.
“That is just not true,” Lehman emphasized.
She said that local organizations are coordinating donations with the Burmese people and other cultures of Myanmar. A simple donation of $5 can feed a displaced family for up to a week, Lehman said. Additionally, area monasteries have taken the lead in local efforts for distribution of aid, serving as the “soup kitchens” of Myanmar. The head Buddhist monks are the village leaders.
The people are very strong, and very generous, and are the true heroes. Traditionally the barefoot monks come out very early in the morning asking for donations, in order to have enough to share with the poor. Lehman said that several other organizations are aiding in the humanitarian effort. They include: ■ www.beyondrangoonproject.com ■ The Foundation for the People of Burma www.foundationburma.org ■ www.asiasociety.com . Lehman is planning to return to Myanmar shortly. Anyone wanting information or to donate to the cause can reach Nancy Jenkins at 575-758-4820.
