About a month ago I received a report from field staff in Burma that a mother of two from a hard-hit cyclone village had unfortunately taken her own life. Clearly distraught by the event, our staff woman referred to her as, “one of the ghosts of Cyclone Nargis that we all hear after dark.” A very taboo subject in Burma, suicide is rarely spoken about and this gave me the opportunity to ask some questions. I learned that sadly, this woman, an integral member of the community had ingested pesticides, her body discovered by her young son. Thankfully, her husband and her sister have committed to caring for the two boys for the long haul. And, with some help from FPB the family will not have to face the decision of sending their children to an orphanage facility.
Over a year after Cyclone Nargis took upwards of 130,000 souls and displaced 2.4 million in the low-lying delta area’s of Burma, communities, families and individuals attempt to make sense of life and loss while finding ways to go ahead. Having lost loved ones, all means of livelihood, their homes and in many cases their land, cyclone survivors are truly testing human capacity to handle tragedy.
Post-traumatic stress is a significant barrier to the re-establishment of normal community-life. Rebuilding infrastructure is one thing and it is certainly an important part of assisting individuals to conjure up the personal spirit necessary to carry on. We know that the mother mentioned above is not the first to commit suicide post-cyclone.
The situation is extreme and the community members have witnessed tragedy and experienced suffering to the likes that no human should ever face. But, Apart from the content of our Cyclone Relief and Rebuild projects, our presence in the village is having a notably positive effect. When we ask villagers what they like best about the water & sanitation projects, child emotional health projects or the livelihood development projects, they always mention their gratitude that we come back again and again. The consistency of our visits, the kindness and understanding of our staff has been an incredible support to them in this past year of seemingly insurmountable tragedy.
One villager and project participant commented, “The FPB staff took time to learn about our village, our families and our social structure. If I can say so, they have become like relatives, helping us as if we are family. When the younger staff members are working, they don’t care if it’s raining, or if they have to walk in the mud. They still help us. When we see them acting selflessly, we become convinced of their commitment to us. Sometimes when we are suffering and have the chance to work with them, it gives hope that our lives will improve. “
As the Program Director, I am so often asked to put numbers to our projects and to quantify the outcomes of the work we do. Although this is crucial to determining success of any development project, the way that we work with these noble survivors and our commitment to each of them does not always come through in statistics, but is a critical factor to facilitate change for those that face scarcity and lack personal freedom. So, although people continue to suffer detrimental mental health impacts in the aftermath of the cyclone, we know that the consistency of our programming, the compassion of our staff and friendship is saving the lives of many others.
Your kind support has enabled us to provide not only the essential infrastructure development, but also the ongoing, consistent emotional support that is proving to be invaluable.
