The situation in Myanmar, where the cyclone Nargis hit in May killing at least 22,000 people, remains fragile with a lot of people still jobless and without a home, many orphans and shocking poverty.

A delegation from SOS Malta's Sri Lankan partner, Healing Hands, has just returned from an aid visit to Burma and will now work to further assist with the setting up of a sewing circle, including a sewing class for girls and pig, duck and hen breeding programmes.

The organisation wants to help set up rain water harvesting, provide the local monastery with a much-needed boat and build a Buddhist temple for the villagers.

Kumari Kulatunga, the director of Healing Hands, said she led a delegation to the country on behalf of SOS Malta, which sponsored the trip, between July 2 and 8.

The trip started in the capital Yangon from where Healing Hands took a ferry to Bogaley, one of the biggest towns where all the houses and buildings were damaged by the cyclone.

Clothes, food, cooking utensils, candles and washing powder were bought and a boat was boarded for the village of Sarmaleut, where the school was destroyed and the children are taking shelter in a monastery. The cyclone also destroyed the monks' boat.

In this village there are 67 families made up of 346 people. The cyclone killed 136 of them and the village now has five orphans and 18 children with one parent.

From there, Healing Hands proceeded to Thar Pyan Gyi where women now till the fields after they lost their three sewing machines. Before the cyclone they had a lot of pigs but are now left with only two.

The local Catholic priest informed Healing Hands that representatives of Unicef visited the village and distributed plastic sheeting for houses. When Nargis hit, most of the residents sheltered in his church.

Healing Hands also visited another village with a population now numbering 279, including nine orphans. The cyclone killed 146 people from this village, including 43 children.

Ms Kulatunga said Yangon was still full of debris and broken pavements and buildings but things were slowly picking up. The people have started working hard in the fields and building new houses.

Although the children have no books and stationery, they are going to school and doing their best under the circumstances.

The people, Ms Kulatunga said, were economically deprived, isolated, vulnerable and living in poverty.

SOS Malta would like to continue helping the people of Myanmar and is calling on the Maltese for assistance.

One can donate at APS, account number 20000245111, HSBC, account number 006070932050; or BOV, account number 40013974950.

Donations can also be sent to SOS Malta, 9, Camilleri Court, Testaferrata Street, Ta' Xbiex XBX1407.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.