Location

Situated next to Buthangone and Chanthoreygone, with access to small rivers which connect to main river arteries in the area, Sar Chet is an important location to reaching the region. Surrounding villages (Kakayol, Padaukkone, Thipankonegyi, Thingungone etc) are accessible by boat within an hour and Laputta town can be reached within 3 hours.

Cyclone Nargis

With the storm surge exceeding 10 ft, 95% of houses were destroyed, 170 lives lost. Right before the cyclone, the pastor had led a team of 70 young adults on an evangelistic outreach to surrounding villages. The team was caught out in the open, only 5 returned. As a result, there are very few young adults in Sar Chet. The cyclone also redirected a river, causing it to be unusable to the village.

Livelihood

Farmers have only been able to plant 40% of their fields, but with little rain there is much concern for the harvest. All 430 buffalos were also lost during Nargis. Of the 30 fisherman in the village, they only have 5 boats and no net.

Food & Water

Sar Chet is currently receiving rice from Save the Children. Current food levels should last till end of October. Starting November they will need 600 tins of rice per month till their harvest end of December. At currently anticipated levels of harvest, supply of rice is expected to last about 4-6 months.

As for water, wells have been polluted in the area, yielding salty and undrinkable water. Cost of digging a new well is $ 400 USD and can only be done in March or April. However, wells deeper than 15 ft yield salty water. The village is currently relying on rain water.  

Above: Polluted Sar Chet well

School

The Sar Chet primary and middle school not only serves Sar Chet but also Buthangone and Chanthoreygone.  Primary school has 512 students while middle school serves 122. Majority of school buildings were destroyed during the cyclone, only one slanted building is left supported by horizontal beams. Temporary school buildings have been built with canvas over wooden frame. A bamboo and canvas structure has also been donated as a temporary school.

We feel Sar Chet is an ideal location to build a new school that can double as a cyclone shelter. With 600 students, the size will be ideal for their daily use and during emergencies, the village will be able to seek shelter.

Ripped canvas on side of primary school

   Inside of classrooms

Temporary Middle School

Church

There is only one church in the village. Majority of villagers attend this church as 90% are Christian. The assembly hall sustained heavy damage to walls and roof, while the church building sustained moderate damage. A few sections of walls have collapsed but roof has been repaired.

Assembly hall sustained heavy damage to roof and walls

i Love Myanmar has donated a total of 180 houses to be rebuilt in Sar Chet. Houses are rebuilt utilizing concrete foundation blocks with hard wood and zinc roofing.  Min Nan Dar (Construction Company) is responsible and has completed 135 houses at the time of visit ( Oct 15, 2008).

Houses appeared to be in good condition. Not only did house dimensions meet requirements but exceeded length by 2 inches and width by 3 inches. Building material is loaded onto a large boat in Laputta and shipped to a nearby location. A smaller boat is then used to navigate the smaller rivers to the village.

Left: Charles putting up i Love Myanmar poster on completed house

Houses near completion in front of Emmanuel Road leading to church

Min Nan Dar appears to be delivering quality products in a timely fashion. I Love Myanmar will be exploring the possibilities of working with them to rebuild the school in Sar Chet.

A main road in the village that leads to the church will be named “Emmanuel Road”.

I Love Myanmar was able to minister to Sar Chet in word, song, drama and dancing. Myanmar Christian singer Ko Htoo also performed on a number of occasions. A competition was also organized for the children.  On the last evening, a stage was built in an open field where the team ministered and performed songs and dances for the entire village.

Audience in the church

In addition, the team also went house to house sharing the gospel and praying for people, reaching over 80 individuals. Some had grown disillusioned while others were depressed after the cyclone and the team was able to minister to them, bring healing to the hearts of many.

I had the opportunity to speak to Aye Htoo, a 61 year old villager. During the cyclone he climbed a coconut tree and held on for his dear life. He realized that only God can be in control of such a strong wind and began to pray as he clung onto the branches. He climbed down 2 hours later when the storm surge reseeded. He believes God protected him during the cyclone and continues to praise God everyday. Aye Htoo said if the storm had sustained another hour, surely no one would have survived.  

He tries to make do by catching crabs with his son and selling them to a nearby town for money. No doubt life is hard at the moment, but he hopes he will be able to plant rice next year with the help of 2 buffalos which costs $ 450 USD a pair. As for his new house, he is overjoyed as he has never imagined living under a zinc roof, what he thought was only for rich people.  

Charles with Aye Htoo in front of his new house

In fact his neighbor, Saw Htoo Kalay could not believe the house had been paid for by I Love Myanmar. Htoo Kalay and his wife were on a boat when Nargis came ashore and stayed alive by holding onto floating trash.

Despite losing a daughter and 3 grand children, he believes God protected him, for even though his wife was blind( cataract), she survived. His only wish is that his wife would be able to see again so he can make a living.

Naw My Kaphaw preparing a coconut

I will conclude with the story of Naw Mu Kaphaw, the daughter of the village head. During Nargis, her father opened up his house to all the fellow villagers and shared all that he had. When the villagers left, they took all his possessions leaving his house bare.

Naw Mu Kaphaw lost her elder brother while her younger brother was on the outreach team and swam five days to get home.

She now lives in a nearby town taking care of her brother and 7 other children studying there. She herself was unable to complete high school due to hereditary heart problems.

A local church supports eight of them for $ 40 USD a month, which works out to about 17 cents per person a day, significantly below the absolute poverty level of $ 1 USD a day. She tells of how when the children are hungry, they dare not mention and ask the local church for food instead, sometimes their pleas are answered.

With her current situation, her family is unable to afford medical expenses. All her friends are gone and there is no one left in her age bracket. Every time she sets foot in the church and sees the empty pews where her friends used to sit, the pain is just too overwhelming. After cyclone Nargis, she said no one in the village laughed or even smiled for months until when the I Love Myanmar team arrived. That was the first time she heard people laugh aloud since the cyclone.

Prayer

The most immediate need in this village is water. Rain for the month of October and November is crucial so farmers will be able to harvest; and have drinking water. In addition Sar Chet has proved to be a strong candidate as a location for i Love Myanmar to rebuild their school, one that is strong enough to withstand cyclone force winds and storm surges up to 15 ft. i Love Myanmar will monitor food supply of Sar Chet in November as well as the quantity of the harvest.