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Myanmar Baptists on front lines of cyclone relief, housing thousands

P5160037The evening of Friday May 2, 2008 started out like normal for the residents of Yangon.  But by the time Reverend KD Tu Lum, General Secretary of the Myanmar Baptist Convention, finished his dinner an unusually strong wind was shaking the roof of his residence in the historic compound of the Myanmar Baptist Convention.

By 10 pm the winds had increased to hurricane strength with accompanying heavy rains. Within a few hours roofs were being ripped off of buildings. Huge raintrees and century-old banyans were crashing down across the streets and buildings of Yangon, including Rev. Tu Lum’s own home. Cyclone Nargis had arrived without warning for most of the people of Myanmar.


Meanwhile, along the Irrawaddy Delta to the south of Yangon, Nargis had pushed a 12-foot tidal wave an estimated 45 miles into the heavily populated region. At least 100,000 persons perished with many times more being left homeless without access to food or clean water.


The Aftermath

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By Sunday May 4, officials of the MBC were not only picking up pieces of their own lives, but also faced the challenge of providing an urgent response to hundreds of thousands of people affected by the storm.


The MBC -- which traces its roots directly to the mission of Adoniram and Ann Judson in the country in 1813 -- is made up of approximately 2 million members among 20 language and regional conventions. Despite being in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country, Myanmar is home to one of the largest Baptist populations in the world, according to figures kept by the Baptist World Alliance.


Among an array of diverse ministries, the MBC operates the Christian Social Service and Development Department (CSSDD), its own relief and development arm. The CSSDD coordinates and equips various types of holistic ministry throughout Myanmar.


The Initial Response

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Even through Sunday, the streets of Yangon were blocked with downed trees, power lines and other debris. The first meeting of the convention staff after the storm took place around noon on Monday, May 5 although many staffers were still not able to reach the office compound.


On Tuesday, the MBC decided to form a central response committee in coordination with the leadership of affected Baptist conventions. As the affected region lacks infrastructure and because fuel for rescue and relief efforts was in short supply, the MBC coordinated the purchase of diesel for relief boats to ship emergency food rations, such as rice, noodles, biscuits, and bottled water, throughout the delta.  It was also determined that an enormous area of farmland in Myanmar’s major rice production region had been inundated with salt water, currently leaving only one third of the cropping area still capable of producing the staple.

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The convention staff met again on Friday May 9 to plan the establishment of refugee camps. By May 12, 20 facilities were set up, and by the May 16, roughly 31 camps had been established serving 10,000 to 12,000 people. All of the camps are managed in conjunction with the Karen and Pwo Karen Baptist Conventions and the Myanmar Baptist Churches Union.  MBC representatives have also reported that local authorities have set up refugee camps in the same region with both parties seeking to coordinate relief efforts.


The current focus of the MBC and its partners is on immediate relief response. The entire church has turned its focus and full energy to assisting the victims of this devastating event. With very little outside help, they have risen to the challenge in a remarkable way.


The convention and its partners are also planning long-term assistance to enable affected persons to begin rebuilding their lives. The convention is also faced with its own recovery process, as the heavily damaged MBC office and compound requires extensive repairs. 

American Baptists wishing to support ongoing Myanmar efforts can do so through their church’s monthly report of mission support, designating contributions “OGHS-Myanmar Cyclone."


This story was provided by personnel working with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and American Baptist International Ministries to deliver financial aid and assess ongoing needs. The name of the author is withheld for security reasons.

For the latest news on this crisis go to http://www.alertnet.org/index.htm


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