Mr. Tin Aung
Mr. Tin Aung (73yrs) and his wife Mrs. Tin Aye (60yrs) live in Kyi Su a base for children ministry, evangelism outreach, and the meeting place for home church in that area for nine years. Even before the storm came, his house was in need of repair.
When the cyclone hit, his house was tilted to one side and his wife helped him to get to a shelter with great difficulty in rain and in the strong wind. It took one hour for them to get to a neighbor's house where they can take shelter for the night. The poor man has hypertension and heart disease and did not know what to do as he was gripped with fear.
During the night, his wife managed to bring the belongings of the home church- an old guitar, some Bibles, and cups- by going back and forth between their home and the neighbor's house. She treasured these things so much because they belong to the home church and regards it as her responsibility to save them even though they lost all their belongings except the ten cats they have. When morning came, they found their house totally collapsed.
They built a temporary shelter with whatever is left from the house, but water level rose and reached their floor because of the continuing rain and they do not have a good roof to protect them from the rain. Besides that they were tormented by the leeches that the water has brought.
For a week they could not sleep well as they had to stay alert from the thieves who were trying to steal the cups. The storm destroyed their fire place made of mud so they could not cook. The market is three miles away from their place and they have nothing to eat when our church team brought them food on Tuesday (6 May 08) which is three days after the storm.
Mr. Win Nyunt and his wife Mrs. Aye Khaing live in Kyi Su Village, South Dagon Township with their three children. Mrs. Aye Khaing is a believer but her husband is a drunkard. He was drunk on the night when the cyclone came.
Their house was destroyed and Mrs. Aye Khaing carried their two and a half month old baby and fled to take shelter under a big tree with their other son. Mr. Win Nyunt and the oldest son were left in the house. In the morning, the tree was blown down by the storm and so Mrs. Aye Khaing had to run to a house.
Before long, that house also collapsed and the two families had to flee to another house where five families were hiding from the storm. When morning came, Mr. Win Nyunt and the oldest son could come out from the broken house unharmed.
They lost everything. Now our church team has built a temporary hut for them and provided food and water for them. So far, they did not receive any help from the authority.
Mrs. Htay is from Seik Kyi Village, Dalah Township and she has six children. She is a Christian but her husband is an unbeliever.
When the Nargis came, their little house was swaying under the storm. She prayed the whole night that the Lord would protect them.
Before dawn, as their house was about to collapse, they escaped to another house. They have a pig and nine piglets which is the only valuable possession that they have. The husband put them all in a big bucket and managed to bring them to safety.
They lost their house and most of their possessions. Now they built a small hut but have nothing to eat. Till today, they receive only a small amount of rice and five potatoes from the authority.
Mrs. Aye Thein (70yrs) lives in Seik Kyi Village, Dalah Township. She lost her husband last year and is left with five-year-old grandchild who is an orphan. She went to stay with her son but her son told her that she could not stay with him anymore. She moved to another village and lived with other people for a while.
On the night when the Nargis hit she came back to her son's place. The storm destroyed the house so she is staying now at a school building. Soon the school will be opened and she will have to move from there but she has nowhere to go. She suffered from diarrhea so people carried her to see the doctor.
She and her grand child are in desperate situation and she wants to send her to an orphanage. The church wants to build a house for her but she does not even own a piece of land to build it on.
Mr. Maung Maung and his family live in Tamada Kanchay Block, Dalah Township. He has three children. Mr. Maung Maung and another twenty families made their homes near the paddy fields which are not recognized as a residential area by the authorities. It was a shanty block with their homes made of bamboo, palm- like tree leaves with no toilets. Since it is not a permanent residential place, they are not allowed to build toilets.
When the cyclone came, the family prayed the whole night. The water level rose to the leg and fills their house. In the morning, their house collapse and they had to leave at once. They could not stand and walk because of the strong wind so they held one another and crawl on the earth till they reached a tin roof about 4'x7' in size made for a water token. They stayed there till the storm subsided.
They gathered whatever is left and make a temporary shelter with plastic roof. For two days after the storm they had nothing to eat, but the three year old youngest child did not get sick. He only cried because he could not bear the cold weather.
At night times when it was raining, they could not sleep because they were wet under the rain. So far, they receive a small amount of rice from the authority twice. They received a polyethylene sheet for shelter given by the United Nation. Only 81 sheets were available for over 600 families so they had to cast lot to distribute.
His wife got sick and had sinus infection due to the cold weather. They earned their living by collecting used bottles and plastics and sell them to a buyer. Nowadays, there is no buyer and they lost their job. All the families living in their block have similar stories like him.
Mrs. Tin Tin Myint
Mrs. Tin Tin Myint (pictured with her Area Pastor) and her husband live in Lay Daunt Kan with their two younger children. Her older children are married already but her husband does not have a regular job and does whatever work he can find.
She herself is deaf and find some income by selling bread in Lay Daunt Kan. She has to carry bread on her head and walk around in order to sell it. Since they did not have a house, they lived with her mother.
