Singapore has donated USD 100,000 to IOM's shelter programme for
the victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady delta.

The money will go towards helping 1,000 of the most vulnerable
households in the rural areas of Pyapone township to repair and
weatherproof their homes ahead of the upcoming monsoon in May.

The materials will include nipa palm for roofing materials,
bamboo mats for walling, and bamboo for structural support. 
Each household will also receive a shelter instruction book to help
them to build safer homes.

Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in May 2008, killing some 140,000
people and affecting some 2.4 million others in the delta region,
much of which is only accessible by water.

"Two years on there are still over a half a million people
without adequate shelter in the delta, so this contribution is very
timely," says IOM Chief of Mission in Myanmar Mariko
Tomiyama.  

"The shelter sector is one of the most underfunded humanitarian
sectors of the post-Nargis recovery effort. At the same time, it is
one of the most vital for the restoration of cyclone survivors'
livelihoods, their physical safety and the improvement of their
prospects both immediately and in the long term," says Singaporean
Ambassador to Myanmar Robert Chua.

IOM has helped over 58,000 families to repair or rebuild their
homes in the delta at a cost of some USD 15 million since the
cyclone. It has three sub-offices in the delta townships of Bogale,
Pyapone and Mawlamyinegyun – all of which were badly affected
by the disaster.

Other contributors to the IOM post-Nargis shelter programme have
included the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Japan
and the European Union.     

For more information please contact:

Nelson Bosch

IOM Myanmar

E-mail: "mailto:nbosch@iom.int">nbosch@iom.int