According to the U.N. Health Cluster, a recent NGO assessment of Bogale township, Ayeyarwady Division, indicated that 23,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently residing in Bogale town, while approximately 60,000 IDPs are living in surrounding areas. The NGO assessment team reports that the public hospital in Bogale township remains functional despite extensive cyclone damage. However, 12 of 15 existing private health clinics in the area are no longer operating due to cyclone-induced destruction.

On May 22, OCHA reported preliminary estimates of 110,000 people living in temporary settlements in 14 townships, including Labutta, Bogale, Myaungmya, and Pyapon townships in Ayeyarwady Division and Kungyangon township in Rangoon Division. Of the 14 temporary settlements, approximately 70 percent of the displaced are sheltering in monasteries, 28 percent in public buildings, and 2 percent in tented camps.

[Ref: US Aid]

Expedition Diary:

The expedition team gathered on 23.May.2008 at 10am to buy and pack donation items for the trip. The initial plan was to set off on the 25th of May. However, it took us two days to prepare the items and to source for a truck. As the trip we were planning was far (10 hours ride), and the journey was tedious, most truck hires were charging about 4.5 lakh (Ks 450,000) for the whole trip. Finally, on the 24th evening, we managed to secure a truck at Ks 70,000, on the condition that we pay for petrol. This done, we had to hunt for 25 gallons of petrol from various sources. (In Burma, petrol is rationed at government-run kiosks, and large quantities can only be bought on the black market.)

In order to cut costs, we wanted to make it a day trip so that we would not need to pay for accommodation. It was also unlikely that there was any accommodation available at all in the area; we have heard that NGO's have block-booked most of the habitable places, and monasteries are crammed with cyclone survivors.

We set off at 3am on the 26th of May. We travelled to Pyapon and started distributing food and clothes to villages off the road. From there, we continued to Bogale township. We visited a few monasteries to make donations for survivors taking shelter in them.

With the help of U Aye who owns a motorboat, we were also able to cross the river to AyerThaman area which was situated on the opposite bank. People there were extremely hard up as it was difficult for private donors to reach their area. They were previously taking refuge in Bogale, but had been asked to return to their villages. They were severely short of food, and some of them immediately started opening the packets of biscuits that we distributed.

U Aye also very kindly let us take our mid-day meal at his rice mill, and bought us dinner on the way back.

At one point, a monk approached us to ask for donations. He told us that the village he stayed in was completely destroyed including the monastery. He asked us to help as much as we can, and we offered him rice, lentils, blankets, biscuits, and cereal so that he could provide them for the refugees in his village. He produced a letter of authenticity from the Association of Monks to prove to us that he was genuine.

On the way back, we were informed by the police that, for safety reasons, we were not allowed to distribute items to anyone camped by the roadside. A few days earlier, a notice has been issued to private donors to tell them that they were not allowed to distribute any aid to refugees camped by the road side. Volunteers who broke the rules have been detained, and cars impounded. As a result, we were very careful not to break any rules as we ran the risk of not being able to continue with our aid work.

We returned to Yangon at about 1230am on the 27th of May, having completed another donation round.

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