Orphaned by the storm
OBI's orphan care programs helped provide 2.5 tons of rice which was delivered to area orphanages and 500 additional children were given clothes and medicine.
Food and other aid supplies were taken to more remote areas via small boats and delivered to residents in need.
Children made orphans by the storm will be relocated to temporary housing in Yangon. Clothes, food and medicine are also being distributed.
Video: Hope for orphans in Myanmar
MYANMAR - Just as a whole village settled in for the night, the sounds of crashing waves and trees snapping in half jolted everyone awake.
In early May, Cyclone Nargis made landfall and changed the face of a nation in a matter of hours. Massive casualties and infrastructural damage left Myanmar crippled and barely able to respond and bring aid to those in need.
"Day after day we would find villages that had not received any help," said John,* a native of Myanmar who has been partnering with Operation Blessing to bring relief aid to thousands in need. "Days and weeks after the cyclone, the need is still great."
In a small village outside Yangon which had no electricity, most people headed to bed around sunset and were deep into sleep by 9 p.m. – that's when the storm hit. A 13-year-old girl had been singing songs with her family around the fireplace before heading to bed. However, when water began rushing into her house, she became confused, frightened and disoriented.
"She told me a man she didn't know held her tight and saved her from being washed away," John said. "When he hit his head on a tree, he let her go and she was washed away."
Several miles away and hours later, the girl woke up and tried to find her way back home. She could barely recognize where she was because the devastation was so severe.
"We found her and took her in," John said. "There are many more children just like her."
Initially, OBI helped provide 2.5 tons of rice which was delivered to area orphanages and 500 additional children were given clothes and medicine. John also teamed up with local churches to bring aid to area families.
"Our first objective after the initial disaster relief aid, is to provide emotional support and care to all those who lost family members, especially children," he said. "When all their hope is shattered and they are drowned in discouragement and despair, we can't just expect them to be ready to go back to school."
With the help of OBI's orphan care programs, John and the network of churches are working to build temporary housing for families in need as well as give orphans a place to call home. Children made orphans by the storm will be relocated to temporary housing in Yangon. Clothes, food and medicine are also being distributed.
"People in Myanmar are not overly expressive," John said, "but when we go into the villages, the children just run up to us and hug us. That shows just how grateful they are for our help."
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Operation Blessing is helping to transform the futures of children like these by providing clean water, education assistance, nutritional feeding programs, medical care and more. Please make an online contribution toward OBI's orphan care programs today and help us continue to reach those in need.