AMURT in South East Asia - disaster relief & sustainable development

Burma

AMURT volunteers deliver food by boat in the hard hit southern Irrawaddy river delta region

distribution

Burmese boy returns home with food supplies for a week for his family given to him by AMURT

AMURT builds Child Friendly Spaces to help children overcome the trauma of the disaster.

AMURT responds to devastating Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar

Myanmar (Burma) was hit hard by cyclone Nargis on May 3. It is the worst natural disaster in East Asia since the tsunami of 2004. Most of the estimated 140.000 deaths occurred in the southern Irrawaddy river delta region. The majority of people were killed by a tidal surge 12 ft (3.5m) high. Approximately 2,5 million people have been affected by this disaster with many loosing their homes. Most of the survivors, who still did not receive any or only limited aid, are now threatened with hunger and disease. A people that were already poor before the disaster have now been pushed to the absolute limit.

Disaster Relief
AMURT operates as a well-wisher (donor), purchasing food items in bulk locally in Myanmar which are then rationed into family-size bags. These are then distributed by trusted community groups.

Rehabilitation
To help child victims of the cyclone deal with the massive trauma they have suffered, AMURT sponsors and/or builds temporary schools and Child-Friendly Spaces implemented by local Myanmar organizations. These Child-Friendly Spaces provide shelter for children 3-6 years old and offer playgroup therapy, trauma healing and supplementary feeding programs.

Integrated Development
AMURT and its international partners are working to rehabilitate whole areas consisting of several villages in an integrated development program covering food and non-food distribution, housing /repair and reconstruction, water and sanitation, infrastructure and livelihood projects.

Appeal
AMURT is reaching out to those in greatest need. With your support we can make a huge difference despite the various difficulties of operating in Myanmar.

Donate for this effort Photo Gallery

Indonesia

Temporary schools provided by AMURT and AMURTEL in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Earthquake survivors get care package from volunteers in Java, Indonesia

Bada Kindergarten is one of six schools that AMURT and AMURTEL rehabilitated in Aceh, Indonesia.

In Meulaboh, Indonesia AMURT and Sun Spirit formed a cooperative of organic farmers with 240 members. Now other farmers are copying their techniques.

Yogyakarta Earthquake 2006

AMURT and AMURTEL volunteers are active in serving the survivors of the strong earthquake that killed 6,000 and left 200,000 homeless near Jogyakarta n May 2006. Our distributions have been in the hardest hit Bantul district. A total of 2,000 families have received relief packets with food, hygiene kits and cooking utensils. We also provide tarpaulins as temporary shelters for those who lost their houses.

Focus on education
We opened four temporary schools in Yogyakarta on the first day of the new school year on July 17. These school will serve the students who lost their school in the earthquake. In all the schools we added a healing program to alleviate the traumas the children experienced during and after the earthquake. These temporary schools will be followed up by either renovations or complete re-construction of their original schools.

Full Yogyakarta documentary

Tsunami relief and re-construction in Aceh 2005-2007

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, AMURT focused on providing emergency supplies to the survivors. AMURTEL, our women's wing, provided counseling to those who had lost beloved family members, their homes, their livelihoods, everything.

In the second phase of rehabilitation, AMURT worked with survivors to rebuild the local economy, starting with the rehabilitation of the brick factories in Neuheun. AMURTEL supported livelihood programs for women. Our sewing program has provided 130 tailors (who lost their equipment in the tsunami) with the opportunity to earn their own sewing machines, as well as cash income, by sewing school uniforms for local schools. In Meulaboh, AMURT worked with with Sun Spirit, a Jakarta-based NGO, on the first organic farming project in Aceh. The 240 farmers have learnt techniques such as mulching, composting, and the production of fertilizer, pesticide and insecticide.

Since January 2006 AMURT has accomplished some large and much needed developmental projects. The focus is on education, and in particularly orphans, building schools and hostels. A computer literacy program for high school students is another program where we invest in the Acehnese potential beyond aid.

The activities and projects completed so far:

More than 15,000 parcels of food, water and medicines distributed

2500 family resettlement kits distributed

42 small brick factories re-constructed or repaired.

Two orphanages constructed

Two new kindergartens constructed

Two kindergartens, two primary schools and one orphanage repaired.

36 new houses constructed.

Recreational kits benefiting more than 3,000 children distributed

945 benefited from eye camps

Computer and intern access provided for hundreds of high school students

Sewing machines distributed for livelihood recovery for 130 women

Counseling, child care and English classes provided in several camps for displaced people (ongoing)

Full Aceh documentary

Pangandaran Earthquake/Tsunami July 2006

Following the 6.8 level earthquake and the ensuing 3 metre high tsunami that struck western Java on July 17th, AMURT and AMURTEL sent a team on July 20th to provide emergency relief. 618 people died and over 50,000 people are homeless. So far we distributed relief packets to 437 families (1447 people) in Legok and Batu Malang villages of Ciamis District. Our relief packets consists of clothing, food, toiletries and medicine.

Thailand

Orphanages for destitute children

Baan Unrak children’s home, established in 1991 in Sangklaburi Thailand, has given destitute children and abandoned mothers a home and hope for a better future. Baan Unrak, or “House of Joy,” founded by two European volunteers, provides a home, and education to some 120 children, and employment to abandoned mothers.

Full Documentary | Visit Baanunrak website

Baan Dada started as a boys’ home in Huay Ma Lai village, Sangklaburi, Kanchanaburi province in 1994, in an effort to protect the growing number of orphaned and disadvantaged children in the area. Sangklaburi borders Burma (Myanmar) where many refugees and migrant families moved to this area due to poverty, disease, and political repression by the Burmese military Government. Baan Dada is now home to over 60 children.

Visit Baandada website

Philippines

Beneficiary of our livelihood program show off their products.

AMURT volunteers assist displaced people in camps with basic needs after the Mt. Mayon eruption.

Small business Loans for Women

Since 1989, AMURT has successfully provided 5,000 low interest loans and technical assistance to small women-run businesses. Our goal is to help women generate more income to become financially independent and better support their families. They start livelihood projects such as fruit and vegetable vending, food production, livestock raising, handicrafts and transportation services.

AMURT believes that real development requires grassroots support and must occur within the socio-cultural framework of the participants. The participants must be educated and aware of social, economic and political realities to be able to determine their own future. Education is therefore the main strategy of AMURTs development programs.

Emergency Relief

The Philippines is ravaged every year by natural calamities of hurricanes and volcanic eruptions. AMURT and AMURTEL volunteers have responded regularly to these disasters for more than 30 years. In August 2006 Mt. Mayon erupted and left 45,000 people displaced. Our volunteer team provided both basic necessities and psycho-social support to hundreds of families in several camps.