Myanmar
Photo: Jacqueline M. Koch for Merlin/Mercy Corps
In Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, Mercy Corps is aiding recovery efforts throughout Laputta Township, where early evidence suggests that 80,000 of the 350,000 residents died in the May cyclone — Asia's worst in 17 years. We are working with the UK-based humanitarian organisation Merlin, a medical aid agency, to expand its water and sanitation projects and to restart economic activity in Laputta by paying residents to clean up flood-damaged villages and replant rice paddies.
One Table: Regrowing the Garden ›
Topics: Agriculture, Food/Nutrition, Hunger, Rural, Women's Empowerment
Life here in Bo Kone, Myanmar, a village of about a thousand people, has never been easy. Located on an isolated island in the Irrawaddy Delta, it's about an hour's boat ride to the nearest town.
Helping Myanmar, One Year After the Storm ›
Topics: Economic Development, Emergencies
It was just over one year ago — on May 2, 2008 — that Cyclone Nargis made landfall along Myanmar’s coast. Mercy Corps has helped residents in the hard-hit Laputta District rebuild.
Blog Post: Burmese farmers caught in poverty trap ›
Topics: Livelihoods, Financial Services, Emergencies, Economic Development, Agriculture
Farming communities in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta have always followed a cycle of debt. Each year, wealthy land owners would lend farmers money, tools and cattle needed to till the soil.
Field Interview: Michael Gabriel ›
Country director Michael Gabriel discusses Mercy Corps' initial response to the cyclone in Myanmar and how we will continue to help the people of this battered region.
Taking Charge of the Recovery ›
Topics: Peaceful Change, Emergencies, Civil Society
In Jeremy Barnicle's four years at Mercy Corps, he often heard colleagues talk about "community mobilization" as something central to our approach in the field, but never really understood it — until Kan Bet.
Kitchen Gardens in Bo Kone ›
Topics: Agriculture, Economic Development, Emergencies
When Mercy Corps arrived in the village of Bo Kone, we saw that survivors were deeply vulnerable: their farms had provided their food and their income, and now that was all gone.
Work on the Playground ›
Topics: Emergencies, Economic Development
To be honest, it doesn't look like much: a group of 20 or so people moving clumps of mud from one spot to another in a field surrounded by a few buildings — but this is an important project.
A Welcome Harvest ›
Topics: Peaceful Change, Emergencies, Economic Development, Agriculture
It would be hard to overstate the importance of rice to the people of Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta: it is the staple food, cash crop and livelihood of this entire region.
Bold Woman Makes a Difference ›
Topics: Peaceful Change, Emergencies, Economic Development, Agriculture
When the cyclone hit, Mra Sabai Nyun was taking a break from a 30-year career in public service — but right away she decided that she had something to offer the devastated region.
Navigating Change in the Delta ›
Topics: Peaceful Change, Emergencies, Economic Development, Agriculture
A little more than seven months after the storm, Mercy Corps is transitioning from humanitarian relief to a longer term recovery effort in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta. Jeremy Barnicle recently spent a week in the region to monitor progress and report back successes and challenges.

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