Location

Amat Kalay is one of seven villages located on an island situated right on the edge between fresh and salt water where the Pyin Salu River pours into the ocean. Next to Amat Kalay is Amat Gyi and Aima. Amat Kalay can be reached from Laputta within 4 hours with a small (10-12 m) motorized boat. Ferries to Laputta only run weekly in this area.

Cyclone Nargis

Storm surge was about 6-7 ft in this area, not exceptionally high, however as this was where Cyclone Nargis came ashore, 120 to 160 mile per hour winds swept across this area destroying most houses, the village church and primary school.  152 lives were lost during Cyclone Nargis in Amat Kalay.

Livelihood

The 50 houses donated by I Love Myanmar (ILM) have been completed at the time of our visit (Oct 29, 2008). In addition, 25 other low cost houses have also been built out of bamboo and canvas by other organizations. Villagers who have been allocated houses have moved in. Some still remain in shelters built out of canvas and wood as Amat Kalay has a total of 207 households and reconstructed houses are not sufficient.

Farmers have a total of 400 acres. After the cyclone, they received rice seeds from the government and World Concern; despite planting all, some of the seeds were not able to sprout. However the remainder appears to be growing relatively well and farmers expect to harvest 70 tins of rice from each acre which usually yields a hundred tins. Unlike most places in Laputta and Bogale, Amat Kalay has 2 seasons for rice, June to October and November to March. Villagers say the harvest should be enough to last till next season.

Prior to Nargis, the village only had 15 households that were fishermen. During the cyclone, large amount of nutrients was washed into the ocean causing a boom in aquatic life. Since many villagers no longer have a form of livelihood, close to 100 families now want to be fishermen, 50 is a more realistic number.  

Others make a living by running small village stores, selling coconuts or catching crabs.

Food & Water

ADRA and METTA Foundation have been supplying food for the villagers. Each person is given 7 small tins (1 small tin = 8 cups) of rice per month. Food is plentiful in this village, especially with the expected harvest.

Although some wells are salty, others are still useable. Villagers are relying on well water and rain water in large collection tanks.

School

The village primary school that served 128 students was completely destroyed during Cyclone Nargis. Initially, the remaining 101 students were moved into a temporary school building made out of canvas and wood, however it was too hot. Now students are studying in a new temporary school building made out of bamboo and canvas donated by Dynamic Construction Group. These temporary buildings can probably last 6 months to a year as UV rays from the sun eventually weaken the materials making them tear easily. Studying situations are crowded but at least for this year, tuition which usually cost $ 2 USD per student per month is free and teachers say more students are in school now.    

Church

The village church was reduced to small piles of rubble during the storm and 28 lives were lost when the building collapsed. The congregation of 150 households now meets in a basic shelter during Sundays and is lead by a young junior pastor named Saw Sser Eh Khu and church elders.

Rebuilding Progress

50 houses were donated to the village of Amat Kalay. Saung Hay Mann Construction Group has completed all 50 houses. ILM inspected the quality of houses and found them to be excellent in quality.

i Love Myanmar Team

The primary purpose of this trip was to gather information and monitor the rebuilding progress. ILM team spent some time in the school with the children, giving them snacks and observing their educational environment. 3 sets of communion dishes were also donated to the local church.

On a separate trip, the ILM team was able to reach numerous people going door to door sharing the gospel.

Stories

U Pay Win’s home is the only house still left after the cyclone. During the cyclone, him and a number of villagers huddled in his house seeking shelter. After the cyclone passed, he opened the door and could not recognize his village as everything was gone.

They were able to salvage food for the first few days, but ran out of food by day 6. Although the destruction was great, the loss of life cannot be considered serious in Amat Kalay. They were unaware of how bad the situation was, but hearing that rice was being distributed at Pinsalu Village, they tried to reach the village by boat and that was when they realized the seriousness of the scale of destruction. Rivers were so filled with bodies that they had to push them aside in order to make way for the boat to pass.

U Pay Win loss his son and daughter-in-law himself. Reaching Pinsalu, they were only given one bag of rice for the entire village.

Conclusion

There are several needs in Amat Kalay that I Love Myanmar would like to meet:

1.        ILM would like to supply Amat Kalay with 13 boats. Each 18 ft boat that is suitable for utilization in the area will cost approximately $ 165 USD.

2.        Amat Kalay had the only rice processing machine that turns harvested rice seeds into edible rice. Prior to Nargis, it served all 7 villages on the island. With the machine damaged by Nargis, villagers of all 7 surrounding villages now have to cross the river mouth by boat and pay to process small quantities of rice at another village (Pinsalu) at a time when each additional cent makes a difference. By supporting the owner a onetime cost of $ 2,500 USD, the owner U Pay Win has promised that he will allow all Amat Kalay villagers to process their rice free of charge in all following years except for the cost of diesel to run the machine. Those from other villages will only be charged $ 3 USD for every 10 tins of rice processed.

3.        A new primary school with 4 rooms is needed. A suitable school building measuring 80ft x 30 ft will cost approximately $ 120,000 USD to build. It is our hope to build a new house for the teachers as well.

Item                                                  Quantity                           Price in USD                                Cost in USD

18 ft Hardwood Boat                        13                           $ 165                                                 $ 2,145

Rice Machine Parts                               N/A                        $ 2,500                                                 $ 2,500

Primary School Building 80x30 ft        1                    $ 120,000                                             $ 120,000

                                                                                                            Total:               $ 124,645