HELPAGE International, which provided disaster relief in the wake of cyclone Nargis, is now seeking to extend its stay to help the elderly.

The NGO is considering a three-year project to help the over-55s in the cyclone-hit region.

Focusing on households in Kyaiklat and Dedaye, HelpAge has distributed rice, clothing, blankets, mosquito nets, ceramic jars, mattresses and pillows, and, in December and January, ceramic water filters.

“We talk to UNDP and NGOs about our targeted areas before we go into the cyclone response project. The villages we operate in are not randomly chosen,” said Cing Neam, the community outreach coordinator of HelpAge International’s Myanmar Cyclone Program Unit, which works in collaboration with YMCA.

A survey by HelpAge last Autumn showed that some 700,0000 elderly people over 55 years of age were affected by the cyclone.

The disaster has exacerbated health issues – 30 percent of elderly people were free of serious health issues previous to Nargis. This has fallen to just 2pc since the cyclone struck.

Food security is also a concern, with the number of elderly people able to access food from markets falling from 73pc before the storm to 45pc after.

Most elderly people are now reliant on food aid, according to a HelpAge assessment, though 70pc claim to have difficulty eating standard relief foods.

Additionally, 35pc have reduced the size of their meals, while 32pc have regularly skipped meals since the cyclone. Seventy-nine percent had their houses destroyed in and 60pc of respondents said they now have no access to productive assets.

“We aim to provide the best support to the elderly through clean water, and have provided filters to 697 families from Kyaiklat township and 1068 families from Dedaye township that include elderly persons,” said Cing Neam.

Godfred Paul from HelpAid said the NGO focuses on keeping elderly people “active and visible in the community, as they continue to contribute to the community”.

“Therefore, intergenerational involvement can benefit not just the elderly but everyone,” he said.

He said that without building self-sufficiency, there is a danger that families will come to resent elderly people. In turn, this can put pressure on the vulnerable to participate in inappropriate work, leave them with inadequate care or cause them to suffer mental distress at being a burden to others.

Hannah Thompson, who spoke on behalf of all agencies working on protection issues in the emergency response, said that as relief gives way to early recovery work, the need to take vulnerable groups into account is becoming even more important.

“The full impact of such a large-scale disaster is not necessarily felt right away. The implications of increased vulnerability sometimes take months to hit,” Ms Thompson said.

“As seasons change, there is the danger of a secondary crisis for those who are most vulnerable, and therefore it is just as important to support these groups in the coming months as it was during the emergency phase of relief,” she said.

“We have to look at how we can build people’s lives back up so that they can take care of themselves,” she said.

One 78-year-old blind woman suffering from bouts of senile dementia in the village of Kadar described her own situation: “I sometimes feel very disappointed and resentful. Why do I have to depend on others all the time?

“I know I’m poor and disabled, but I want to do things like go to the market and cook. I want to move around, meet many people, work in the field and take care of my grandchildren properly,” she said.