Health and hope in Burma after Cyclone Mora

"On 30th May 2017, Cyclone Mora made landfall in Bangladesh before moving northwards through western Myanmar. Torrential rain and high winds destroyed homes and triggered landslides in rural villages with 37 families made homeless in the village of Lailenpi where Health and Hope Myanmar’s work is based.

In addition, we were devastated to lose the majority of the training centre facilities; seven buildings were destroyed including the main training hall, kitchen and dining area and four dormitory buildings."  Excerpt from the Health and Hope Newsletter June 2017.

Two years on, it's incredible to look back and see how much progress has been made on the building of the training centre post Cyclone Mora.

We are so grateful for each individual who has given so generously to help rebuild the training centre in Lailenpi. Work on the training centre has made great progress and the roof is finally on! With the monsoon season fast approaching, the team have been working hard to finish the building and ensure it is water tight before the heavy rains arrive. Over recent months, the roof trusses and structure have been completed, the walls white-washed inside and the windows and door frames installed.

More photos of the project can be seen in our Flickr album here. 

Once complete, the building will not only provide facilities for ongoing training of Community Health Workers, Traditional Birth Attendants and farmers, but will also be a base for the new Education for All project which will launch in earnest in mid-June 2019. The training centre will provide classroom facilities, study areas and accommodation for up to 100 students taking part in this project.

There are a few weeks of work to fully complete the project, some of which may not be possible until after the monsoon season.  We've also extended the roof to allow for the construction of staff accommodation on the top floor at minimal cost and we're now looking to raise the final $15,000 to complete the facility.

The building stands as a testimony of the hard work of local community members, combined with the generous support of individuals like yourself, who have stood alongside us in a time of need.

Thank you again for your support for this project!

I've recently returned from visiting Lailenpi in western Myanmar (Burma) as part of our monitoring process, as well as launching a couple of new projects in health and education.  The training centre plays a pivotal role in these projects and it's incredible to look back to just one year ago and see how much progress has been made.

When the project started, the local tradesmen initially refused to dig foundations at 20' spans, asking us to hire 'professional builders' from outside the village.  They had never dreamed of being able to construct a building of this scale, nor did they feel they had the skills to do it.  But through the provision of field engineers and through careful supervision and encouragement, the training centre is now really starting to take shape.  Best of all, the local townspeople can look back at what they have accomplished with their own hands, standing tall and proud of their accomplishments. 

In fact, we were delighted to recently host our first week long training in the building, despite the fact that it has no roof, or even a coat of paint on the walls yet!  In December, twenty-eight Area Coordinators, who provide in-situ support for our network of Community Health Workers, gathered for the launch of our new healthcare project and took up residence in the training centre.  This has been followed by training for educators in January, and two further trainings of health workers and Traditional Birth Attendants in February.  

Whilst still incomplete, the training centre provides an incredible space for the ongoing work, whether training in health, education or agriculture.

As you can see from the photographs, we are nearly there with 85% of the funds raised.  We also have funding to furnish the classrooms, however we are now looking for around US $50,000 to put the roof on the training centre, as well as complete the plumbing, electrics and glazing before the monsoon rains start in May. 

We've just uploaded a video onto our website showcasing the latest work.  This includes an update on the rebuilding project.  If you would like to see the context of our work and some of the local community in action, please do follow the link below: https://healthandhope.org/our-work/video

It's been an amazing journey so far.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership,

Chris Jones

Links:

• Rebuilding video update