Their smiles speak louder than words.
Survivors of Cyclone Nargis experience a rare moment of joy amid the devastation to their communities.
New clothes bring a smile to the faces of cyclone survivors. Picture: Htein Win
As these pictures show, Tearfund partners are getting desperately needed relief supplies through to badly affected areas in the Irrawaddy and Yangon regions.
Clothing, water, food and medicine are just some of the essentials that our two partners are successfully delivering.
Together our church-linked and Christian partners are together assisting more than 55,000 people.
A young boy beams with joy at receiving food supplies for his family. Picture: Htein Win
As well as helping people’s physical needs, our church-linked partner is well placed to offer spiritual support to those suffering the emotional trauma of bereavement.
Both partners are long-established in Myanmar and this has enabled them to respond quickly to the disaster.
It also means they will be there long after the initial relief operation is over.
A partner spokesman said, `Like the tsunami, Cyclone Nargis devastated people who were already in great need.
`The effects of the cyclone will ripple out into wider circles of need for years even after the initial disaster response is completed.
`In our immediate response, we have built upon years of work among the poor of Myanmar.
`We anticipate being there with them not only in this time of immediate crisis but in the years that follow as they rebuild their lives and communities.’
Long term
With the UN estimating 2.4 million people have been affected, the need for long term recovery work is considerable.
People like U Aung Sein make up that figure. He lived in a village called Kyaine Choung but was staying in a temporary settlement when a partner staff member heard his account of the cyclone hitting his community.
U Aung remembers his house shaking in the storm and the water level rising so quickly that he and his wife and their two young children had to climb up onto the roof to escape.
`We prayed and hugged each other very tight,’ he recalls.
Unbelievable
But before long, U Aung was blown off the roof into the fast-flowing waters that were surrounding his soon to disappear home.
He managed to grab hold of a coconut tree but had to climb it rapidly to escape the rising water. He ended up clinging to it for the next seven hours until the water level slowly went down.
His wife survived but their children didn’t.
`We have no house,’ said U Aung. `We don’t have anything, nothing is left. Life is unbelievable.’
The Myanmar authorities estimate the cyclone death toll now stands at 78,000 but the UN considers the figure to be 100,000 and many reckon it is higher than that.