When the cyclone destroyed her mother’s house, they all lived in a primary school building for some time. Then, they lived in a temporary shelter with her mother. The F.G.A team see their desperate need and built a permanent house for them.
They now moved to their new home. This is the very first time they have a house of their own. They said that they could not expressed enough how thankful they are to the F.G.A. team and all the donors who help them to have a house of their own.
Mrs. Khin Win and her husband have two children and they live in the poorest area of Lay Daunt Kan. Mrs. Khin Win can not work because of her poor health. The two children are in school.
Her husband supports the family by doing whatever work he can find. Sometimes he got employed in construction sites as a daily wager. He sometimes works in building roads and road repairing.
The house they used to live in was built with bamboo. They used clothing as walls of their house as they could not afford to buy bamboo for wall. The Nargis had totally destroyed their shabby house and they were forced to take shelter in a primary school building for some time.
They now live in a house built for them by the F.G.A relief team. They are so grateful to have a good house like this one which is made of concrete foundation, wooden floor, and tin roof.
Mr. Own Sein and Mrs. Tin Nyunt live in Lay Daunt Kan. Both of them are in their fifties and they could not work to earn their bread due to poor health. They live by the support they receive from their children who are already married and live separately.
Their old house was built with bamboo and thatch and was destroyed by the storm. We found them living under a shelter they made with whatever is left from the old house.
When the area pastor reported about their situation, the F.G.A relief team built a house for them. Their new house has concrete foundation, wooden floor, and tin roof which is much better than the old one. They truly thank the donors and every one who help them to have a good house.
Mrs. San Win lives with her family in Lay Daunt Kan (0601). Her husband had been sick most of the time and he could not work to provide for the family. Mrs. San Win is also not well to work. They have two children and live by the support of their married child. The younger child is living with them.
Their house was damaged by the storm. For some months, they had to live in their damaged home during which time the health condition of her husband deteriorated. He died while a new house was being built by the F.G.A relief team. Mrs. San Win now lives in a new house and thanks all the people who have helped in different ways.
Mr. Myint Thein and his family live in Lay Daunt Kan (0601). They have four children. Mr. Myint Thein does all kinds of job he can find in order to support his family. Sometimes, he works on a truck that carries stones used for building roads. He also works as a laborer in building houses. His income is not enough for his big family.
When the storm destroyed their shabby house, he did not have any money to rebuild a house. They used the tarpaulin sheet given by F.G.A team to make a temporary shelter.
When the F.G.A team built a house for them with concrete foundation, wooden floor, and tin roof they do not know how to express their gratitude for having such a good house. They said they could never have afforded to build such a house. Their children are so happy in their new home.
Mr. Saw Myint Aye has three children and lives in Aung San (2801). Not having a house of his own, he family lives with his sister.
When the cyclone came, his sister’s house was tilted and their roof was blown away by the storm. During the storm that house was swaying under the mighty wind like a cradle swaying. They took shelter at the neighbor’s house which is stronger on the night when the Nargis came.
Since they do not have the money to repair the house, they live in the damaged house for some time which is very uncomfortable for the children.
When the F.G.A relief team saw their plight, they built a new house for them. Being a carpenter himself, Mr. Saw Myint helps building his new home.
He is so grateful to the Lord for giving him a house that he stops drinking alcohol. It is like a dream come true for him and his children to have a place which they can call it home. They sincerely thank all the donars.
Mrs. May Yin lives alone in Mayangone (1901). She is a widow and has no job. She lives by the help of friends who care and by the support of her children who are serving the Lord. Her children could not provide much for her since they themselves are struggling to meet their needs.
Mrs. May Yin was in great difficulty when the cyclone came. As the storm mercilessly wrecked her little shabby house, she had to rush to her neighbor’s house which is bigger and stronger.
After the storm, she stays with the family of her friend for some time. Now she has moved to a new house in Aung San (2801) that has been built by the F.G.A relief team. She thanks the Lord and all the people who are involved in providing her with a new house.
Mr. Tha Cho lives with his family in Aung San (2801). He has two children. They live in a rented house.
That house was so old and in bad condition even before the storm came. The cyclone just easily devoured that old house leaving them to stay under the open sky. They stay under plastic sheet used as roof which could not fully protect them whenever the rain is heavy.
Mr. Tha Cho could not work regularly because of his poor health. Under such circumstances to rebuild a house is out question for them.
Seeing their desperate need, the F.G.A team built a new house for this family. It is the very first time that they ever own a house. This new house is much better than the house that they rent. They thank all the donors for making their dream come true.
Mrs. Aye is a widow and lives with her son in Aung San (2801). She does not have regular job but she does whatever job she can find.
Since she could not rent a house, she and her son live in a room attached to someone’s house. That room was destroyed during the cyclone. After the storm they stay with other family.
Now they have moved to a new house built by the F.G.A relief team. They are so grateful to the donors and all those people who have helped them in many ways.
