Myanmar

One Table: Regrowing the Garden ›

Life here in Bo Kone, Myanmar, a village of about a thousand people, has never been easy. Located on an isolated island in the Irrawaddy Delta, it's about an hour's boat ride to the nearest town.

Helping Myanmar, One Year After the Storm ›

It was just over one year ago — on May 2, 2008 — that Cyclone Nargis made landfall along Myanmar’s coast. Mercy Corps has helped residents in the hard-hit Laputta District rebuild.

Blog Post: Burmese farmers caught in poverty trap ›

Farming communities in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta have always followed a cycle of debt. Each year, wealthy land owners would lend farmers money, tools and cattle needed to till the soil.

Field Interview: Michael Gabriel ›

Country director Michael Gabriel discusses Mercy Corps' initial response to the cyclone in Myanmar and how we will continue to help the people of this battered region.

Taking Charge of the Recovery ›

In Jeremy Barnicle's four years at Mercy Corps, he often heard colleagues talk about "community mobilization" as something central to our approach in the field, but never really understood it — until Kan Bet.

Kitchen Gardens in Bo Kone ›

When Mercy Corps arrived in the village of Bo Kone, we saw that survivors were deeply vulnerable: their farms had provided their food and their income, and now that was all gone.

Work on the Playground ›

To be honest, it doesn't look like much: a group of 20 or so people moving clumps of mud from one spot to another in a field surrounded by a few buildings — but this is an important project.

A Welcome Harvest ›

It would be hard to overstate the importance of rice to the people of Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta: it is the staple food, cash crop and livelihood of this entire region.

Bold Woman Makes a Difference ›

When the cyclone hit, Mra Sabai Nyun was taking a break from a 30-year career in public service — but right away she decided that she had something to offer the devastated region.

Navigating Change in the Delta ›

A little more than seven months after the storm, Mercy Corps is transitioning from humanitarian relief to a longer term recovery effort in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta. Jeremy Barnicle recently spent a week in the region to monitor progress and report back successes and challenges.