THE Myanmar Red Cross Society is establishing operational hubs this month in six townships in Ayeyarwady Division to help streamline efforts to help victims of cyclone Nargis, said Dr Hla Pe, the honorary secretary of the society.
The hubs will open in Pathein, Bogale, Pyabon, Laputta, Ngapudaw and Mawlamyinekyun townships.

“The aim of the operational hubs is to recruit local Red Cross staff members and provide them with disaster, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and youth training so they can help prevent health problems in Nargis-affected areas,” Dr Hla Pe said.

“These new members will then disseminate their knowledge to their local villages,” he said.

He said Ayeyarwady Division encompassed a large area, so it was important to have local staff who were trained in helping prevent major outbreaks of disease.

Dr Hla Pe said MRCS was also distributing pamphlets in the delta with educational information on reducing health problems.

“Education and environmental hygiene are very effective in reducing the mortality rate caused by disease,” he said.

MRCS has also supplied clean water to delta residents with the help of the government and local and foreign donors, by establishing water treatment plants in Mawlamyinekyun, Kyaiklat, Labutta and Bogale townships.

“We can provide enough clean water to the residents but we need to educate them on keeping the water tanks clean,” he said.

MRCS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has also been working to supply nutritious foods to children and pregnant mothers, he said.

U Kyi, the honorary treasurer of the society, said MRCS has been collaborating with concerned authorities since May on the Restoring Family Link (RFL) project aimed at re-establishing familial connections severed by the cyclone.

“MRCS has set up an RFL unit at its headquarters with financial and technical assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross. This is an important project because many people lost track of relatives during the disaster and others may have lost touch while moving from one relief camp to another,” he said.

U Kyi said anyone who is searching for lost family members can register at MRCS headquarters in Yangon or at any of the six operational hubs in the delta.

“The RFL unit has been working since May 13 in Dedaye, Pyabon, Kyaiklat and Bogale townships.

“When the unit went to the Maubin relief camps on May 26, 100 people registered to find relatives, and at the Myaungmya and Labutta relief camps on May 30, 306 people registered,” he said, adding that, so far, the unit had reunited 37 families.

“Reuniting families takes time but MRCS has a lot of volunteers so we can find lost people through our network by exchanging news,” U Kyi said.