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Nargis storm relief in Myanmar by Vietnamese monks and nuns
Upon learning that Nargis storm killed hundreds of thousands of Myanmar people, destroyed houses and seriously damaged crops, the relief mission from the US, including Most Venerable Chon Tri, Most Venerable Giac Luong and Bhikkhuni Khanh Hy departed to Myanmar on 16 June 2008 to directly meet and rescue the victims there, despite challenges, old age and complications.
The next morning after their arrival, distinguished monks and nuns went with some Buddhists to the two villages of Thahma and U Do of Dedaye province, about 200 kilometers away from Yangon . The mission traveled for 3 hours on the road, then on the river for two more hours, before they reached the villages to distribute cash to the victims. Here, the mission gave 10,000 Kyats (about 10 USD) to each of the total 400 families.
In the morning of 20 June 2008, the mission visited Sangha hospital, where patient monks and nuns were treated for free. The mission donated pure money (10,000 Kyats each) for the patient monks and nuns here, and donated 500 USD for medicines to the hospital as a whole. In the afternoon of the same day, the distinguished monks and nuns visited the village of Shwe Pauk Kan to the north of Okkalapa, about 20 kilometers away from Yangon, to relieve 200 victim families here, giving 10,000 Kyats for each family.
Despite dangerous and hard access to the remote areas along the Ayeyarwady River , with their immense love, the distinguished monks and nuns still departed for Labutta in the morning of 21 June 2008. The mission was guided by the zen master Withokedaranti from Myanmar , together with some student monks and nuns of the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University . This area was close to the sea estuary, home to 500 villages. Due to lack of warning and communication, as many as 40,000 people were killed or missing. In a village, out of the population of 500, now only 40 survived; their houses were swept away by the flood, therefore they had to take shelter in pagodas. One stop of the mission on the way to Labutta was Myaungmya Pagoda, a big one in the province, where about houseless family were staying, including 109 orphans whose parents had been killed by the storm. The mission came and gave presents, money and love to the kids.
The 8-people mission spent a night in a small Jeep, which kept running on bumpy roads, except for a few-hour stop in an acquaintance’s for a short rest. The next morning, the mission went on boat to help victims in each village.
Along the river were repeated sights of ruins of houses. The storm had taken away the very last asset of poor people here, who were now having no roof above their head, no floor underneath their feet. They knew nobody from whom to cry for help. The dead had left out of the sudden; the alive was driven to miserable hunger and cold, having no shelter at all. No words could fully depict the sufferings and anguish of these miserable people. The mission gave each victim family 20,000 Kyats and encouraged them to practice good karma.
In the extreme hardship, when lives were so fragile and vulnerable, the presence of the mission did somehow ease the material loss and the mental trauma of the people.
In the rough sea, You are the peaceful island
On the dry desert, You are the cooling stream
The mission brought love to the people. Without saying a word, every body prostrated themselves to show their gratitude. Many wept because they were deeply moved. Our hearts were touched when they kneeled down even on the muddy ground to bid farewell to the monks and nuns when they left.
Back to Yangon , we still recalled the painful images of the villagers. The monks and nuns have decided to return to Labutta to build “compassion” houses for the victims and gave them some money to help them settle down after the catastrophe. On 30 June 2008, the mission visited Labutta once again, going on boat for more than 5 hours to even farther and more remote areas to reach the victims still awaiting the help from the good hearts.
In the morning of 3 July 2008, the mission returned to Yangon to prepare for the flight back to the US the next day. With boundless love and tolerance, the mission had managed to rise to many challenges: rudimentary means of transport, dangerous and inaccessible areas, extreme weather, inadequate food, etc. However, their hearts were full of joys because they had been able to give timely assistance to the victims in their needy time, bringing love to every place.
Dieu Hieu
With Metta,
Sunanda Tinh Nhu
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