2015 Major Donor Christmas Appeal

This is how youcan save lives

INTERNATIONAL WORK

MYANMAR

You can stop the downward spiral of poverty and disease

$10,000can go towards providing 50 families

with hygienic toilet facilities to prevent the spread of

illness and disease.

THE NEXT STEP

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PROGRAM COSTS

Imagine having to do your work in a rice field full of snakes. Imagine having no other option but to drink water that carries disease. Imagine having no access to first aid, and the hospital is a day’s walk away.

These are the problems that villagers in Myanmar face each day. But with your help, Australian Red Cross has been working with the local community to develop a pilot program that will give them independence and sustainability for the future.

“Before Red Cross came, we didn’t know much about malaria, we didn’t know about diarrhoea, we did not know that was because of the hands being dirty.”

“We learned a lot of things that we did not know in the past,” said villager Wei Wei Hlat.

The solution is multi-layered, involving the planning and development of clean water and sanitation services. It also includes first aid training and a special health fund that will provide financial support for families to access medical care in times of injury or illness.

“We suffer with snakebites, malaria, dengue fever, diarrhoea—and when we are sick, we can’t afford to go to a doctor.”

Wei Wei Hlat

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A blueprint for better healthHow do you bring self-reliance to villagers in Myanmar? This step-by-step approach has shown that village life can change for the better. Together, we’ve shown that we can replace sadness with celebration.

INTRODUCTIONS ANDRELATIONSHIP BUILDINGThe first step is to build relationships with local villagers, through consultation. The support of Myanmar Red Cross Society is vital.

PROJECT BECOMESSELF-SUSTAININGFinancial stability and new knowledge have led to self-sustainability in thevillage. The health fund provides support in times of illness, and helps grow the local economy.

FACILITIESAND EQUIPMENTIt’s now time to help build the infra-structure for sanitation and better health—including water supply systems and toilets. First-aid kits, mosquito nets, rubber boots and emergency kits are supplied.

VILLAGE HEALTH FUNDThis pilot program, devised by villagers, provides emergency health loans and micro-loans at low interest. Red Cross provides seed funding for the loans, as well as affordable equipment (eg. mosquito nets, rubber boots, toilet pans).

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VILLAGE LEVEL• Overall health indicators improve• Hygiene knowledge and practices increase• Disaster risk reduction measures are in place

OUTCOMES

FORMATION OF VILLAGECOMMITTEESThe village committee leads the project from here—setting their own priorities for change, and helping engage the community.

VILLAGE VOLUNTEER TRAININGOnce a plan is in place, volunteers are trained in first aid, hygiene promotion, health assessments, community education and disaster management.

COMMUNITY HEALTH ANDDISASTER RISK REDUCTIONVolunteers then perform door-to-door household visits, inspections of facilities, health and hygiene education in schools and teach disaster mitigation processes to the villagers.

ASSESSMENT ANDPRIORITISATION OF NEEDSTogether, we determine who are the most vulnerable members of the community, what illnesses are most common, what are the primary hazards, and the locations of the nearest clean water sources.

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MYANMAR RED CROSS SOCIETY• is stronger and provides more services• builds stronger links with community• acts as an auxiliary to local authorities

in disaster management

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The project and its impactSince 2011, Red Cross has worked with 14 villages across two townships in Myanmar: Taugdwingyi in Magway Region and Okshitpin in Bago Region. Our aim was to help communities find practical solutions to common but devastating illnesses and hazards.

An evaluation in 2014 found that living conditions had improved for more than 10,000 people, while common diseases declined significantly:

• Knowledge of how to prevent diarrhoea, malaria and dengue fever improved greatly.

• Families now understood how these diseases were transmitted through mosquitoes, poor sanitation and dirty water.

• These lessons were provided in schools, with children passing the knowledge onto their parents.

• There was also a 95–100% increase in the use of rubber boots to protect against snakebite; mosquito nets to prevent malaria and dengue; covered latrines and hand-washing practices to prevent diarrhoea. Reports of common illnesses declined significantly in all villages.

“Red Cross volunteers came to our school and told us to wash our hands and we had to wash like this.”

