“When the tidal wave and winds struck our house all we could do was run and save ourselves; we could not take anything with us and could not think about saving any of our possessions or our clothes,” explained 68-year-old Daw Waing from Dedaye Township. “We lost our house and everything in it – we also lost our hope.”
Daw Waing lives with her youngest son, her daughter and her beloved granddaughter, 13-year-old Kyi Kyi, in a ward of Htaung Hmoo Chaung village. Her son works as a labourer while her daughter, Ma Mya May, works on local farms.
Nowhere to sleep
“After the Nargis, we didn’t even have anywhere where we could sleep,” said Ma Mya May. “We found refuge in a monastery for a month and were reliant on donations. At that time nobody had any way to make a living.”
One month after cyclone Nargis struck southern Myanmar, Daw Waing’s family received a piece of tarpaulin and 5,000 Kyats ($4) from the Township Rehabilitation Committee. With this they were able to construct a small hut with a tarpaulin roof. But once the monsoon season started, the hut wasn’t enough to protect the family from the rain and wind.
In order to find work and more suitable living conditions, Ma Mya May and her daughter Kyi Kyi travelled to the nearest town, Dedaye. They found work as maids in separate houses and so had regular food and somewhere to sleep.
Daw Waing and her son continued to live in the small hut and to struggle with the wind and rain. All Daw Waing could do was look forward to the day when her beloved daughter and granddaughter would return.
As part of its rehabilitation work, IR has provided hundreds of families with more permanent homes. Daw Waing was one of those to receive a new house.
Reuniting families
“I thought at first that Islamic Relief would only help Muslim people, but what I have seen is totally different,” said Daw Waing. “More than 80 families live in our village and none of them is Muslim, yet each received a house from Islamic Relief. They also gave us a food package containing 50 kilos of rice and 2 litres of oil and a hygiene kit which including clothing.
“Because we have this new house we can start our life again,” said Daw Waing. “Last week my son went to collect my daughter and granddaughter and bring them back home. Now our family is reunited. My son can now work again. We’ll never forget the name of Islamic Relief for the rest of our lives.”