Children in Myanmar Still Live with Disaster

Nearly two years have passed since Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar, and windy nights are still cause for panic there, especially for the children who have become orphans in the destruction. Some stay at the church, while others have found refuge with relatives, neighbors, and families who lost their own children.

The rebuilding process has been slow, and even public schools of larger villages are not in operation. A village that was once home to about 300 families now has around 20, and every family is missing pieces. Parents who still have their children worry constantly about their safety, but they have grown to trust the staff members and volunteers of Lutheran Hour Ministries—Myanmar.

Working with the local congregations, LHM has found places where children can continue their studies, such as in churches, fields, and the remains of their former classrooms. The ministry provides them with new lessons and activity books that depict a Christian message, in addition to the types of education they were receiving before.

While they are not studying, children have found a new way of keeping busy. The “Golden Bowl” of Myanmar is a place where large amounts of rice are produced for surrounding areas, and those operations were severely hindered when the cyclone killed nearly all the livestock in its path.

Without water buffalo to mill the grain, children have stepped in – literally – to help out by jumping and stomping around in it, a process that is similar to turning grapes into wine. This allows them to provide food to those who have lost all other means of obtaining it, and the children are filled with a sense of pride in knowing they are feeding their community.

Life is slowly moving forward for the people of Myanmar, and they ask that we keep them in our prayers.

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