Cyclone Update: Dealing with the Aftermath…

We spoke again over the phone last night with our coordinator, Lincoln in Myanmar.It seems the burden of reaching survivors weighs heavily on Lincoln and his family. Having made several trips now into the worst affected regions, Lincoln reports there are still regions and survivors that have not yet been reached with aid. People there are living on one meal a day with only the clothes on their backs.Discrepancies between the treatment of people of the Karen ethnic group (who are also mainly Christians) and the Bamar people (the majority ethnic tribe, from which most of the authorities come from) have been obvious, with aid and shelter being provided to some but denied to others.Lincoln stated HMP needs to be delivering aid to the people most in need and to those who have been neglected and mistreated by authorities as we show God’s love to the needy.Some families, mainly fathers have been returning to their villages to attempt to begin working life again. Due to cyclone damage however they have no fishing boats, no nets and no farm machinery to work with. Many have had to leave their families in survivor camps to return to their home villages alone as they are unable to provide for their loved ones. HMP, Australia has been asked to consider raising financial support for the purchase of these items to give to families and villages.Cost Estimates:Simple fishing boat: $200Fishing Net: $70-$80Diesel engine (for a tractor or generator): $700-$800During trips in the Delta region, Lincoln met with thousands of survivors to hear their stories and to provide aid and encouragement to them. Lincoln has told us of overwhelming psychological needs, with survivors suffering depression, young children displaying trauma symptoms and girls as young as twelve having been sexually assaulted.HMP Australia has been invited to take a team of helpers with psychological training to Myanmar. Next week we will arrive in Yangon and begin training local volunteers in how to deal with young people who have experienced trauma. We will also be providing much needed medications. The team consists of coordinators, Ray and Alice, psychologist Andrew, psychology student Jessica and social scientist, David. It is hoped we will also gain permission to visit Bogale, an area in the Delta region not usually accessible to foreigners, where we will meet with survivors themselves.Please pray for this journey, as we encounter great tragedy and seek to help heal people’s physical and psychological wounds.Please pray also for Lincoln and his family and he has been sick with the Flu recently and is still recovering from a chest infection. Pray also for his spiritual health as he has been surrounded by sadness, tragedy and desperation and feels the weight of his responsibilities acutely. We hope to be able to encourage him, his family and HMP staff while we are visiting.We will shortly be uploading photos of Lincoln’s recent trips in the Delta region.See also ‘Release International –The voice of the persecuted church’ who sent a team of staff led by Lincoln into Bogale some weeks ago.

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