In Kungyangon Township, Myanmar
HERE I am sitting at Seik Gyi Hard Rock Cafe, resting my tired feet.
Yes, you didn't read me wrong. I'm in a remote village in Myanmar, not even the main city Yangon. Hard Rock Cafe? It's a moniker given by aid workers in this Cyclone-hit village. It's a simple but cosy sheltered food kiosk, equipped with tables and stools.
A middle-aged woman recently set it up, selling drinks and snacks. Some wondered aloud how much she can make a day. But she did not seem bothered. It is her way of making a living.
ST PHOTO: Ling Chang Hong
Seik Gyi, a village of 1,318 in Kungyangon Township, about a three-hour drive south of Yangon, stood at the tail end of the powerful Cyclone Nargis that hit Myanmar on May 2. The devastation left more than 138,000 dead or missing across the country.
Four months later, the people here have picked up the pieces, and are looking forward to a better future.
"It's truly a narrative of survival," says Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan.
Seik Gyi is the first village to be adopted by the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), a joint effort by Asean, the Myanmar government and the United Nations, to assist in post-Nargis relief and recovery work. September 6 marks the 100th day since TCG was formed.
Not far from the cafe is the village's only primary school. Aid workers tell me the cyclone blew away most of the structure, leaving only the pillars and the walls. Today, happy children attend classes in newly furnished classrooms.
Nyi Nyi Tun is one of them. The chirpy eight-year-old proudly shows me his new turqiose schoolbag, filled with textbooks and supplies. They were obtained with the help of international donors, I am told.
"I was very sad when the school was destroyed. Now, I'm happy I can come to school everyday," Nyi Nyi says, through an interpreter.
Volunteers tell me the foundation of the school building is still weak, as evident from the hole-filled classroom floor. But this did not stop Nyi Nyi and his classmates from pursuing an education.
ST PHOTO: Ling Chang Hong
Of course, all this wouldn't have been possible without help from the world over. For Seik Gyi, most of the credit goes to the TCG. But the resilience of the villagers played a huge part too.
"It's the spirit of the local population. If they had been hopeless and just gave up, there would't be as much success as you're now witnessing," says TCG chairman Kyaw Thu, who is also Myanmar's Deputy Foreign Minister.
Ms Krongkeaw Sritaborvornpaiboon, an Asean volunteer, tells me she is touched by the warmth of the people.
"They are so positive and generous," says the 21-year-old from Thailand, who has been working here for a month and will stay on for another three.
But UN resident coordinator Bishow Parajuli cautioned against complacency.
"My biggest worry is on sustaining the efforts," he says. The world will be distracted by humanitarium needs elsewhere, he notes.
"We can't have the efforts forgotten. We must keep the momentum."
I, for one, will not forget Seik Gyi. I might even come back when it opens its real Hard Rock Cafe one day.