Daw Kim Moh Moh’s daughter

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can help support delivery of health and hygiene

promotion campaigns and equipment

15,000+people to benefitacross 28 villages

“One man was bitten by a snake and he learned that he had to immobilise it because we have posters around the village. Even if they don’t come to first aid training they read the posters.”

Khin Maung Thet

$10,000THE NEXT STEP

Locally-built wells, hand pumps and tap stands brought safe drinking water within easy reach of people’s homes.

This was a profound change, especially for women who were expected to carry heavy water containers from creeks or rivers to their homes.

“Now I can get water while I’m cooking dinner. Just like that, in five minutes,” said Daw Khin Aye.

“When I visited one of the villages a

couple of years ago,” remembers Red Cross aid worker Samadhi Marr, “a very feisty 70-year-old woman said to me, “Before I die I want to know what it’s like to have enough water to wash my clothes.”

Thanks to you, she has this, and much more.

We can bring this opportunity to many more communities in need, but we need your help.

Accessible drinking water improved family health.

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8%

65–74<65AGE

15%

Trish’s story

Who do we call?

24.5%MALE

74.41%FEMALE

At 7am on Mondays, a Red Cross volunteer calls Trish. It's usually a routine call but one morning everything changed.

“I was lying on the bathroom floor. I couldn’t move. I remember trying to get up and I couldn’t. The floor was a mess. I was dragging myself along, but I couldn’t pull myself up off the floor. Time went by and my arm started to hurt.

I tried to roll over on my back and couldn’t. I lay there thinking ‘how am I going to do this?’ so I tried to get my hand up onto the washing machine, to pull myself up. That didn’t work either. I thought—if I pulled myself up on the toilet I’d be OK, but I couldn’t even reach it. My arm was bleeding and my leg too—after a while, I just gave up.”

At 7am that morning, Jane, a Red Cross volunteer called. Trish didn’t answer. 5 minutes later, Jane called again. No answer. With the third missed call, the emergency procedure went into action. Trish’s neighbour was called, and immediately went to check on Trish. He found her passed out in the bathroom and called an ambulance.

When Trish woke up, she was being treated by a medical team. “I thank God for Red Cross. If it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t be able to tell you this story. They were my saving grace. If they rang me up six times during the night, I’d just love them for that. I tell everybody about them.”

AT HOME IN AUSTRALIA

SOURCE: AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS TELECROSS FACTSHEET FEBRUARY 2015

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75–79 80–84 85–89 90>

12% 22% 25% 18%

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11%WA

1%NT

22%SA

10%QLD

40%NSW

5%ACT

9%VIC

3%TAS

At Christmas, this is especially painful. Loneliness cuts straight to the heart.

Red Cross is dedicated to showing these men and women that they are not alone, that they are cared for and that their lives matter.

Each day, around Australia, Red Cross volunteers call someone in need—sometimes it’s just to say hi. Sometimes, it’s to save their life.

Show you care at ChristmasThousands of elderly Australians spend their days and nights alone. They have outlived their partners and friends, they’ve seen their children grow up and move far away, and they spend each day longing for company. Too often women like Trish have no one to talk to, and no one to call on—for friendship, or for help.

Where do they live?

$10,000can help provide a phone call every day for a year, to check the wellbeing of

16 elderly or isolated people living alone.

THE NEXT STEP

SOURCE: AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS TELECROSS FACTSHEET FEBRUARY 2015

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“I was lying on the floor all night. I couldn’t get up. The only thing that saved me was the call from Red Cross. Without them, I’d be dead.”

Trish

That’s the power of ‘hello’

Saving lives is critical. Your support can also be the difference between having to move into nursing care, and having the self-sufficiency and satisfaction of living at home. Staying home often means that elderly Australians stay healthier longer, with many studies showing increased wellness and better emotional health.

Helping Australia’s most vulnerable is one of our key priorities—it’s not just about saving lives. Sometimes our calls simply make life better.

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Nigel Marsden, National Donor Relationship ManagerTel. (02) 9290 8961 Email [email protected]

You have the power to help communities thrive. Please donate today.

ALL IMAGES FROM MYANMAR © CONOR ASHLEIGH / AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS

IMAGES AT HOME BY LARA COLE / AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS