Thirst-Aid Progress in Myanmar

Cathy takes stock

Thanks to all our partners!

 

 

 

Hello and welcome to the first installment of the Thirst-Aid Myanmar Update!

 

            First let me start by reassuring you all that not only is 100% of every donation going to immediate relief work in Myanmar but also that Thirst-Aid is maintaining its safe water focus.  This update talks about a lot of organizations, people and angles that Thirst-Aid is working with.  In an effort to make sure that there is an effective response to this disaster we are partnering with many groups to pool resources.  Some groups have personnel resources, some groups have permission to enter the delta region, some groups have food, medicine, clothes, tools for re-building, etc.  We have safe water technologies and a staff that is expert at creating safe water and hygiene education materials.  Those are our resource contributions.  We also have Cathy Bradner, logistician extraordinaire, queen of delegation, and all around “get ‘er done” gal.  Not to mention our wicked cool multi-use visas which have allowed us to get into and out of the country via Bangkok to pick up multiple supply shipments for other groups unable to secure entry visas.

            The Thirst-Aid headquarters hosts regular meetings of what is being called the “Myanmar Grassroots Association”, a mixed group of small NGOs dedicated to sustainable disaster response that leads toward rebuilding and actual recovery.  These groups understand that while air dropping a ton of rice into the delta region may feed the people for a few days, air dropping rice seed, plows and shovels will sustain them and help them rebuild for the long term.  While the ton of rice is needed today, these people want to make sure that the seed and shovels follow in short order.

            So, the question of the day – where has your donation gone?  Who has it helped?

Thirst-Aid is using donor money in three primary ways –

The first is the purchase and distribution of ceramic water filters and buckets.  To date we have shipped 1,500 ceramic filters with plastic buckets to hold the clean water.  Each filter creates enough water per day to sustain 8 people.  These filters are being given to families, schools, monasteries, and medical clinics throughout the affected area.

Second, we are creating and distributing Family Hygiene Kits.  Each kit contains a cup, plate, powdered soap and longi (A skirt type garment worn by both men and women in much of S.E. Asia).  To date we have distributed 3,000 of these kits and have orders for 10,000 more.

Third, we are continuing our Thirst-Ed program.  Cathy describes the work and the reasoning in a recent e-mail “We’re also producing health education materials for each group and asking Thin Nwe Soe to train someone from each group and someone from the villages they’re working in on how to use the Ed. materials.   Though some believe that health and hygiene education is not an appropriate emergency response, we say what better time than when people are acutely aware of the dangers lurking in dirty water and unwashed hands and are willing to learn how to avoid getting sick… now they’re asking questions and want to learn about solutions.”

 

Some things that we are doing that do not use donor money, but save lives all the same include:

Creating reservoirs of potable water using our filters and some electric battery powered filters donated by Global Medics.  These reservoirs are located in population centers, refugee camps, etc. and allow anyone with a clean receptacle to come and get free safe water for themselves and their family until we can get a filter into their hands.

We are hosting meetings of the Myanmar Grassroots Association and lending our organizational and networking abilities to the cause.  We are helping to ensure that every aid boat that makes a delivery down the delta has a bit of everything: food, medicine, water treatment options including filters and Aqua Tabs (Again donated by Global Medics and brought into Myanmar by Curt Bradner, Thirst-Aid’s International Project Director/supply mule.)

We have helped rebuild a large UNICEF water filter that can produce enough safe water for 5-8 thousand people.  (Thank you Curt – a mechanical engineer in a former life!)  It is waiting now for some electrical fine tuning.

We have served as human mules for multiple organizations resulting in the successful delivery of 5 million Aqua Tabs, 4 electric water filter units (Thank you Global Medics), a shipment of plastic tarps and buckets left over from the 2004 tsunami relief effort (Thank you UNICEF).  Tarps were used as roofs and for the collection of rain water. 

We helped put together a relief shipment of medical supplies, 150 filters with buckets, 1 ton of rice packaged in 1 kilo bags and some family kits to send to the delta region.  It was a cooperative effort of many groups that has resulted in one of the most successful aid deliveries post cyclone.

Most recently we were able to get a shipment of 45 boxes of medicine into Myanmar.  To date that is the first large shipment of medicine to arrive in country unmolested that we know of!!

 

Cathy ends her latest e-mail with this, “Both ceramic water filter factories are running at the fullest production possible given that the rainy season has begun but we’re trying a few new tricks to get them up to dry season output.  The third factory will be up in 3 weeks and the new plastic bucket mold will be in the country in 10 days and hopefully producing within 4 weeks.  We’ve got big hopes to turn this disaster into an opportunity for better health by providing the thousands now homeless with ceramic filters as they rebuild their villages.  There were 15 million people in need of safe drinking water before the cyclone, now is a good time to start reducing that number.

Needless to say, all of us are still running pretty much on adrenaline and caffeine… Given the circumstances however, things are going relatively smoothly.”

 

That brings us up to date on the last three weeks worth of Thirst-Aid work in Myanmar.  I am attaching some pictures so you can all see your donations at work!

 

 

 

To see recent Thirst-Aid press coverage visit our website www.Thirst-Aid.org and click on the press link.

Thank you all for your continued support and interest!