On May 2nd 2008, Cyclone Nargis ripped through the Irrawaddy Delta killing 140.000 and tearing whole villages apart leaving more than two million people homeless and traumatized.
After weeks of initially blocking aid, the suspicious junta opened up and aid flowed in. But when the immediate disaster was over, donor money came to a halt and one year on, UN Habitat has only been able to secure a seventh of the funding they has asked for.
Very few houses have been rebuilt to the same standard as before and 135.000 families or app. 500.000 people still live in what is deemed extremely vulnerable huts.
Schools and health clinics were destroyed in huge numbers and it is likely that 600 schools will not be re-built, raising fears that thousands of village children will not be able to attend school. The UN and local NGOs express concern over the sudden severe poverty in the delta, the lack of health care and schools whereas the Burmese people see it as yet another piece of evidence that their leaders do not care at all about the wellbeing of the people.
