PELITA - The Methodist Church Newsletter
Listed below are articles abstracted from past issues of PELITA
October 2008 - Updates on Myanmar
- Cyclone Nargis Relief and Rehabilitation
Six months after cyclone Nargis struck the Irrawady delta with devastating consequences, the Methodist Church in Lower Myanmar continues its efforts at relief and rehabilitation with the help of other Methodist churches in the region.
Estimates by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in June put 77,738 persons dead, 55,917 missing and 19,359 injured, with 2.4 million people affected by the storm.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm an appeal letter was sent out by the Episcopal office to all Methodist churches for funds to help in the relief work. Bishop Zothan Mawia of the Lower Myanmar Methodist Church visited on 22 May to give a picture of the situation and the damage sustained by Methodist churches and members. The Trinity Annual Conference gave an immediate sum of RM20,000, while the Tamil Annual Conference also donated RM20,000 to the Indian District.
Again on 28 June and 2 July Bishop Mawia met with the Crisis Response Task Force set up by the Methodist Church in Malaysia to partner with them in their response to the disaster. This task force is chaired by Mr Leong Pook Seong and comprise members from the Annual Conferences in Peninsular Malaysia.
Relief, Recovery and Rehabilitation
The approach taken by the Lower Myanmar Methodist Church is to set up two separate task force each having a different focus. Task Force One is focused internally on the Methodist church buildings and members who were affected by the storm. Task Force Two is focused on helping the non-Methodist and non-Christian villagers and communities devastated by the storm.
The aim of the response can be described as relief, recovery and rehabilitation. The immediate task was to bring needed essentials to the victims – water, rice, cooking oil, clothes, tarpaulin for shelters. But the longer term task is to help in the recovery process of rebuilding houses, clearing debris, restoring roads, bridges and sanitation. Ultimately it is to enable those affected to regain a livelihood and restoration of their lives.
The task force partnered with the Myanmar Methodist Church in a few selected areas that they have identified in which they hope to work towards a meaningful Methodist presence. Four areas have been selected in which the funds are to be disbursed.
1. Methodist properties and households around the vicinity of the Methodist Theological Institute. About 164 families received essential aid, and churches got funds for repairs to their buildings and other assets.
2. Nga Pyaw Taw Village in the Irrawady Delta, with about 86 families (40% Christians) and about 70 orphans who lost their parents in the storm.
Housing shelters were built and are still on-going; repairs to the church were done. A motorized tiller/plough was provided for farming, small boats and a medium-sized boat acquired to help in their livelihood and transportation.
Further rehabilitation work will include providing a community centre, a primary school nearer the village, a clinic and a small market. Through this work, the from what it was before the storm.
In addition to this three graduates from the Methodist Theological Institute were engaged to minister in the village.
3. Kwin Yar Village saw their padi fields and fishing boats damaged, all their houses destroyed. Rehabilitation work has been supported mainly by Christ Methodist Church Yangon and the Chinese Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Singapore. The Malaysian task force provided some funds towards the rehabilitation of the village.
4. The Indian District of Lower Myanmar Methodist Church. Initial relief was in providing food and medical care. This was followed by reconstruction of dwelling places and repair of the Dhalla Church roof. Further surveys are being carried out in five new villagers to see what help is needed.
Besides these four project areas the disaster fund also sponsored a Grief & Trauma Counseling Workshop together with CREST Malaysia, working with the Myanmar Christian Coalition for Cyclone Relief (MCCCR) with Bishop Mawia as the main coordinator. (See the accompanying article.)
The recovery and rehabilitation work is a long term project and still on-going. The Malaysian Task Force andthe Tamil Annual Conference continue to cooperate with the Methodist Church (Lower Myanmar). The goal is to bring a better life to these victims of the cyclone, bearing pratical witness to the concerns and love of our Heavenly Father.
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Post-Trauma Grief Therapy Workshop
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Part of the post-cyclone rehabilitation process is also the psychological and emotional well-being of those who experienced the great losses that Cyclone Nargis caused. To this end the Methodist Church Crisis Response Task Force together with local partners CREST (Crisis Relief Services & Training) and STAMP (Strategic Missions Program), sponsored a grief therapy workshop. This was organized under the Myanmar Christian Coalition for Cyclone Relief (MCCCR), with Bishop Zothan Mawia of the Lower Myanmar Methodist Church as the main coordinator.
• Testimonies of those who have lost family members and loved ones When a Pastor was in the midst of conducting a Revival Meeting, another Pastor was in the midst of preparing the elements for Holy Communion the next day or yet another when a group of young people were having choir practice – they were engulfed by the cyclone waters and their lives taken. 
During the lunch breaks simple health checks were done for those participants in need.
who have been shattered by this tragedy.