Four months after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, through the efforts of The Leprosy Mission International staff to identify and provide assistance and rehabilitation to persons with disability, the true scale of the needs are being uncovered.

In less than three months, initial survey work by teams based in Yangon, Hlaing Thayar, Bogale and Pathien have identified over 1,000 persons with disability affected by Nargis. Large, high density population areas have yet to be surveyed, and likely to yield many more needs.

So far, the team has travelled by car, motorcycle, bicycle, boat, helicopter and on foot to reach villages and homes. Likewise, persons with disability travel for up to a day to reach one of the three rehabilitation centres recently opened in stricken areas.  On a recent visit of sites, an initial assessment of the progress to date was made, and an idea of the likely short and medium term needs was assessed.

On a visit to a large village upriver from the town of Bogale, we were struck by the eagerness of village elders to participate in helping restore the lives of persons with disability. In this village of over 1,000 households, many had lost homes, possessions and livelihoods when the tidal surge covered their village. To date, very little outside help has reached them, and yet the residents were very happy that many of the 150 persons with disability in that village were receiving assistance-as ‘they are not so able to help themselves’. In this village, a network of brick pathways is being extended to allow persons with impaired mobility to access the village amenities, and to access the river shore where business can be conducted. This is in addition to restoring homes, together with enhanced accessibility to connect homes with the pathway.

Other more distant sites, village tracts with hundreds of persons with disability have been identified, but as yet, due to high workload levels for staff, no interventions have been done. The immediate needs are for expanded teams for outreach programmes. Centre based staff are already overstretched in dealing with up to 50 persons per day requiring therapy and training, and following up existing livelihood and housing programmes. Distant sites, up to a day’s travel away, will require additional outreach teams equipped with boats, bicycles and motorcycles to allow rapid field supervision. Additionally, opportunities and needs for expanded community adaptations are presenting themselves. The cost of expanding access pathways in the boggy, marshy delta is challenging-and yet in many cases a crucial component of seeing genuine integration of persons with disability into the social and economic life of their community.

Staff welfare is also an issue. All the staff are young-many in their first job. It was wonderful to see the dedication and commitment, and the willingness to really work with persons with disabilities to find solutions. But the stresses are high, and in some sites, there is very little opportunity for relaxation. A staff retreat, planned for December 2008, will be an opportunity for staff to take time out and reflect on what has been a hectic beginning.

It is impossible too, to miss the significance of these interventions. The scale of the Nargis crisis and responses draws comparisons with the 2005 Tsunami, and yet to date, there has been very little emphasis on disability issues by major relief agencies. Without the efforts of The Leprosy Mission International, and relief efforts from Disabled Peoples’ Organisations, and commitment of the Department of Social Welfare for the needs of persons with disability, the situation for persons with disability may well have been neglected. Efforts are underway to establish a broader coalition to address these needs, along with a more comprehensive action plan to consolidate and co-ordinate rehabilitation measures for persons with disability affected by the Cyclone. With the true scale of needs becoming clearer every week, the The Leprosy Mission International’s Nargis Special Project clearly has much work left to do.



For more information please contact:
Janet Walmsley, Director for Support and Development: janetw@tlmint.org
Fiona Campbell, Communications Officer: fionac@tlmint.org 
Tel: +44 (0)20 8326 6767 

Click on following link for article announcing the beginnings of this project:
http://www.ilep.org.uk/news-events/article/view/tlmi-and-partners-creating-referral-centre-for-disabled-affected-by-cyclone-nargis/228/ 

Categories: Asia, Field Activities, International Collaboration, Members, Myanmar