Eight months on after the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, a BMS World Mission relief grant is enabling 50 wells to be built in Burma.
The grant for £32,500 is being used by BMS partner organisation OM to construct wells in villages on the Irrawaddy delta, which have been without clean water since the cyclone in early May.
An estimated 130,000 people were killed and two million were made homeless by the cyclone.
Many fresh water wells were destroyed by the disaster and need to be replaced. OM staff members work with village leaders to identify and meet the needs in these areas.
A spokesperson for OM says, “Our goal is to build wells and supply them with the necessary tools to operate and provide fresh drinking water for the villages”.
David McLellan, BMS Manager for Mission Partnerships, says, “OM had originally asked if we could supply the money for 20 wells but, thanks to the generosity of supporters in response to the disaster earlier this year, we were able to scale up and give a grant for building 50 wells.
“The money pays for all elements of well-building: tools, hand pump, pipes, materials for water tank and labour”.
BMS is committed to supporting relief projects not only through in the short-term when emergency supplies are needed, but also through the phases of reconstruction and rehabilitation too.
Without your support, we would have been unable to give several grants in the weeks following Cyclone Nargis, as well as this new grant.
And without your support, we’d be unable to respond to crisis situations like that currently happening in Gaza. For more information about that and to give to BMS’ Relief Appeal, click
here.