Grocery store flattened by tree during Cyclone

Daw Nilar and her husband have two daughters, Cho Cho Khaing, 12, and Su Pyi Shan, 5. As well as their store, selling basic foods, medicines and household essentials, they have 13 acres of "Le" (paddy field) and a garden growing beetle leaves but after the cyclone their house, grocery shop, garden and paddy fields were all ruined.

"On the night of cyclone, at about 6pm the wind started and by 9pm the house was destroyed as a big tree was uprooted and fell over the house".

The family therefore fled to a safer big brick building nearby used as the village assembly hall. Other villagerswere already sheltering there but a major part of the roof was taken off, so they still got soaking wet while the village flooded.  

The water in the building was up to the knee and we had no idea what to do if it became higher.

After the cyclone, emergency aid was provided by ActionAid partner organization Pact. Families were given aid most suited to their needs. For example, 20 households received cash for food, 20 received cash for rebuilding their homes and 15 farmer households were given support for their paddy farms. Those without provisions were given cash for work; cleaning the village by clearing broken trees blocking the streets and cleaning the drinking water pond, for instance.

Daw Nila did not receive cash provision as there were others in greater need. "I satisfactorily accepted the decision as there are other villagers who needed food and other things so badly", she said. However, she had received help five years ago by being given the loan to start her grocery shop. To get her shop up and running again she therefore got money from a pond broker shop for her gold chain and used all her savings, about one hundred thousand kyat.

"The grocery shop was reopened 27 days after the cyclone, but having lost an estimated six to seven hundred thousand kyat $600 to $700)". Nila is glad to be running her store again but it has cost her all her savings to do so, she said “business is flowing very slowly” and she and her family are still vulnerable to future natural disasters.