Bokalay vs Australia

၂၄- ဇြန္ - ၂၀၀၈
သက္စမ္းေရ (မုန္တိုင္းကယ္ဆယ္ေရးအဖြဲ႔၀င္တဦးေပးစာ)

Dear Friends

i'm writing this email from Bogalay IOM ( international organization for migration) field office.
email/internet access is a luxurious thing in this part of the world. I have been in Bogalay for almost 2 weeks by now.
I am working as a volunteer consultant for IOM Bogalay field office.
We are providing mobile clinic for health care and non food item distribution to the cyclone victims in Bogalay area.
There are 75 village tracts and over 500 villages under Bogalay township and this area is so huge.
everyday, our mobile teams goes to the villages for health monitor and to distribute non food item such as tarpolin, blanket, mosquito net, family kits and hygine kits etc..etc..
So far, i've been visited villages only 2 times by speed boat..my primary task here is logistic, general supports , reporting to head office,monitoring and other assessment from Bogalay field office..
But i believe what I am doing is more important than where I am right now.
there are quite a number of NGO, INGO, organizations under UN umbrella like IOM, UNDP, UNHCR,WFP etc. and other small local groups have their field office here in Bogalay and doing relief works at this moment.
Everyday, many village representatives or villagers from different villages came to our Bogalay office to ask for help..
They are just asking for very basic needs..
So far, almost all villages in Bogalay township have been recieved help one form or another. But obviously the help they received are so little..
The need for this area is so huge that the demand take over the supply. .
Their primary concern at this moment is the Shelter and Food .it is raining everyday here..so water is not a major problem.But Shelter is..
all aid agencies and aid wokers are busy like hell here since the need is overwhelming..
all of our day start 6:30 am and end after midnight and it is for everyday.
all places in this area are reachable by only boat and for worse, only very small boat can access to some villages located next to the narrow streams.
there are every 6 hour tidal wave up and down stream in the rivers and all streams...
Reaching to the villages are still a big problem.
Even many experienced local boat drivers does not know the water way to reach some villages we want to go.
i have switched off my emotional part of my brain to overcome stress..i just think what to do for tomorrow..
All of us come here as volunteers. we all are dead busy to forget dead tired.
one good thing is local authorities are very cooperative and very helpful here so far..
This is a long time recovery process and we all need to keep trying our best to help the people here..
We have to try our best for the world and international communities helps to reach here no matter what political situation in Myanmar in coming months and years.
there is no clear line between relief work and early recovery phases..
But, one thing for sure..these people needs the world's help for a long time to recover and for their life back.
like many others, I have comitted myself to continue to help these pople and this area as much as i could even when I'm back to Sydney in next month..
Anyway, it is 1:30 am here.. one of our speed boats was broken down today and I have to help repair it in the early morning tomorrow.
Will catch you up all when I'm back next month..
take care all
Kind Regards
zaw
PS: pls forward my mail to my other friends.. thanks..
Appreciation Letter from Australia PM English