U MYAT Thu Winn says that as a physically handicapped person he faces more difficulties than most people when traveling in the cyclone-ravaged Ayeyarwady delta region, but seeing the hopeful faces of the storm victims he is helping makes the effort worthwhile.

U Myat Thu Winn, who was born with cerebral palsy, is the vice president of the Myanmar Physically Handicapped Association (MPHA), and he and his colleagues in the association have been active in the past two months helping disabled people in the delta recover from cyclone Nargis.

“It is tough for some of us to travel in the delta but our exhaustion disappears when we see the hopeful faces of the people we help,” he said. “When disabled storm victims see that we, also disabled people, are trying to provide for them, they feel inspired.”

In the wake of Nargis the association quickly determined that 172 of its members in Yangon and Ayeyarwady divisions had been affected by the cyclone. They were each given K30,000 worth of relief goods and K10,000 in cash.

“After we had provided for our members we started searching for other disabled people in the delta who were affected by Nargis,” said U Myat Thu Winn, who is also the managing director of Shwe Minn Tha Enterprises Company.

He said they provided help to 500 people in Yangon Division and then expanded their search to Ayeyarwady Division.

“We’ve gone to Bogale, Labutta and Dedaye in Ayeyarwady Division, and Kungyangon and Kyauktan in Yangon Division,” he said. “We found more than 100 disabled people in Bogale township alone.”

U Myat Thu Winn said their trips cost more than most donor trips because they must send people ahead to the places they plan to visit in order to arrange convenient transport for disabled donors.

“Many of our members can’t walk so we send forerunners to make suitable travel arrangements. Whenever possible we come back to Yangon on the same day because many of us have special needs for going to the toilet, bathing and sleeping,” he said.

He said that in order to keep helping disabled people, MPHA is looking for more funding from private donors.

“We don’t have enough money to help all the disabled people we’ve located. For example, there are 18 disabled patients in Bogale who are in urgent need of eye operations,” U Myat Thu Winn said.

He said disabled people also face special needs for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

“Their houses need to be rebuilt to accommodated their disability. They also need wheelchairs and crutches. There is an ongoing need to help these people,” he said.

Anyone interested in contributing to the MPHA’s efforts can call (951) 229-087 or 215-939.