International Save the Children Alliance
One Family's Struggle
Six-year-old Ye Htet's home was destroyed in the cyclone. Now he and his three siblings are being cared for by their grandparents in Shwe Pyi Thar township, Myanmar (Burma).
"Mom and Dad went out for work. I gathered the wood and bamboo. My sister, who is four years old, helps me. My two younger brothers, two and three years old, stay under the care of my grandparents. My grandmother fetches water from the pond. We don't have money for snacks. We had to take rice-soup. Yesterday, I found a dead chicken dumped in the field so we cooked it and ate it."
U Ba Ye sits with his grandchildren in the home they are trying to build after the destruction of Cyclone Nargis in the Shwe Pyi Thar township, Myanmar (Burma). U Ba Ye is partially blind and cares for his four grandchildren, aged between six and two.
"My family was one of the worst hit families in our area. Before, we rented a small home made of bamboo and wood for our family. Our family has eight members; my wife, may daughter, my son-in-law, four of my grandchildren and me. When Nargis hit our home, it was completely destroyed. Our house owner doesn't have enough money to repair the house and they built a temporary tent in the compound to live there, so we had to move out and we now have nowhere to live. We gathered some wood and bamboo and built a home for us, but we cannot do anything about walls and a roof. My daughter and son-in-law went out to seek a job for money. My wife and I take care of the children. My eyesight is poor. I had lost one of my eyes when I was young."
How you can help
Save the Children has launched a global emergency appeal to help children and families after their homes were destroyed by Cyclone Nargis.
£1 could buy oral rehydration salts for one child
£2 could buy a kilo of porridge to feed a child
£20 could buy plastic sheets to give shelter to families left homeless
Learn more about our response in Myanmar and how you can help.