It's been nearly two years since Cyclone Nargis ravaged Myanmar, back in May of 2008. Ever since then, Tzu Chi has been helping the disaster victims. This weekend Thingankyun No. 4 Grade School, the first of the schools built by Tzu Chi, was handed over to the local government. After destroyed by Cyclone Nargis, Tzu Chi Foundation rebuilt the No.4 Basic Education Middle School of Thingangyun Township. On 6 Mar 2010, Tzu Chi officially hands over the school building to the government of Myanmar. (Photo provided by Tzu Chi Foundation)

(Photo by Lan Jin-fei)

(Photo by Chu Tsai-rung)

Tzu Chi Foundation handed to the government of Myanmar a secondary school in Yangon with spaces for nearly 1,000 children, the latest in a series of gifts to the Burmese people since they were struck by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.

The handover ceremony took place on 6 Mar, at the No.4 Grade School of Thingankyun Township, attended by representatives of the government, the foundation and teachers, parents and students of the school. Construction of the school, with 24 classrooms, began on November 2008 and part of it opened to students in June 2009.

Tzu Chi volunteer Wang Mingde said that the school buildings were very secure. “We are very happy to see the opening of the school and to hand it over successfully to the Myanmar Ministry of Education.”

A lieutenant-general of the Myanmar Ministry of Defense said that, on seeing the three-story building, he was sure that the children would be able to study peacefully. “We owe a great debt of gratitude to Tzu Chi and Master Cheng Yen,” he remarked.

Student Thet Aung Kant said that he was happiest in the courtyard on the third floor: “From there, I can see the beautiful scenery and I can see the golden pagoda in the city.”

The site contains a primary and a secondary school. In the future, it may be upgraded to a senior high school.

The cyclone destroyed thousands of buildings, including many schools. As a result, students had to attend classes in makeshift shelters as tents and wooden shacks. Sometimes, there would be hundreds of children cramming in a single room, listening to different teachers.

Fortunately, the new school is spacious and well ventilated. The building has also been built to withstand the typhoons and cyclones that regularly hit the country. 

It was Cyclone Nargis that brought Tzu Chi to Myanmar. The cyclone was the worst natural disaster in Myanmar’s history. It landed on May 2, 2008, killed more than 138,000 people and caused widespread devastation in Irrawaddy Delta, the country’s rice bowl.

Tzu Chi volunteers were among the first foreign NGOs to reach the disaster area. A team consists of volunteers from Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan arrived on May 10 and set up a reception centre in Shwebaukan, on the outskirts of former capital Yangon, where they distributed relief goods to 250 families.

The foundation has maintained a presence in the country ever since, staffed by volunteers from abroad as well as those recruited locally. They have distributed food, clothes and blankets and held free medical clinics. In one such clinic, from 10 to 12 July 2008, they provided free medical care to 2142 people. They also aided the farmers of the affected region, with seeds and fertilizer. Last year, the harvest in the delta was good; as a gesture of thanks, some farmers donated rice to the Foundation for distribution to the poor.

In November 2008, the Foundation started work on building the Great Love Village, which will be home to 744 families.

MYANMAR: A Year after the Cyclone